Algeria: Students in Boumerdès protest dismissal of professors Feb. 22

Event

On Thursday, February 22, thousands of university students participated in protests in Boumerdès province, blocking roads and causing significant transportation disruptions. According to local sources, the students launched the protests to demand the return of their professors to teaching after they were dismissed by the Algerian Ministry of National Education for participating in an ongoing teachers' strike.

Protesting students reportedly erected roadblocks on the RN12 highway and staged a march in the town of Bordj Menaïel, prompting traffic congestion near the entrance to the town before being dispersed by security forces. Additional demonstrations are possible in Boumerdès province and in other provinces affected by the ongoing teachers' strike (i.e. in Béjaïa, Blida, Tizi Ouzou, and Algiers provinces) in the coming days and weeks.

Context

On February 20, five Algerian teachers' unions launched a two-day strike to demand higher wages, joining the existing teachers' strike organized by the Conseil National Autonome du Personnel Enseignant du Secteur Ternaire de l'Education (CNAPESTE) education union that has been ongoing in Béjaïa, Blida, and Tizi Ouzou provinces for three months. Related education strikes had spread to Algiers earlier in February; several schools in the capital remained closed as of February 21.

Algerian authorities have dismissed hundreds of teachers in recent weeks amid the ongoing strike, and have threatened to fire some 19,000 teachers from the civil service if they do not return to work.

Advice

Individuals in Boumerdès province and elsewhere in Algeria affected by the ongoing strike are advised to monitor developments to the situation, avoid all protests and demonstrations as a precaution, and adhere to all instructions issued by the local authorities.