World DRC: Cenco warns of the difficulties of setting up free schools

© AFP PHOTO / Diatezua HANNAH Students from Notre-Dame school in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

The implementation of free primary education is stalling. The National Episcopal Conference of Congo (Cenco), which had already sent Felix Tshisekedi in June 2020 a memorandum in which it recommended prerequisites for the success of this reform, returned to the charge this Wednesday through a press conference. The Catholic bishops paint a gloomy picture of the situation and suggest possible solutions.

With our correspondent in Kinshasa, Patient Ligodi

Overcrowded classrooms, insufficient school infrastructure, more than 60,000 teachers who work without being paid by the Congolese state. Cenco notes that "the management of free basic education suffers from a leadership deficit within the education sector".

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Lack of long-term vision, planning and budgeting, she says, is leading some schools to resort to unusual practices to pay teachers.

“In some places, we thought of employing children who are of a certain age. They are minors! It’s unfortunate. They produce songs that are sold for the benefit of teachers to prevent parents from paying ", denounces Father Donatien Nshole, secretary general of Cenco.

To finance the reform, Cenco recalls some of its proposals: "Support free education through alternative funding through taxes for the benefit of education, private sector funding contributions transparently managed by commissions held by stakeholders and educational partners. "

The episcopate therefore asks the government to urgently look into this matter.