The President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, delivered a speech on Tuesday at the Continental Conference on Education, Youth, and Employability, held in Nouakchott (Mauritania).
"In the name of Allah, Most Gracious and Most Merciful,
Prayer and peace be upon His Messenger,
President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and Chairperson of the African Union
Ladies and Gentlemen, Heads of State and Government,
Mr. Chairperson of the African Union Commission,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
"I am pleased to share the immense joy in being in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, a sister country, and to express all my gratitude to my brother, His Excellency President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, for his kind invitation to participate in the Continental Conference on Education, Youth, and Employability.
An extremely important theme that I personally consider among the continental priorities and challenges to place at the head of our concerns.
I also thank the African Union Commission for the efforts made in implementing the roadmap dedicated to the theme of the year 2024 "Educate an African fit for the 21st century: building resilient educational systems."
Mr. President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
You are undoubtedly aware that education in our continent unfortunately witnesses a difficult reality, with an increase in the number of out-of-school children, a decrease in chances of access to adapted teaching, and a lack of resources for training supervisors.
I would like, on this occasion, to give a brief overview of my country's experience, where free and compulsory education is guaranteed by the Constitution. An experience that reveals the magnitude of our national challenges, with nearly 12 million students enrolled in educational establishments at the start of this school year, whereas their number barely exceeded 900,000 students in 1962. The schooling rate for children aged 6 itself has increased from 43.42% in 1966 to 99.89% in 2024.
As for supervision, the number of teachers in public educational establishments exceeds 600,000 teachers, with an overall supervision rate ranging from 19 to 28 students per teacher, whereas in 1962, there were only about 23,000 teachers.
It is appropriate to note that 75.62% of current teachers are women graduates from Algerian training institutes.
Despite the indicators we have cited which illustrate our national challenges in the field of education, we have ensured, in our strategy based on the promotion of education and training, to integrate modern technological means, including the progressive generalization of digital tablets in the first cycles of education, and to include the English language in educational programs to be in sync with global sciences and knowledge.
And we have reinforced this orientation towards science and technology by creating National Higher Schools specialized in mathematics, Artificial Intelligence, and nanotechnology.
Mr. President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On the basis of the authenticity of my country's foreign policy focused on the priority given to African solidarity, Algeria has spared no effort to contribute to the development of education, teaching and training in our continent, welcoming students from different brotherly African countries in its universities, training institutes and learning centres.
In this regard, it is important to underline that 5,998 African students are currently enrolled in our universities and that Algeria annually offers 2,000 scholarships in higher education and 500 scholarships in vocational training to African students.
And we are proud to say today, before this dignified African assembly, that we have offered, since Algeria's independence, study and training opportunities to 65,000 young African students in various specialties within our institutes and universities.
Moreover, my country is working to build and upgrade schools in numerous African countries. It also hosts the African Union Institute of Water, Energy and Climate Change.
All of this mirrors our contribution to collective efforts aimed at promoting educational systems in our continent and translates our unwavering willingness to strengthen continental cooperation and solidarity and to establish communication bridges in its human dimension through student exchanges between Africans peoples, in accordance with the vision and aspirations of the founding fathers of our African Union.
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Faithful to its African belonging and depth, Algeria renews on this occasion its commitment to the principles and ideals underpinning our Union. And it will continue, with great conviction and tirelessly, to make efforts alongside the pioneers of common African action in favour of a united, stable and secure Africa, an Africa that aspires to integration and complementarity, the Africa we all envision through the 2063 Vision and an influential Africa at the international level.
I renew my thanks to His Excellency, President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, for having offered us the opportunity to debate a vital theme linked to education and youth, while wishing that the results of our meeting mark the start of a better future, where the African child will benefit from a quality education that will allow us to take a step forward together towards our common aspirations for building the Africa we wish for.
Thank you for your kind attention."
