Back to school 2023: ANEPAC welcomes the effective resumption of activities in schools

Classes resumed on Monday, September 4, 2023, in public and accredited private schools across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In Kinshasa, many students returned to school. This was confirmed by Nyiminyimi Kwete Musa, president of the National Association of Teachers in Private and Accredited Schools of the Congo (ANEPAC). He made this statement during an interview with the press on Monday, September 4, 2023. “The minister gave the go-ahead this Monday. The new school year has indeed begun throughout the entire Congolese national territory. We thank the parents who sent their children to school and the teachers who stepped up to ensure that everything resumed as usual,” he said. According to him, other parents were unable to send their children to school on this first day, largely due to the current economic situation. “The social circumstances of some parents explain the slow start in certain schools. There are some parents who haven’t been paid yet. What matters isn’t that the start of the school year is slow, but rather that it’s happening. That’s why we’re delighted,” he explained. He continued, “Education is a national responsibility, not a private one. Accredited private schools do not have their own separate country, their own minister, much less their own inspection system. As institutions that organize education in the private sector, we must support the minister and the government in the reforms they are undertaking to ensure quality education.” As a reminder, Minister Tony Mwaba himself launched the 2023–2024 school year on Monday, September 4, 2023, under the theme “Improving the Quality of Education Through Good Governance and Accountability.” Bruno Nsaka