Clean-up of the education sector payroll: more than 700,000 employees to be paid in March 2026, including 624,081 teachers

On Friday, April 3, the Minister of State, Minister of National Education and New Citizenship, presented to the Council of Ministers a progress report on the cleanup of the payroll database for the education subsector. She also provided an update on the measures implemented to ensure the payment of the tuition-free bonus.

Launched in January 2026, this internal verification and correction process concerns the payroll database developed by the National Directorate for Control, Payroll Preparation, and Teacher Workforce Management (DINACOPE). It follows several consistent reports revealing administrative, technical, and financial irregularities that could affect the reliability of the payroll file as well as the accuracy of salary allocations.

Minister of State Raïssa Malu clarified that this initiative does not replace the ongoing government audit but rather constitutes an initial step toward ensuring sectoral reliability in a sensitive area, both from a budgetary and social perspective.

As of March 2026, the payroll database listed 700,249 paid employees, including 624,081 teachers. Of these, 11,697 work in preschool, 378,017 in elementary school, and 234,367 in secondary school. In addition to these staff members, there are 76,168 administrative employees.

Regarding the irregularities identified, 32,732 elementary school teachers had, as of January 2026, experienced unauthorized deductions from their free education allowance. Corrective measures were implemented as early as February, allowing for their resolution.

However, persistent anomalies were identified in March 2026. Thus, 788 primary school teachers had still not received their free education allowance, while 33,938 others remained underpaid.

Furthermore, cases of off-target payments were identified. These included 470 preschool and secondary school teachers who had improperly received the free education bonus, as well as 148 administrative staff members who were improperly funded through social welfare budget lines.

In response to these irregularities, several precautionary, administrative, and disciplinary measures have been taken to secure the processing of the database, put an end to non-compliant practices, and strengthen the chain of accountability. The objective is to preserve the social impact of free primary education and ensure the integrity of public spending.

Ivan Honoré Mudiangombé