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Algeria Opens Remote University Degrees to Prison Inmates

3 November 2026 · Algeria Now

Algeria Opens Remote University Degrees to Prison Inmates — Photo : newarab.com (adresse collée)

ALGIERS — Inmates in Algerian prisons will be able to follow remote bachelor's and master's programmes from Wednesday, when the 2026-2027 academic year officially opens for detainees at the University of Continuing Education, a public institution specializing in distance learning.

A launch ceremony is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Bouchaoui rehabilitation institution. It will be overseen by the Director General of Prisons and Reintegration Administration, who represents the Minister of Justice, and by the director of the university, Prof. Yahia Djaafri.

The initiative is meant to let detainees continue their studies at different levels and complete an academic path while serving their sentences. Its stated aim is to support their social and professional reintegration after release. The announcement does not specify how many inmates are enrolled or which disciplines are offered.

Education behind bars is not new in Algeria. The 2005 law on the organization of prisons and the social reintegration of detainees makes rehabilitation, rather than punishment alone, a core objective of the penal system, and the prison administration regularly points to schooling and vocational training as the means to achieve it.

Distance learning addresses the most practical obstacle to higher education in custody: detainees cannot travel to lecture halls, and universities cannot easily bring classrooms into prisons. Lessons delivered remotely, under the supervision of the prison administration, allow inmates to follow a regular university curriculum without compromising security arrangements.

For the Ministry of Justice, the programme fits a broader effort to prepare detainees for life after release, when a university qualification can improve the chances of finding work. The ceremony on Wednesday is expected to give a first indication of how the scheme will operate in its opening year.

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