Tuesday 25 February 2025 
✏️ BY: Dr. Hana Saada
Algiers, Algeria | May 20, 2024 — On the occasion of National Student Day, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune highlighted the significant progress in Algeria’s higher education sector and outlined ambitious plans for the future.*
In a speech delivered at the new Scientific and Technological Hub in the new city of Sidi Abdallah, President Tebboune commemorated the National Student Day, marking the 68th anniversary of the 1956 student strike that played a pivotal role in the Algerian Revolution. The event underscored the milestones achieved in higher education and research in Algeria.
Educational Achievements and Future Aspirations
President Tebboune began by reaffirming his commitment to prioritizing education and teaching. He detailed the impressive statistics of the Algerian university sector, which boasts 115 universities, around 30 research centers, and 1.65 million students supported by over 70,000 professors. These figures, he emphasized, reflect the substantial strides Algeria has made in education.
Highlighting recent rankings, Tebboune proudly noted that Algeria’s universities now lead in Africa, the Arab world, and the Maghreb. He expressed hope that these accomplishments are merely the beginning of further achievements in research, startups, nanotechnology, medicine, and cybersecurity. “Algeria is poised for a new era of progress,” he declared.
Government Support for Students
President Tebboune reiterated his administration’s support for young people, who were present in large numbers under the banner of the Supreme Youth Council and student organizations. Engaging directly with students, he addressed their concerns about funding for innovative projects. The President assured them that a dedicated fund is already in place, and banks are ready to support industrial projects. “The state has the resources to support its youth,” he emphasized.
The dialogue also touched on the importance of digitization, a priority for the President. Tebboune explained that Algeria is focusing on digitization to obtain real-time data, contrasting this with the opaque and imprecise management of the past. He stated, “We are on the right path. Developed countries rely on digitization through scientific methods. By 2027, we aim to see a transformed Algeria based on real data.”
Digitization: A Key to Economic Transformation
President Tebboune highlighted the crucial role of digitization in building a modern economy, reducing misinformation, and enhancing transparency. He noted that Algeria’s current industrial contribution to GDP is 4%, down from 18% in the 1970s, and stressed the need for reliable data to manage imports and understand national production needs. “Without accurate data, we are forced to react to product shortages without understanding real needs,” he lamented.
As Algeria prioritizes digitization across all sectors, the university system is evolving, with a focus on technical fields, mathematics, and new technologies. Tebboune urged today’s students to ensure that Algeria becomes an emerging economy by 2027.
Return to Classical Education System
“The path to excellence is inevitable,” President Tebboune asserted, announcing a return to the classical education system in universities. He emphasized the importance of dialogue among university stakeholders in decision-making processes, marking a shift from the previous top-down administrative approach.
The President tasked the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research with considering a student’s proposal to increase scholarships for medical students based on the length of their studies. He expressed his openness to dialogue with students and his desire for greater youth participation in elections.
The Role of Universities in National Development
President Tebboune underscored the essential role of universities in the national economy, which is undergoing transformation alongside a rapidly growing population. “Algeria will have 60 million inhabitants in about thirteen years. We must prepare for this now,” he concluded.
In his speech, President Tebboune commended the efforts of the Minister of Higher Education, Kamel Baddari, particularly in fostering startups. He expressed confidence in Algeria’s ability to reach new heights, driven by the capabilities of its youth and the advancements in higher education and technology.
Commemorating 68 Years of Commitment: Algerian University – Yesterday’s Struggles, Today’s Challenges
On May 19, 1956, Algerian students answered the call of the National Liberation Front (FLN). With the conviction that graduates would not make better corpses, they left their university benches to join the maquis, determined to liberate Algeria from colonial rule. Sixty-eight years later, although the context has radically changed, the challenge remains immense: to elevate Algeria to the ranks of prosperous nations by actively contributing to pushing its limits, particularly in the economic field.
“Of what use are these diplomas that we continue to be offered while our people fight heroically, while our mothers, wives, and sisters are raped, while our children and elders fall under machine guns, bombs, and napalm… Algerian students and intellectuals, for the world that watches us, for the nation that calls us, for the historical destiny of our country, would we be renegades?” This excerpt from the UGEMA call on May 19, 1956, sounds like an eloquent appeal to the supreme sacrifice for the homeland, remarkably denouncing the futility of diplomas in a context where the nation is subjected.
Since its inception, the General Union of Algerian Muslim Students (UGEMA) has distinguished itself through its activism against colonialism. Under the presidency of Mouloud Belaouane in April 1956, it called for a boycott of classes and exams, thus mobilizing university youth for the national cause. This historic strike on May 19, 1956, massively rallied students to the FLN and the ALN, demonstrating a palpable and often sacrificial commitment. Many students left their university benches to join the maquis, contributing to the armed struggle. Their involvement transformed the dynamics of the liberation war, providing the ALN with qualified and active cadres, ensuring the continuity of the fight against colonialism. In this context, UGEMA also played an international role, advocating the Algerian cause abroad, among international student organizations. The sacrifices made by this youth devoted to the national cause were immense. Many lost their lives in combat or under the torture of colonial forces. Figures such as Belkacem Zeddour, the first student martyr, Mohamed Rachid Amara, Mohamed Larbi Madi, and Hassiba Ben Bouali, to name a few, symbolized this total devotion to the cause of freedom. Their names, inscribed in blood, recalled the extent of the sacrifice made by an entire generation for Algeria’s independence.
The impact of student commitment was not, however, limited to the liberation war period. After independence, former UGEMA militants continued to play a crucial role in rebuilding Algeria.
A University Serving the Economy
Thus, the perseverance of the elders and their unwavering will to serve a higher interest is revealed as a precious legacy passed on to the new generation, which must in turn meet its own challenges to propel Algeria to new heights. These current challenges are numerous and complex, but the country approaches them with determination and ambition. In this regard, the Algerian university is undergoing a decisive shift towards innovation and entrepreneurship, marking a turning point. The objective is to modernize the educational system to serve economic development. This precious diploma thus regains its full value, insofar as competence is put at the service of the economy.
This ambition materializes through various initiatives, such as promoting the spirit of innovation and creativity among students to turn scientific research results into engines of economic growth. Mechanisms have thus been put in place within universities and research centers to prepare graduates to actively contribute to the country’s industrial and economic development.
In this perspective, projects are launched, supported by close collaboration between the university and the economic sector. These projects range from forest fire radar devices to electric cars, including durum wheat cultivation and seawater desalination, symbolizing the transition to a knowledge economy where innovation takes center stage.
The creation of a new technological hub, bringing together five universities and benefiting from partnerships with the Ministry of Startups, also illustrates the government’s firm commitment to this transformation. This hub will become a true crucible of innovation and creativity, stimulating the development of new technologies and the creation of innovative companies.
In this context, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Kamel Baddari, has repeatedly emphasized the importance of making the university competent in information and knowledge, transforming it into real engines of wealth creation. This vision is realized through initiatives such as the university-startup diploma and the university-patent diploma, aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship right from the university benches.
In this context, the Algerian university asserts itself as an essential actor in the socio-economic development of the country, embodying the vision of an emerging Algeria, oriented towards the future and resolutely committed to building a knowledge and innovation economy.
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