I grundskolen er der i snit 37 elever pr. lærer, men i afsides egne kan der nemt være over 100 elever i en klasse – regeringen har aldrig prioriteret undervisning i kæmpelandet midt i Afrika
KINSHASA, 14 November 2011 (IRIN): Access to basic education in the DR Congo (former Zaire) remains poor, with up to seven million children out of school – despite a 2010 government decision to make primary education free.
DR Congo is still struggling to overcome the effects of wars that raged between 1996 and 2003, compounded by continuing violence in the east of the country and decades of corruption and poor governance.
The seven million figure was contained in the preliminary findings – reported by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – of a study conducted by the congolese government with the UK Department for International Development and the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF.
It said 25 percent of the primary school-aged children and 60 percent of adolescents were not enrolled in classes.
The free education directive is supposed to cover the whole country except the capital, Kinshasa, and the city of Lubumbashi.
– Even with the announcement of free primary education, parents, many of whom are unemployed and have little means of sustaining themselves, are bearing most of the costs involved in educating their children because of delays in releasing the funds for free education, Ornelie Lelo, communications officer for an education NGO in the capital, SOS Kinshasa, told IRIN.
More private schools than public schools in Kinshasa
Representatives of teachers’ unions and officials of NGOs dealing with education issues told IRIN the quality of education offered in public schools stayed low because teachers were poorly paid.
– Since independence [in 1960] to date, the government has not prioritized school expansion and building of new institutions, Lelo said, adding:
– In Kinshasa, for instance, the number of public schools is much lower than private schools: 29 percent are public while 71 percent are private.
Government statistics for 2009-2010, drawn up with help from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UNICEF, suggest the gap in the capital is a little narrower, at 37 versus 63 percent for primary schools and 39 versus 61 for secondary ones.
Almost 74 percent of primary teachers are qualified versus 33 percent at secondary level.
Education officials have expressed concern over the severe shortage of teachers in public schools. In primary school, the national average is one teacher for 37 pupils, according to the national statistics, but in marginalized or rural areas, there can be more than 100 pupils per class.
According to UNESCO, at least 10 percent of primary teachers are aged over 55, the official retirement age.
With financial support of the Spanish development agency (AECID), UNESCO is researching teachers’ conditions so as to work with government education officials to devise plans to improve them.
Land grabs
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