Consolidation of free primary education: Wednesday declared a day of itinerancy in public and private schools, as well as management offices

Every Wednesday will now be dedicated to visits to accredited public and private schools, as well as to administrative offices, across all educational provinces of the country.

This is the gist of a circular signed on March 4, 2023, by the Minister of Primary, Secondary, and Technical Education (EPST), Professor Tony Mwaba Kazadi.

This decision, he explains, is part of an effort to consolidate and ensure the long-term sustainability of free primary education, as well as to combat all forms of anti-values in these schools.

“I therefore urge all ministry officials to dedicate this day to field activities to monitor the implementation of all official instructions,” the document states.

He adds, “This applies to you, Madam Secretary General, Mr. Inspector General, ladies and gentlemen National Directors and Heads of Departments, the Proveds, the IPPs, the Diprocopes, the Inspools, the itinerant inspectors, the sub-proveds, as well as the DINACOPE branch heads.”

These individuals are required to report to their respective superiors after each inspection tour.

The supervisory authority emphasizes that this report must identify the problems encountered, the corrective and enforcement measures taken, and, where appropriate, submit proposals to superiors.

It should be noted that these inspections cover all educational provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

It should be noted that this circular from Minister Tony Mwaba comes at a time when his ministry has intensified the fight against anti-values in schools in order to consolidate the free primary education decreed in 2019 by President Tshisekedi.

To date, this measure has brought more than 5 million children—who were previously excluded from the Congolese education system—back into the system.