At the end of August 2024, tensions are rising in Kinshasa as the Synergie des enseignants du Congo announces its intention to boycott the start of the school year scheduled for Monday, September 2. Faced with a persistent crisis situation in the national education sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo, teachers are mobilizing to demand an improvement in their salary conditions.
The decision to boycott the start of the school year was taken at a general assembly bringing together various stakeholders in the education sector. Jean-Bosco Puna, Secretary General of SYECO, stressed that this decision is motivated by the chronic low salaries of teachers for many years, as well as by the government’s failure to take into account the legitimate demands of education professionals.
Despite a recent compromise reached during a joint committee, teachers consider the government’s proposals insufficient, particularly with regard to salary increases. They believe that these measures do not guarantee a satisfactory quality of education in the DRC.
The Synergy of Teachers of Congo is therefore requesting that the start of the school year be postponed until September 23, in order to allow time for their salary demands to be better taken into account. This strike movement underlines the importance of teachers’ working conditions in ensuring a solid and quality education system for future generations.
This situation highlights the challenges facing the Congolese education system, and underlines the urgency of taking concrete measures to promote the teaching profession and guarantee decent working conditions for these key players in the development of Congolese youth. We hope that satisfactory solutions will be found to allow a peaceful resumption of school activities and meet the legitimate aspirations of Congolese teachers.