Freanch Colonial Rule and Education in Algeria

Introduction 

After Sudan, Algeria is the second largest nation in Africa. The country is located in northern Africa and is bordered on the east by Libya and Tunisia, on the south by Niger, on the southwest by Mauritania and Mali, on the west by Morocco and Western Sahara, and on the north by the Mediterranean. The French conquest during the nineteenth century set for the present boundaries. The country is rich in oil, and its economy largely depends on hydrocarbons. Crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum, as well as nonfuel minerals such as zinc, mercury, oil phosphates, and high-grade ion, account for nearly 50% of the nation’s budget revenue. 

This paper will delve at outlining a brief history of Algeria. Specifically, the paper will cover the history of Algeria before the arrival of the French, during their rule, and present-day Algeria. The paper will then discuss the colonial rule in Algeria as well as examine the colonial education in Algeria and its effects on the Algerian society and its people. Specifically, the paper will discuss the colonial school curriculum, the nature of the education system, and its effects on the society and the people. Finally, yet importantly, the paper will provide a recommendation for improving or restructuring the education system of Algeria in order to make the system relevant to the socio-economic needs of the present Algerian society. 

Brief History of Algeria 

In 150 BC, Berber kingdoms existed in what is presently known as Algeria. However, the Berber kingdoms we invaded by the Romans in 24 BC. The Roman built their settlements and infrastructures such as roads, cities, and aqueducts. The nation became a Christian nation under Roman rule. The great theologian Augustine (354-430) lived in Hippo, which is presently known as Annaba. The reign of the Roman rule ended due to the collapse of the Roman Empire in the west. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, people called the Vandal passed through Algeria. However, they did not have a great impact on the nation. The Vandals were on their way to Tunisia. Arabs conquered Algeria in the late 7 th century. As a result, the Arabs introduced Islam in the nation. They spread Islamic culture and rule the nation until the 16 th century. Ottoman Turks invaded the region in 1516 and coned the of the nation as “Algeria” (Lonely Planet, 2018). However, by 1671, Algeria was semi-independent. A man called dey ruled the region. The nation also served as a base for the Barbary pirates. In 1830, the French took over Algeria. After invading the nation, the French eliminating the Algerian culture such as mosques (Lonely Planet, 2018). The French conquered the nation and Algeria was declared a French territory in 1848. 

In the mid-20 th century, Algerian nationalism grew. In 1954, the Algerian war of Independence started. The war continued until 1962. The people as well as the president at the time, President Charles De Gaulle, finally accepted that the independence of Algeria was inevitable. On 18 th March 1962, a ceasefire was signed. A referendum was called, and the citizens of the nation voted overwhelmingly for independence. The country became independent on 5 th July 1965, and Ahmed Ben Bella was sworn as the first president of Algeria. Colonel Houari Boumedienne replaced President Bella. However, the Colonel died in 1978 and was replaced by Colonel Chadli Bendjedid. 

During the 1970s, Algeria used to be a one-party nation. However, riots that occurred in the nation in 1988 led to some reforms (Lonely Planet, 2018). The nation was reformed to a multi-party state after the citizens were given the rights to form multiple parties in 1989. In 1990, Algeria held local elections where the Islamic Salvation From (FIS) won a majority if the votes cast. In 1991, FIS also won the first round of national legislative elections. The 2 nd round of elections did not take place due to the intervention of the army. The intervention led to the replacement of Colonel Chadli Bendjedid by a five-person council of state. FIS armed wing disbanded in 200. In 1999, Abdelaziz Bouteflika was elected president. President Bouteflika was re-elected as a president in 2004, 2009, and 2014. Currently, the nation is characterized by high rates of unemployment and the nation’s economy heavily depends on oil. However, the economy of the country is growing steadily. Census reports indicate that the current population of Algeria is approximately 41 million. 

France Colonial Rule in Algeria 

France fell down the rung of European colonial powers in the early 1800s. They lost many North American territories as well as its influence in Egypt. The country felt immense pressure to restate its dominant power with the advent of “scramble for Africa.” Following a surging Napoleonic romanticism, the opportunity to reassert as dominating imperial force arose. France called for justification to invade Algeria following an argument between the French consul and the Ottoman regency in Algiers. Given that the Turkish regime was oppressing the Algerian people, a royal proclamation was made on 10 th May 1830, and French soldiers were sent to invade Algeria. The soldiers were provided with pamphlets and directives to them for guidance since they have never previously set foot in Algeria. 

At the time of the France invasion, the Arabs were ruling Algeria. The French soldiers had one mission to overcome “a belligerent Islamic people” (Lorcin, 1995). However, most of the soldiers were indoctrinated the view of expected outcome - the enhancement of French glory. As a result, France implanted a military presence in Algeria. Their presence was followed by a widespread plundering as well as random murder along with the lasting pattern of dehumanization and exploitation of the Algiers. Many Algiers suffered at the hands of the French. What began as a mission to save the Algerian inhabitants from oppression from the Turkish regime, quickly became an economic and a social project. This led to an extremely complex colonial relationship between the two nations. 

French soldiers began conquering the rest of the nation after conquering Algiers in 1831 (Rahal, 2013). France considered Algeria as promising territory for great trade wealth. In the beginning, they faced staunch Muslim resistance. However, they fought with resilience because they believed the nation would be a perfect location for French settlement. The devised a system which they framed peuplement et fertilization , which stands for “people and fertilization.” The plan aimed at replacing the native people with enlightened French citizens. France did this by transporting French citizens to Algeria to substitute the native people as well as through the extermination of the local people who were resistance against the French rule. The French never came to replace the indigenous people. Instead, they wanted to supplement themselves in all possible positions of power. Eventually, they succeeded to take over Algerian education, political, religious, and agricultural system to support their needs. 

During the French rule, 1830-47, France created a groundwork on how the country would be controlled (Rahal, 2013). Generally, Algeria was tension-filled, with frequent clashes between the French and the native people. French settlers began to colonize the region as they continued to occupy the nation. They demanded privileges for ruling the country on behalf of their government, the French government. As a result, Algeria became judicially part of France. Eventually, in 1870, French secured their power in the region and appointed governor-general in the region (Rahal, 2013). This made the French settlers to have many privileges despite making up only 10% of the population. 

France maintained colonial rule in Algeria for more than a century. Discontent among Algerians, especially among the Muslims, grew in which many people in Algeria sustained casualties. As a result, nationalist began efforts to call for equality where they listed their concerns and complaints in the Manifesto of the Algerian People . In the manifesto, Algerian nationalists called for equal representation under the state as well as access to citizenship, but no equality to for natives people to preserve Islamic concepts. 

French created a legislature in 1947 where the House was reformed. In the reform, there were two houses; one for French citizens and the other for the Muslims. However, the bicameral legislature created made a European’s vote equal seven times a Muslim’s vote. Font de Liberation Nationale (FNL) appeared (Rahal, 2013). This is a paramilitary group which started to claim Arabo-Islamic brotherhood and state. The led to the Algerian War in 1954, which was a war for independence. The war led to assassinations, bombings, tortures, and rapes in farms. Pied-noirs believed that the French military would be able to overcome the rivals at the onset of the war. It led to many demonstrations, and in May 1958 Pied-Noirs led a demonstration for French. The demonstration also included Muslims, and they occupied an Algerian government building. This made General Massu form a Committee of Public Safety to control the riot. He also demanded his acquaintance, Charles de Gaulle, be appointed as the president of the French Fourth Republic. 

This led to the fall of the Republic. As a result, the French government responded to the fall by appointing de Gaulle in power. De Gaulle attempted peace after assuming power but planned a referendum for Algeria self-determination in 1959 which came to pass tremendously (Rahal, 2013). This led to the formation of the Organization armee secrete (OAS) as many French military and political leader viewed the referendum as a betrayal. As a result, OAS started to officials representing de Gaulle’s authority, as well as de Gaulle himself and Muslims. This paramilitary group was also accused of killing people and nullifying reconciliation opportunities between communities. In 1961, the opposition led by retired generals culminated. Following the failure, the FLN and de Gaulle signed a ceasefire on 18 th March 1962 and held a referendum (Rahal, 2013). Algeria became independent from France in July 1962. As a result, many ‘Pied-Noirs’ were massacred. European people were shot, molested, tortured, and executed. 

Colonial Education in Algeria 

The French colonial education imposed on Algeria was primarily designed to perpetuate the European cultural pattern as well as meet the needs of the European population (Walter, 1972). During the colonial period, a larger percentage of the students were colonist’s children. The colonial education system in Algeria was taught in French. The curriculum was also French, and a large percentage of the students were colonist’s children. Through the language of instruction was French, sometimes the Arabic language was offered as an optional foreign language. The current education system of Algeria is an inherited hybrid education system that combines French and Arab, and Zawaya religious school. In the 1970s, compulsory education was introduced in Algeria, and this led to the enrolment of 90% of Algerians (Fanack, 2018). As a result, illiteracy has declined sharply; the rate of illiteracy declined from 21% in 1970 to 75% now. 

The current education system of Algeria bears traces of the colonial past. There is a strong resemblance between the French education system and the Algerian education. The education system is composed of a nine-year primary school. This is then followed by vocational training or a lycee which prepares a student for university or college. French has also remained the language of instruction in the education system, despite the nation making attempts to change the language of instruction to Arabic. This is because the conversion proved unrealistic. 

The colonial education system has resulted in many effects in Algeria. One major problem is that many graduates educated exclusively in Arabic found it more difficult to get employed in state-run industries or in the government, where a mastery of the French language was an advantage. This led to the rise of the Islamist movement. The rise of the Islamist movement has been as a result of the connection between higher levels of education and higher unemployment. 

The French colonists carefully structured the education in Algeria. They did so in order to perpetuate their underdevelopment as well as dependency. The education system was designed to impose upon the Algerians, the white man’s mythical, racial superiority. Thus, this has made Algerians more subservient to the white masters. Whatever the Algerian people were taught, it was designed to make them look inferior as well as make them recognize the white man their savior. In other words, the colonial education in education was education for subordination, exploitation, and creating mental confusion as well as the development of the underdeveloped. 

Algerians received industrial training from the colonists in order to provide cheap labor but were not trained sufficiently as the white did not want the Algerian to compete with the whites (Colin, 1968). Colonial education was an instrument to serve the French capitalists class while exploiting the nation. The colonial education also did more than corrupt the sensibilities as well as the thinking of the Algerians. The education system filled the Algerian students with abnormal complexes which de-Africanized and also alienated the Algerians from the need of their environment. The colonial education in Algeria has dispossessed as well as put of out the control of the Algerians intellectual the required forces for developing the community as well as forces required for directing life. 

Conclusion 

The purpose of this paper was to examine the impact of colonial education to the Algerian people and their society. In the paper, the curriculum and education system of the colonial education, as well as its affects this system had on the Algerian people and society, was discussed. Based on the finding from the research, it could be concluded that colonial education in Algeria had both positive and negative effects. One positive effect is that it resulted in a decrease of illiteracy among the Algerian people. One major problem is that many graduates educated exclusively in Arabic found it more difficult to get employed in state-run industries or in the government, where a mastery of the French language was an advantage. The colonial education also made Algerians more subservient to the white masters. In other words, the colonial education in education was education for subordination, exploitation, and creating mental confusion as well as the development of the underdeveloped. Lastly, the education system filled the Algerian students with abnormal complexes which de-Africanized and also alienated the Algerians from the need of their environment. 

References 

Colin, J. (1968). The Lonely African. New York: Claredon. 

Fanack. (2018). Education in Algeria. [Online]. Available at: https://fanack.com/algeria/society-media-culture/society/education/ . Accessed 28 th April 2019. 

Lonely Planet. (2018). History. [Online]. Available at: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/algeria/history . Accessed 28 th April 2019. 

Lorcin, P. (1995). Imperial Identities: Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Race in Colonial Algeria. New York: Tauris Publishers. 

Rahal, M. (2013). Algeria: Nonviolent Resistant Against French Colonialism, the 1830s -1950s. [Online]. Available at: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01316088/document . Accessed 28 th April 2019. 

Walter, R. (1972). How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Coldershaw: London. Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications.