Protests-hit Algeria puts students on holiday

ALGIERS: Algeria’s higher education ministry on Saturday brought forward university holidays, as authorities seek to quell protests against ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term.

The spring break will run from March 10 to April 4, according to a ministerial order, rather than March 21 to April 5 as scheduled.

Students have been at the heart of demonstrations since last month against Bouteflika’s bid to extend his 20-year rule, with campuses serving as rallying points. Teachers and students at several universities have gone on strike, while others had pledged to begin striking on Sunday.

The family homes of many students are long distances from university campuses, which will be closed over the holidays. Algeria has more than 1.7 million students, of whom nearly 630,000 are housed on campuses.

The president -- whose rare public appearances since a 2013 stroke have been in a wheelchair -- has vowed not to serve a full term if re-elected in the April 18 poll, but students have rebuffed the concession.

On Friday, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Algerian cities in the biggest demonstrations yet against his rule.