Algeria to offer 2,500 scholarships to students from Africa

Algeria has launched a higher education scholarship programme for students from across Africa and plans to establish an education bank for the continent that will finance education-linked projects such as human resource development initiatives.

Algeria’s president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, said that 2,500 scholarships – 2,000 for higher education and 500 for vocational training – will be made available annually. The international students on scholarships will supplement the existing 6,000 African students currently studying in Algeria.

Tebboune announced these initiatives earlier in December at the Continental Conference 2024 in Mauritania. The theme of the conference, which focused on education, training and youth, was ‘Educate and Skill Africa for the 21st Century’.

Higher education experts have described the announcement as a contribution towards developing Africa’s scientific workforce, along with attempting to extend knowledge diplomacy or soft power to form regional alliances to serve Algerian political, economic and cultural agendas.

In his speech at the conference, Tebboune thanked the African Union Commission for its efforts to implement its theme of 2024: ‘Educate an African fit for the 21st century: Building resilient educational systems’.

He said Algeria has focused its foreign policy on advancing African solidarity, sparing no effort to contribute to the development of education, teaching and training on the continent, and welcoming students from different African countries at its educational institutions.

He said the education and training opportunities offered by Algeria since its independence have benefited “65,000 young African students in various fields”.

“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,” he noted.

He added that, through the Algerian Agency for International Cooperation (AACI), the government will “establish a bank dedicated to education, based on the needs of our African brothers”.

“All of this confirms our contribution to the collective efforts aimed at strengthening the educational systems on our continent and … to build bridges through student exchanges between Africa’s peoples, in accordance with the vision and aspirations of the founding fathers of our African Union,” Tebboune said.

African human resource development

Dr Hana Saada, a lecturer at the Algiers 1 University Benyoucef Benkhedda, told University World News the scholarship programme underscores Algeria’s commitment to regional solidarity and human resource development.

“Algeria is actively fostering educational and cultural exchange in alignment with its foreign policy. This is further highlighted by its remarkable achievement in the 2024 Times Higher Education Arab University rankings. With 37 institutions listed, its third position among Arab nations and a top-tier ranking in Africa, have solidified Algeria’s leadership in the Maghreb,” Saada added.

“The proposed AACI education bank offers a transformative approach to higher education, addressing the specific developmental needs of African nations,” she said. However, at present there was limited information available about the education bank.

Solidifying Algeria’s position in Africa

According to Saada, Algeria’s efforts highlighted its “knowledge diplomacy” and soft power strategy, promoting integration and prosperity while solidifying its position as a leader in Africa and the Arab world.

In support of Saada, Sallam Touri from the political research and studies laboratory of University of Algiers 3, told University World News he believed the scholarships were important for human resource development in Africa.

“This initiative wants to cultivate a new generation of leaders capable of building the Africa that all Africans aspire to. It underscores Algeria’s steadfast commitment to enhancing continental cooperation and solidarity while strengthening ties with African nations,” Touri said.

“This Algerian endeavour can rightly be regarded as an embodiment of knowledge diplomacy or a strategic exercise of soft power,” added Touri, who is the lead author of the June 2024 study, ‘Soft power in Algeria’s African policy: Capabilities and limits of influence’.

According to a 2024 study on the presence of international students in the Arab World, Algeria ranked second after Tunisia, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia among Arab countries hosting international students in their educational institutions.

The Global Soft Power Index (GSPI), which evaluates soft power strength based on higher education and science capabilities, among other indicators, ranked Algeria 73rd out of 193 countries worldwide in 2024.

Algeria was ranked fourth among the top 10 most influential African countries after Egypt (39), South Africa (43) and Morocco (50), and followed by Nigeria (79), Ghana (85), Tanzania (93), Senegal (94), Kenya (95), and Mauritius (97).