ALGERIA

ALGERIA: Elite science and technology schools open

Three selective higher education preparatory schools specialising in science and technology are opening this academic year in Algiers, Tlemcen and Annaba, reported La Tribune of Algiers.

The intake of each school will be limited to 200 students who have excelled in their baccalauréat school-leaving examinations and have passed competitive entrance examinations. They will follow an intensive common curriculum for two years, before specialising in their third year, said the paper.

Kesri Rafika, President of the Conference of Universities of the Centre, told the paper that the new preparatory schools were considered as complementary to other national institutes and universities, and the aim was to "establish a student elite characterised by an education of excellence that could respond to national needs regarding new technologies and other advanced sciences".