Algeria’s Education Minister Rejects Claims Philosophy Has Been Removed from Secondary Schools
Mohamed Seghir Saâdaoui says philosophy remains an integral component of Algeria’s secondary education curriculum, dismissing reports of its removal and reaffirming the subject’s role in cultivating critical thinking following public debate sparked by an opinion article.
By Dr. Hana Saada
ALGIERS — Algeria’s Minister of National Education, Mohamed Seghir Saâdaoui, has rejected claims that philosophy has been removed from the country’s secondary education curriculum, responding to a public debate triggered by an opinion article warning of the subject’s alleged exclusion from schools.
The controversy emerged after writer and researcher Karim Djedi published an article entitled “A Letter to the Minister of Education: Excluding Philosophy Is a Declaration of the Death of Reason.”
In a statement posted on his personal Facebook account, Djedi said he had received both a telephone call and a personal written response from the minister addressing the concerns raised in the article. He described the initiative as reflecting “a spirit of responsibility and transparency,” adding that such direct engagement helps bring public administration closer to journalists and citizens while strengthening confidence in state institutions.
According to Djedi’s account of the minister’s response, Saâdaoui said he had addressed the questions raised “with full responsibility,” expressing surprise that some educators had participated in the public debate without first consulting the ministry’s official decisions, relying instead on what he described as inaccurate information circulating publicly.
The minister reaffirmed that philosophy continues to occupy an essential place within Algeria’s secondary education system, stressing that the subject remains a key component in developing students’ critical thinking skills.
He explained that the ministry’s latest curriculum adjustments were designed to reinforce core subjects within each academic stream rather than eliminate philosophy. Under the revised framework, the weighting coefficient assigned to philosophy has been increased for third-year students enrolled in the Literature and Philosophy stream, while the subject continues to be taught in other streams as part of the core curriculum during the second year of secondary education, retaining its previous coefficient.
Saâdaoui also urged the public to consult the official decisions published by the Ministry of National Education before drawing conclusions regarding curriculum reforms.
Concluding his response, the minister posed a rhetorical question: “Has philosophy really been removed?” He maintained that the reports circulating on the issue do not reflect the substance of the ministry’s official decisions and expressed hope that future discussions on educational policy would be conducted with greater accuracy, discernment and reliance on verified official information.
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