Algeria forces Francophone schools to adopt Arabic curriculum but says all languages are welcome
Algeria is rebuffing accusations that efforts to crack down on French private schools constituted hostility toward the langauge
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Amid broad debate about French language's place in France's former African colonies, Algeria is denying that efforts to force Francophone private schools to adopt the country's national curriculum constitute hostility toward French.
Education Minister Abdelkrim Belabed said that no languages were being “targeted” in Algeria and noted that multilingualism was among the education system's major achievements.
“All languages are welcome,” he said Saturday..
Algeria has more French speakers than all but two nations — France itself and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nearly 15 million people out of the country’s population of 44 million speak it, according to the International Organization of the French Language. But Algeria is among the many nations throughout Africa placing a greater emphasis on English and Indigenous languages and, in the process, reevaluating French's role in school and society.
