The city of Kalemie, located in the Tanganyika region, was the scene of a significant event at the beginning of September. Indeed, the region’s public schools did not open their doors as planned on this first day of the school year. Teachers, responding to the call for a strike launched by the union bench, chose to make their voices heard and ask the government to respect its commitments to the educational profession.
The situation was palpable from the morning, when the Bakita 1 and 2 primary schools found themselves almost empty of their usual teachers. Only a small number of teachers had shown up to carry out a technical inspection, leaving the classrooms deserted. Faced with this unexpected emptiness, about sixty students in uniform waited in vain in these establishments, out of a total of more than 2,000 students. After a few hours of fruitless waiting, the heads of the establishments, aware of the situation, took the decision to send the students home and ask them to return the next day.
The same scene was repeated in other schools such as Maendeleo 1 and 2, where the absence of teachers prevented the smooth running of classes. At Lycée Amani, a Catholic school, the students, motivated and determined, went en masse for this new school year, but finally had to turn back due to lack of supervision.
This teachers’ strike reflects a deeper malaise within the Congolese education system. Education professionals feel neglected and are demanding more respect and better remuneration for their crucial work in training future generations. The government is now facing a major challenge: that of responding to the legitimate demands of teachers in order to ensure quality education for all students in the country.
Let us hope that this situation will serve as a trigger for constructive discussions and concrete actions in favor of education in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Because, in the end, it is the future of an entire nation that is at stake in the classrooms of Kalemie and beyond.