CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by C. Goma Makaya, Congo Br., September 1998
THEME = EDUCATION
Overcrowded classrooms, unsatisfactory equipment, lack of
teachers.
The Congolese education system is in danger of becoming very perfunctory.
The system includes primary and secondary schools, and institutes of higher education. Nursery classes cater for children between 3-6 years old These schools and colleges (somewhat limited in number considering the population's needs), are mostly state-run. Private schools, private day nurseries and private child-care centres were nationalised in 1965. They were authorised to function once again, in 1990-91.
Teaching is done in French and this is a big handicap for those children who did not attend nursery schools French is rarely their mother tongue and they hardly ever speak it outside the classroom.
There are 3 levels in primary education:
* preparatory grades (CP1, CP2)
* elementary grades (CEI, CMI)
* final year (CM2)
At the end of this part of their education, pupils receive the elementary primary school certificate (CEPE). They then sit an examination in order to get into the 6th year of primary education. According to UNICEF, primary school education in the Congo has the worst record in Africa as regards the number of pupils doubling classes. The failure rate varies between 60% and 35%.
Girls come off worst of all. Cultural constraints do not make it easy for them either to succeed in school or even to stay in school for a long period. 65% of young people are illiterate, with girls being the most numerous.
Secondary education lasts for seven years. The first 4 year- period leads up to a certificate of studies covering this period: the second 3-year period leads up to the final School Certificate of Education examination. Purely academic subjects take precedence over technical subjects. Technical subjects are taught in private schools and colleges, but this branch of education is still in its infancy.
Tertiary education is pursued at Brazzaville University, the Congo's only university. The teaching is very perfunctory. The lecture hall with a capacity for 600, now accommodates more than 1000 students and the library almost non-existent even before the June 1997 war, has been completely destroyed. Since 1982, students receive a 30,000 CFA francs scholarship, but this small sum no longer covers their expenses.
The majority of the Congo's students and teachers are to be found in the state-run education system, which is responsible for setting the syllabus also used in the private schools. However, the public sector can't possibly meet all the demands.
Education in the public sector is not free, in spite of what people might think. Families pay school fees which sometimes are nearly 10,000 CFA francs in secondary schools and 5,000 CFA francs in primary schools. Furthermore, parents have to pay for the school books.
Presently, many schools are short of desks and benches. During the war, government schools were turned into shelters for disaster victims and the benches were used for fuel. Classrooms have no windows, so during the rainy season, lessons are constantly disrupted. The situation is even worse in the interior of the country - the floods which occurred in the north put a stop to all school activity.
Private schools are recognised by the State. They are run either by the Catholic Church or by private individuals. In big towns, they prosper because of the concentration of salaried workers and business people who are the only ones able to afford the costs. The growth of these establishments is breathtaking, but this rapid development is accompanied by a chaotic increase in costs which are spiralling. Private schools are prepared to accept: pupils who have been dismissed from state-runs schools; pupils who normally should repeat a year in state-run runs schools because they're not working; pupils who normally are too old to be in school.
Results seem to be better in private schools than in state-run schools. But a child can only get into a private school if parents have the means to pay. When totting up the bill to have your child privately educated, don't forget to add on the cost of schools supplies and "extras" to the already high admission fees - this makes it more expensive than government schools.
A well organised education system challenges many people, principally parents and teachers who are in direct contact with the pupils. Adequate school supplies are a "must" if the pupils are to make any progress. If the necessary material is not available, then education becomes difficult if not impossible. Unfortunately, this happens in the case of many Congolese children. In the Congo, the schools experience a lack of teachers. Their training is often incomplete and refresher courses rarely available. Classes are hopelessly overcrowded which makes serious teaching well nigh impossible. School buildings are old and inadequate especially in the interior of the country.
As regards educational methods, few books and textbooks are available for the pupils, which does nothing to help the quality of teaching. Teachers may have teaching diplomas, but what are they worth?
Project ARESCO is an aid project to boost the country's education system. The project is financed by France's cooperation programme and aims to improve the quality of primary and secondary education. In spite of this, the Congolese education system remains very perfunctory.
So...welcome to unemployment!
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1998 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement