PDL 145 T: 1,230 schools already built ( Félix Tshisekedi)

The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, delivered his State of the Nation address before both houses of Parliament, meeting in joint session, on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, at the People’s Palace. In his address, the President revealed, among other things, the number of schools built to accommodate the influx of more than 5 million students returning to school thanks to the introduction of free public primary education in September 2019. "To improve the quality of education and ensure the effective implementation of free primary education, given the growing number of students—which has increased by 5,000,000 since 2019—1,230 schools have been built as part of the Local Development Program in 145 territories," said the Head of State. He also highlighted the various efforts undertaken by the Government and its partners to build additional new schools as part of various projects. "1,031 schools have been built by the Government of the Republic and 175 by technical and financial partners," he emphasized. Félix Tshisekedi also welcomed the launch of the program supporting free education, called "No School Without a Desk." This program, led by Minister Tony Mwaba, has been implemented throughout the Republic with the free distribution of desks in schools, President Tshisekedi stated. As a reminder, Professor Tony Mwaba Kazadi, Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, in his speech at the UNESCO podium on Monday, November 13, in Paris, praised free education while placing particular emphasis on the growing number of newly built schools and the number of school-age children who have returned to school since the effective implementation of this measure, which was enacted four years ago. Glodi Mboma