Language is inevitably bound up with power relations and is intimately linked to individual and national identity. Where countries have been colonised and the coloniser’s language imposed, the issue of language becomes significantly more complex, sensitive and contested. An example is Algeria, which was a French colony for more than 130 years. After independence in 1962 Arabisation efforts intended as a vehicle for creating a national identity tried to eliminate all traces of gallicisation. The impact on Algerian society was significant. The efforts negated the existing cultural or sociolinguistic plurality of the country. Linguistically, many Algerians found themselves alienated. They had to adopt an official language, namely Classical Arabic, that had hitherto been confined to religious institutions and was foreign to the majority of the populace. Education was used to facilitate Arabisation and Arabisation policies were instituted at school and tertiary education levels. Many academics today view the exclusive use of Arabic, especially in higher education as limiting. Exposure to international discourses and trends is constrained when the predominant medium of engagement is Arabic. Using a modern language like French is seen as progressive and welcoming of multinational interaction. This article examines the language in education issue in Algeria from colonisation to the present. The article critiques the adoption of an ideological Arabisation approach to education and argues that a multilingual stance to education in Algeria would ultimately be beneficial and forward thinking.