NEW DELHI: With only five percent of its people able to speak “good English”, Algeria has invited Indians to teach the language in its universities, according to the envoy of the largely Arabic and French-speaking North African nation.
Some 100 institutes affiliated to 13 Algerian universities need nearly 250 English teachers and his government is keen to have Indian educators, Ambassador Mohammed Hacene Echarif told IANS in an interview.
But why only teachers from India?
“Indian education standards are very high. Our government is highly impressed with Indian teachers who have great educational advantage in subjects like English, science and mathematics,” Echarif said.
The embassy has asked the government to get them candidates who will be offered a monthly salary of 2,000 euros, free accommodation and transport with a three-year contract and “good annual increment”.
“But they will have to bear the difficult Algerian conditions. Politically there are no problems at all. But weather can be tough,” said the envoy.
More than 90 percent of the area in the Muslim-dominated country with over 36 million population is covered by the Sahara desert. With huge difference in day and night temperature, the midday desert heat can get unbearable and the nights can get from cool to chilly, said the envoy of the largest country in Africa, the Arab world and the Mediterranean.
Interested candidates can apply for the job directly with the Algerian embassy in Delhi. They will be interviewed by a panel of experts from that country before the start of the session in September.
The contract will be valid for three years but can be extended.
“Only five percent of the Algerian population can speak good English. We hope Indian teachers can help us in popularising the language,” said the envoy.
The envoy said that there were already some 3,000 Indian workers in his country who had proved to be “good, well behaved and friendly”.
“Their behaviour is good. They are highly regarded in our society. They are hardworking. And that is another reason why we want to have more Indian workers in our country.”
Echarif said Algeria also wanted to “reduce its dependency on the West”.
“India has a huge man power resources. We want to tap it and invite more Indian skilled workers in the near future,” he said.
The embassy’s first secretary Faycal Sifodil told IANS that the Algerian health ministry was likely to enter into an agreement with its Indian counterpart under which “hundreds of Indian doctors and hospital managers will be offered jobs in Algeria with handsome remunerations”.
Algeria is not the only country that is looking at Indian teachers, who have been the focus of many nations over the last few years, particularly in the wake of globalisation and the advent of the Internet.
There are many Indian teachers in the UK, US and the Middle East. (IANS)