Start of the new academic year postponed again

The new university year in Algeria, which was set to start on 22 November, has again been postponed, until 15 December. The recent resurgence of COVID-19 infections has forced the government to revise its plans and introduce a series of measures to try to curb the spread of the virus.

This delay suits universities, some of which have still not completed their examinations for the past academic year but are trying to do so before 22 November.

With more than two million students split between the 106 institutions, it has not always been easy to respect health regulations, especially in student accommodation where there are frequent complaints about lack of space, or in transport, which has been under great pressure, not to mention university restaurants to which students are increasingly turning.

In this respect, several problems have obstructed the resumption of classes, especially those involving transport for students living in remote towns. Public transport between different regions of the country is still banned, as is air travel, which have been halted for the past eight months.

Transport prevents return

The Algerian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has tried to find a solution, calling for transport to be provided for students in the towns. But this has not been enough – for example, many students in the far south of the country, unable to fly, remained at home faced with distances of thousands of kilometres while illegal transport providers were demanding sums of money the students could not afford.

A trip of 2,000km between Tamanrasset and Algiers would take at least two days by road.

The ministry has continued to try to find a solution, suggesting a gradual return to university, which would start with five weeks of online courses followed by a short break for holidays.

Under the ministry’s programme, face-to-face teaching would start in three successive waves and consist of contact time for two weeks followed by a week of exams.

The second semester would start at the beginning of spring, spread over four weeks, with students still in separate groups, because universities’ reception capacities could not guarantee social distancing, especially those with more than 20,000 students.

There were also worries linked to students’ and lecturers’ health, especially where student housing and transport in towns were concerned.