Algiers 1 University

Public university in Algiers, Algeria

The University of Algiers (جامعة الجزائر), commonly called the Algiers 1 University or Benyoucef Benkhedda (link=no), is a public research university based in Algiers, Algeria. Founded in 1909 from the amalgamation of different institutions, it has become the oldest and most prestigious organised university in the country.

The historical tradition of higher education in Algeria began in 1832, with the creation of the Higher School of Letters of Algiers, as a way to guarantee the teaching of Arabic and French languages, in the context of the French conquest of Algeria. In 1849 the institution opened campuses in Oran and Constantine, and was formally integrated into the regular French education system on 20 December 1879. Subsequently, the Superior School of Medicine and Pharmacy was created in 1833 (officialized on 4 August 1857); in 1868 the School of Sciences, and; in 1879 the School of Law. All were based in the city of Algiers. In 1909 all educational institutions were turned into faculties. Soon after, in the same year, the faculties were united to form the University of Algiers. The destruction of these books and the library was reported in the Arab world as a tactic of war or dirty war, known as scorched earth. Egypt, Iraq and Jordan condemned the arson and issued repudiation notes. It showed the savagery of the anti independence movement would extend to removing and indeed destroying culture so long as Algeria intended to create its own national culture. The 1971 higher education reform abolished the college system and grouped the different disciplines by affinities into departments and institutes. The reform decrees the progressive Arabization of the disciplines, starting with certain classes in the social sciences (initially, philosophy and history). On 12 December 1998, the college system was re established.

The library holds 800,000 volumes.