°®Âþµº

said Thursday that it has hired for its primary schools, as the country continues to step away from theÌýuse of French, associated with the old colonial overlords.

The new teachers, hired during a recruitment drive this summer, would receive training from next week to prepare themÌýfor the upcoming academic year,ÌýÌýBoualem Ben Laour, inspector-general for the Algerian education ministry.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in JuneÌýÌýEnglish toÌýbe taught at primary school level from the 2022-23 academic year, which begins on 21 September - a few weeks later than usual.

Regions of Algeria began their for English teachers at the beginning of last month.

There had been questions as to whether Algeria would be ready in time,Ìýbut Ben Laaour said the education ministry was "ready"Ìýfor the change.

Algeria, a former French colony, has been stepping away from the use of French at its institutions. Algeria'sÌýculture ministry earlier this year thatÌýArabic would replace French as its official language.

Neighbour country Morocco has also seen campaigns for French to be Ìýin educationÌýfor the more globally usedÌýEnglish.

The shift has taken place amid ,Ìýthough theseÌýappear to have somewhat afterÌýFrench President Emmanuel Macron visited Algeria last week.

"French is the spoils of war but English is the international language," TebbouneÌýhad said in a interview in July.

It remains unclear if the introduction of English at primary schools will have an affect on when French lessons take place.

Previously, English was only being taught from secondary school onwards.

Algeria has .