State exams in the DRC: participation fees too high for parents of students
The ordinary session of the 2023 State Examination begins on Monday, June 26, 2023, marking the end of the 2022-2023 school year in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This year, parents of finalist students must pay 31,000 FC (about 16 USD) as participation fees. Although budgeted, these financial contributions are collected by each Provincial Principal Inspectorate in its jurisdiction, and managed by a provincial committee, supervised by the Provincial Director.
However, many schools have not yet paid this fee, which poses a problem for parents of students at these schools and raises questions about the usefulness of this participation fee. It is therefore interesting to ask where this money is allocated.
Indeed, some heads of establishments pointed out that these costs are used to cover the various stakeholders: heads of centers and assistants, supervisors, supervisors, heads of line, judicial police officers assigned to the centers of transfer, etc.
Steve Mbikayi, the former Minister of Higher and University Education, had already asked for the abolition of these participation fees because of its budgetary impact and the fraud that surrounds his organization.
For four days, the high school finalists will take their national exam, which always poses a challenge for them. Is the ministry considering a long-term modification of these participation fees to allow students to focus on their academic success rather than financial contributions?
The ordinary session of the State Examination is the last activity of the certification tests of the school year, which will end on July 1st. Hoping that students can pass their exams in the best conditions, we wish them good luck for this important stage of their school career.