Education: the Great Reform Curve

How can I best explain the new guidelines from the Ministry of National Education and New Citizenship? That was the question on my mind when I came across a post by Tridia, who is working on the following research topic: “Can the Democratic Republic of the Congo Afford to Decolonize Its Curriculum? An Economic Analysis of Language and Content Reforms.” In her post, she commended the Ministry for making numerous documents available online on our websites. What a godsend! This is the perfect opportunity to explain how, since June 2024, we have enriched the Ministry’s policy and programmatic framework with a portfolio of reforms that simultaneously address the supply and demand for education, quality, and the resilience of the system. The Strategic Foundation: From the SSEF to the Five-Year Plan The structuring of the Congolese education system began with the Sectoral Strategy for Education and Training (SSEF 2016–2025). As the sector’s guiding document, it was developed through a collaborative and participatory process involving several ministries at the time. The strategy aimed to guide government action and coordinate interventions over a ten-year period, with the goal of building an inclusive, high-quality education system that contributes to national development, the promotion of peace, and active democratic citizenship. It is structured around three main pillars: access (promoting a more equitable education system), quality (creating the conditions for quality education), and governance (establishing transparent and effective management). To achieve these objectives, the SSEF is implemented through concrete programs, ranging from the universalization of free primary education to the renewal of school curricula, including the strengthening of governance (Education Information and Management System – SIGE, accountability) and the integration of peace education and risk management. While the SSEF laid the foundations for the system, the inauguration of the Suminwa 1 Government in June 2024 marked a decisive acceleration in the implementation of reforms, materialized through the development of the Five-Year Plan (2024–2029). This guiding framework aims to transform the education system under the banner of a vision that is “inclusive, equitable, modern, and resilient.” It is structured around five major strategic objectives: improving access to and equity in quality education, strengthening the professional development of teachers and inspectors, integrating information and communication technologies (ICT), and promoting a new sense of citizenship. To achieve these objectives, the Five-Year Plan is based on five clear priority areas: modernizing infrastructure and digital equipment; revising school curricula and providing ongoing staff training; streamlining administration and coordinating with Technical and Financial Partners (TFPs); integrating civic values; and utilizing artificial intelligence and developing skills for sustainable development. This transformation is supported by diversified funding (public resources, support from TFPs, and innovative mechanisms such as crowdfunding) while ensuring the rationalization of expenditures. In essence, this plan is a call for commitment from all stakeholders to collectively succeed in this transformation. Professionalizing stakeholders: continuing education In line with the Five-Year Plan, which prioritizes the professional development of teachers, the National Policy on Continuing Education for Secondary School Teachers (PNFCES) 2025–2029 has been developed as a normative and operational framework. This policy establishes continuing education as both a right and an obligation for the teaching profession, with the objectives of improving the quality of learning, ensuring equity, adapting skills to reforms and ICT, and harmonizing practices at the national and provincial levels. The PNFCES entrusts the implementation of this strategy to the General Inspectorate, through the National Training Service (SERNAFOR), while establishing a multi-level governance structure that encourages partnerships. By professionalizing teachers’ continuing development, it establishes a direct and essential link between training, career advancement, and the overall quality of learning. Improving Access and Quality of Life for Students: School Meals As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the education system, the Five-Year Plan goes beyond teacher training. It also incorporates key initiatives to improve students’ learning conditions, as evidenced by the DRC’s recently approved National School Feeding Strategy (2025–2030). This is a multisectoral framework. School feeding is considered an essential lever for improving access to education, student retention, and learning outcomes by ensuring a daily, healthy meal made from locally produced food. The operational assessment identifies logistical challenges and the need for stable funding, while the strategy defines the roles of the government and partners (PTF, private sector) to ensure the program’s sustainability and quality control along local supply chains. Ensuring the system’s resilience: education in emergency situations Building on the priorities of the 2016–2025 SSEF and in response to recurring resilience challenges and risk prevention/management policies, the Ministry has placed particular emphasis on protecting the right to education during times of crisis. It is within this context that the Strategy for Education and Training in Emergency Situations (SEFSU) 2025–2029 was developed. This document serves as an operational roadmap to ensure the continuity of education, the protection of learners, and the quality of learning, even in crisis contexts. The strategy is based on three clear main priorities: ensuring continuity and protection (temporary learning spaces, psychosocial support); guaranteeing quality and adaptation (adjusting content to the realities of crises); and finally, strengthening governance and coordination (planning and Monitoring & Evaluation tools). By institutionalizing a capacity for educational anticipation and response, SEFSU “shields” the system so that the gains from other reforms are not undermined by external shocks. Strengthening governance: streamlining the Management Offices All of these strategies (PNFCES, School Feeding, SEFSU) target the quality of education, access, and the resilience of the system. To ensure the effectiveness of these upstream investments, it is essential to ensure robust administrative and financial governance, which is one of the priority areas of the Five-Year Plan. With this in mind, we have accelerated another major structural reform: the streamlining of Administrative Offices. An Administrative Office (AO) is a structure that provides administrative, educational, financial, and asset management—either directly or indirectly—for public schools managed by the state (non-contracted schools) and by religious denominations (contracted schools). Their rationalization aims to transform the administration into a more coherent, efficient, and fully functional system—a necessity for consolidating free primary education and ensuring its future expansion. It addresses the problems caused by the unplanned proliferation of MBs, a source of inefficiencies, overlapping tasks, and a lack of transparency in resource management. The objective is clear: to optimize the use of human and financial resources, clarify roles and responsibilities, and put an end to irregular hiring and assignments that burden the state budget and compromise educational support for schools. To implement this essential regulatory step, the Ministry established strong regulatory measures in March 2025. These texts (decrees) now define rigorous criteria for the creation of Public Educational Institutions and Administrative Offices, establish a strict validation procedure at all levels of governance (putting an end to the phenomena of “New Unit” (NU) and “Unpaid” (NP)) and set provisional staffing frameworks for better control of administrative personnel numbers. Ultimately, this rationalization reform serves as a fundamental lever for a more effective and efficient educational administration, ensuring the long-term viability of other policies and directly contributing to improved learning outcomes for all students. Securing the School System: New Procedures for Obtaining Official Decrees In addition to the rationalization of administrative offices, the Ministry has addressed another source of inefficiency and corruption: the unregulated establishment of schools and the practice of obtaining official decrees through bribery. For a long time, the phenomenon of schools operating without legal status, or with fake accreditations, has undermined the system’s credibility and artificially inflated the number of unpaid teachers (NP). To put an end to this unhealthy tradition and ensure that educational provision is both legal and sustainable, the Ministry has just published a new Manual of Procedures for the Establishment and Accreditation of Public and Private Schools. This manual establishes a process of transparency and quality control integrated into the reformed system. For public schools, for example, the procedure is now multi-tiered and rigorous, requiring successive approval from the Sub-Provincial Committee, the Provincial Education Committee, the Provincial Technical Rationalization Committee (CTPR), and, finally, the National Technical Rationalization Committee (CTNR). By making the legal existence of any school contingent on these clear validation mechanisms, the Ministry ensures that only institutions that truly meet the needs of the school zoning plan and the criteria for viability (infrastructure, qualified staff, equipment) can be established. This reform is an indispensable corollary to the PNFCES (which guarantees teacher quality) and the Rationalization of BG (which controls staffing levels), as it safeguards the very scope of the national education system against fraud and opportunism. Modernizing Certification: The State Exam in the Digital Age For all previous reforms—from teacher training to securing schools and administrative offices—to bear fruit, it is essential that final assessment and certification be indisputable and transparent. This is the role of the major reform of the State Exam, which integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its processes, thereby bringing the digital pillar of the Five-Year Plan to life. This modernization has resulted in a complete transformation of the value chain: the adoption of AI and decentralized grading centers has enabled rapid and fair grading of exams, putting an end to long waits and speculation that undermined confidence in the results. As a crowning achievement, the diplome.cd platform now guarantees the availability of secure, digitized e-diplomas. Each graduate has an academic credential that can be verified online via blockchain, which permanently eliminates the problem of fake diplomas and positions the Congolese education system as a credible and modern one on the international stage. Ensuring Resilience and Equity: Distance Learning (EAD) In addition to modernizing certification and to ensure that the inalienable right to education is effective for every citizen, the Ministry has officially institutionalized Distance Learning (EAD). This founding act was formalized by Decree No. MINEDU-NC/CABMINETAT/002/2025 of February 3, 2025, which organizes and regulates this new strategic teaching modality within the national system. DLE is positioned as an essential solution for students facing difficulties with in-person schooling, targeting those residing in remote or hard-to-reach areas, students with disabilities or chronic illnesses, or those affected by emergencies, crises, or forced displacement. Aware of the realities of the digital divide, the program is resolutely inclusive: learning is delivered not only via digital platforms, but also through offline media such as educational radio and television programs, as well as the distribution of printed workbooks. The Supporting Measures for Distance Learning have just been published. They provide the framework for this reform, ensuring that these learning pathways are recognized and lead to certification, guaranteeing a quality comparable to in-person instruction and thereby reinforcing our vision of a more resilient and equitable education system. Conclusion It’s true, the article is long! But this detailed presentation of each document and each reform was essential to understanding the scope and depth of the strategic shift undertaken by the Ministry of National Education and New Citizenship since June 2024. Far from being a simple collection of isolated policies, this portfolio of reforms demonstrates a truly integrated and systemic approach. Whether it involves training teachers to improve quality (PNFCES), streamlining administrative processes to ensure governance (Rationalization of BG and School Decrees), or ensuring resilience in the face of shocks (SEFSU and EAD), each action addresses a clear objective of the Five-Year Plan. Digitization, exemplified by the modernization of the State Exam and the e-diploma, is not an end in itself, but the powerful lever that makes this transformation transparent, measurable, and sustainable. Congolese education is now equipped with the legal and technical tools necessary to guarantee equity, access, and excellence for all its citizens, thereby building the country’s future. And the work continues! “We are the national education system; we are preparing our children’s future; we are building the nation.” P.S. Please note that all these documents are available on the Ministry’s website and our official platforms. We invite you to review them and make them your own. Raïssa MALU Minister of State, Minister of National Education and New Citizenship