DRC: Free primary education controversy [The Morning Call]

Free primary education, a promise yet to be delivered in some institutions in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Some primary schools have began implementing the government directive though some Catholic schools which have signed agreements with the government continue to charge parents to pay for costs.

This is according to the country’s Teachers’ Union through its secretary General Cecile Tshiyombo who says “these schools continue to demand that parents pay fees. In North Kivu, there are still Catholic convention schools that require parents to continue paying for costs.”

When he took office in January, President Felix Tshisekedi pledged to allocate $2.6 billion to primary education, approximately 40 percent of the vast country’s annual budget.

His promise concerns more than 50,000 state primary schools and affects millions of children so far deprived of education because their families cannot afford the fees.