Algeria: The teaching of Tamazight declining in several provinces

According 360.com Algeria ,
The Secretary General of the High Commission for Amazigh (HCA) , Merahi Youcef said Thursday that the teaching of the Amazigh language recorded a decline in several provinces of the country .
Merahi , speaking during a press conference held at the Department of Bouira , lamented that " the teaching of the Amazigh language at the national level knows some regression in particular at certain wilaya , to like that of Algiers .
" In Algiers , the situation of this course is very precarious , given the small number (47) taking courses in Amazigh students and is even more critical in the Biskra where the only class that was teaching Tamazight students was closed , " he has said , attributing this to " a number of deficiencies , including the optional nature of the teaching of Tamazight . "
" The teaching of Tamazight should be mandatory as well as the Arabic language in order to promote the language and improve the quality of education," he said , it was " essential " the establishment of schools to train teachers in that language.
For the promotion of the Amazigh language , the speaker emphasized the need to teach in primary schools "in order to train teachers in the future , which requires time and resources."
Mr. Merahi noted, however, that progress had been made since the introduction of the teaching of the Amazigh language in schools since 1995 to date. "At this time , we only had 200 teachers and 37,000 students but now the numbers have increased to 2013 , more than 1,000 teachers and about 340 , 000 students at the national level " , he was glad.