The edition of the 2023 state exam officially began on Monday, November 26, thus marking the start of the end of secondary school exams throughout the national territory in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Minister of Primary, Secondary and Technical Education, Tony Mwaba Kazadi, kicked off the Mazzarero Professional Technical Institute, located in Katanda Territory, Kasai Oriental Province. The national education province of Kasai Oriental 1, meanwhile, has 23,592 candidates, including 8,124 girls.
Mr. Mbuyi Bukasa Aaron, Administrator of the Territory of Katanga, wished to express his satisfaction and his gratitude, on behalf of the population of his jurisdiction, for the choice of the Minister of EPST to have chosen their territory to launch the tests. Indeed, he underlined the importance and value that the state examination has for finalists from rural and urban settings.
Attention was also paid to the positive results of the effective application of free public primary education, which allows more than five million children to find their way back to school. The Minister paid tribute to the Head of State Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo for having concretized his will to put in place this measure, in accordance with article 43 of the Constitution of February 18, 2006.
In total, the ordinary session of the 2023 State Examination will welcome 1,002,806 candidates, including 411,621 girls, representing 41% of the total number. Candidates are distributed among 2,827 examination centres, of which 17 are located outside national borders. The same occasion will also benefit the tests of the ordinary session of the National Jury of the short professional cycle, which will welcome 5,447 candidates scattered through 275 test centers.
Ultimately, this edition of the state exam in the DRC demonstrates the authorities’ sustained desire to allow all students to benefit from quality education and to give them equal opportunities for their future.