Echoes across languages suggest a notable decline in the level of students from Congolese schools, particularly public establishments. A reality that the government cannot ignore. Faced with this observation, the Ministry of Primary, Secondary and Technical Education (EPST) is firmly committed to meeting this challenge. This new school year promises to be crucial.
Since September 4, Congolese schools have reopened their doors, inaugurating a cycle which, traditionally, will end on July 2. This return to school is placed under the sign of educational excellence. Tony Mwaba Kazadi, the Minister of EPST, clearly stated this during the start of the school year, then during an exchange with the media the same evening.
This year’s leitmotif can be summed up in one sentence: “Improving the quality of education through good governance and accountability”. For Minister Mwaba, the priority is no longer just the implementation of free education. “We are not here just to establish free service, but to consolidate and perpetuate it,” he insists.
The objective is twofold: on the one hand, to sanction those who oppose this measure, and on the other hand, to guarantee that future generations also benefit from it.
One of the side effects of this free provision is the massive influx of students into public primary schools, which the minister considers as proof of the success of this policy. However, it also recognizes the imperative need to build more schools, a project the government is already planning to implement.
Moreover, 9,280 new schools are on the agenda, at the rate of 8 establishments per territory, part of a development project covering the 145 territories. These infrastructures are directly aimed at raising the level of education, as well as improving the working conditions of teachers.
“The establishment of recruitment mechanisms based on competitions, the increase in salaries, the initial and continuing training of teachers are all steps that we are considering,” confirms Tony Mwaba.
However, the start of the school year on September 4 did not go off without a hitch. If some parents have difficulty providing the necessary things for their children, other regions are hit by much more serious problems. Thus, the province of North Kivu suffers from insecurity linked to armed groups, leading to massive internal displacements. In other provinces, such as Irumu, teachers have gone on an indefinite strike in response to late payments. In Maï-Ndombe 3, three months of unpaid salaries pushed teachers to boycott the start of the school year.
As the school year has barely begun, these challenges highlight the complexity of the Congolese educational landscape.
Emmanuel Kuzamba
Source: Original article published on the blog Fatshimetrie.org. To read the full article, please click on the following link: [Article link]