Arabic-Medium Versus French-Medium University Tracks in Algeria Explained

An Arabic school system feeding a French-medium university

Algeria arabised its primary and secondary curriculum after independence, and Arabic has stayed the language of instruction for nearly every subject through the Baccalauréat. French appears only as a foreign-language subject, taught alongside Arabic from the early primary grades. The Baccalauréat itself offers several streams, including Sciences Exactes, Sciences Naturelles, Mathématiques, Techniques Mathématiques, Gestion et Économie, Lettres et Philosophie, and Langues Étrangères, all delivered in Arabic apart from the French and foreign-language subjects themselves.

That changes the moment a student enrolls in a public university science, medicine, or engineering program. Lectures, textbooks, and exams in these fields run mostly in French, a language most students have studied for years as a subject but rarely used to learn physics, chemistry, or anatomy.

Why the mismatch exists

Algeria's arabisation policy moved primary and secondary teaching from French to Arabic in stages starting in the 1970s. Universities never made the same full switch. Science faculties kept French because textbooks, research literature, and staff training stayed French-based, and no full-scale replacement of materials followed the secondary-level policy. Education researchers describe the jump into French-medium university science as a linguistic shock for new students, felt most sharply in first-year science and medicine courses, according to research published in an Algerian academic journal .

Where French still dominates at university

• Medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry beyond first year

• Engineering and applied science faculties

• Science faculties: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics

• Economics and management, though this is shifting toward English in places

Humanities, Islamic studies, Arabic literature, and law faculties teach in Arabic, matching what students already studied through secondary school.

The 2022 Baccalauréat orientation reform

Ahead of the 2022 Baccalauréat cycle, Algeria's Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research issued a circular on pre-registration and university orientation, adopted after consultation between the ministry and regional university conferences. The reform widened how weighted averages count toward orientation and split the mathematics and computer science stream into two separate tracks for first-year placement, according to the Ministry's 2022 minimum admission averages . That reform changed how students get placed into science tracks. It did not change the language those tracks teach in.

The move from French toward English

Since 2022, Algeria has run a parallel policy to reduce reliance on French in university teaching and build English capacity in its place. The government has trained academic staff in English through degree programs, language centers, and a dedicated digital platform, aiming to connect Algerian universities more directly with English-language research and international partners, according to the Anadolu Agency , which reported a target of 30,000 teachers trained through the digital platform. By September 2024, over 58,000 teacher-researchers, out of roughly 73,000 nationwide, had undergone academic English training, according to Algerie-Eco .

The shift started in fields such as information and communication sciences, political science, economic sciences and management, and physical and sports sciences. Algeria's Ministry of Higher Education then mandated that starting the 2025-2026 academic year, all first-year scientific coursework in medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy be taught entirely in English rather than French, requiring B2-C1 English proficiency from instructors. Upper-year medical coursework, core engineering, and most other hard science faculties remain mainly in French, on a slower, progressive rollout tied to teacher training levels.

Choosing your track

• Strengthen your French before university if you are heading into science, engineering, or economics, since French still carries most of these faculties.

• Build English skills regardless of your track. First-year medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy now run in English from 2025-2026, and reforms since 2022 are steadily expanding where English applies elsewhere.

• Check your target faculty's current teaching language directly with the university. The transition runs field by field, not as a single national switch.