Minister of Education Mohamed Ali Boughdiri said his ministry has mobilised all the necessary means to ensure a successful and safe start of the school year 2023-2024, pointing out that 2,356,630 students will return to school this year, up 2.8% compared to last year. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Boughdiri pointed out that the number of classes had increased by 0.6%, or 547 additional classes, in addition to the rise in the number of schools (11 new schools) to a total of 6,139. He also mentioned a 0.5% increase in the number of teachers (747 additional teachers) to a total of 156,234 at primary, middle and high school levels. As part of its efforts to prevent pupils from dropping out of school, the Ministry of Education is committed to providing school meals to 450,000 pupils in 2023-2024, compared to 285,000 pupils last year, and to increasing the number of pupils benefiting from school transport, especially those living in remote areas. He said that the number of pupils living in schools host
els had increased to 26,400, compared with 26,082 last year, while the number of hostels this year was 292, compared with 289 in the 2022-2023 school year. In addition, the Minister of Education recalled the various measures taken by his ministry regarding the integration of substitute teachers into the ministry’s data platform, the increase in substitute teachers’ salaries (from TND 750 to TND 1250) over 12 months instead of 10 as of the new school year, adding that it had been decided to put an end to all forms of precarious work. Boughdiri announced the launch of a national consultation on the reform of the education system on September 15, calling on all stakeholders to participate and express their opinions on the education reform.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse