While French may represent “the language of love” in some parts of the world, in Algeria and across much of Africa, it has long symbolised the lingering presence of France’s soft power, even after the formal end of colonisation. [Getty]
Amid an ongoing diplomatic crisis with France, Algeria is pressing ahead to teach medicine in the English language at universities, as a part of a process of moving away from the long-entrenched use of the French language.
On 2 April, Algeria’s Ministry of Higher Education issued a directive instructing all public universities to begin transitioning first-year medical and scientific courses entirely to English, starting from the next academic year.
The move is part of a broader strategy to introduce English as the primary language of instruction across the country’s educational institutions—a shift framed as both a step towards modernisation and a ‘quiet divorce’ from French.
This shift is not entirely new, nor is it simply a pedagogical change.
In Africa, and particularly in Algeria, taking a distance from the French language has often been tied to the state of political relations with France.
While French may represent “the language of love” in some parts of the world, in Algeria and across much of Africa, it has long symbolised the lingering presence of France’s soft power, even after the formal end of colonisation.
In March, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali made the decision to leave the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), an organisation established by countries united by the French language.
France, a founding member of the OIF, has long used the organisation as a vehicle for political and diplomatic influence in its former colonies.
Algeria’s language tug-of-war
Currently, Algeria and France are embroiled in one of the worst diplomatic crises in their recent history which began in July, when French president Emmanuel Macron supported Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, a territory claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
Macron’s policy shift fractured an already fragile relationship, and a subsequent row over deportation policies and the arrest of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal further exacerbated tensions.
Since Algeria gained independence from France in 1962, the French language remained deeply entrenched in its institutions, administration, and elite circles. While Arabic was reinstated as the national language, French has maintained a dominant role in higher education and professional sectors, where fluency in French has been a gatekeeping mechanism for jobs and social mobility.
“If English gradually takes over from French in schools and universities, the influence of the Francophone elite will inevitably weaken”, wrote Aboubakr Khaled Saadallah, a researcher at the Higher School of Teachers in Algeria.
This linguistic battle traces its origins to the early 1990s, when the Ministry of Education—then under a pro-Arabic official—allowed students to choose between French and English as a second language in primary school.
The proposal sparked fierce debates across the country. Within a few years, the programme was scrapped, and English was removed from the curriculum altogether.
In 2022, the government renewed its efforts to introduce English more widely. The new plan mandated that English instruction begin in the third year of primary school, fast-tracking the timeline from what had once been eighth grade.
That same year, a plan was launched to train 58,000 university instructors in English, through a mix of remote learning, language centres, and degree programmes.
The reform again stirred significant backlash and the minister was removed shortly from his post.
One of the main challenges is the lack of qualified teachers to implement the system. And Algeria’s language tug-war with France left little trust in a serious transition to English.
Some parents, recalling the failure of the 1990s experiment, remain cautious about the new approach.
Despite the challenges, Algeria appears determined this time to stay the course.
The Ministry of Higher Education has requested detailed plans for the English transition from all university deans by mid-April 2025, with particular emphasis on medical faculties.
For years, observers have noted a pattern: when Algeria leans towards French, relations with Paris warm; when the country moves towards English or Arabic, tensions flare.
On 3 April, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf and his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot discussed efforts to resolve the political crisis between the two nations.
However, for Algeria’s youth, in Oran’s lively cafés, the pivot towards English is already happening; It’s not just valued for its global utility, but also embraced as a symbol of emancipation from a post-colonial status quo.