Exetat 2024: On the final day of the competition, the finalists reveal their career ambitions

High school seniors completed the 2023–2024 state exam on Thursday, June 27. In a street interview conducted by the Communications Management Directorate of the Ministry of National Education in the Kinshasa-Lukunga educational province, they clearly expressed their ambitions regarding their future careers. Although they all studied the same track during their school years, the seniors have mixed opinions regarding how they plan to structure their professional lives. Tombo Masuangi, a student in the humanities track at the Institut de la Gombe 1, who hopes to pass the state exam, plans to build a career in computer engineering. "After these exams, since I’m already very skilled in computer science, I’ll go straight into the computer engineering program at the university because it’s a field I plan to dedicate myself to much more," he said. Mweka Sapocho Prina, a student in the humanities track at Mgr. Shaumba High School, is not interested in any field other than law. She says she was inspired by her father’s career as a public prosecutor. "I plan to study law at the university. It has always been my dream to pursue this field because my father is a public prosecutor, and it is from him that I have this desire to one day be called a lawyer," she stated. Some exams drained the ink from their pens They hope to pass, but at the same time they acknowledge that not everything went smoothly during the exams. The final-year students interviewed confirm that "some exams were really tough." "There was the physics exam—I’m not very good at physics, but I still tried to answer using the concepts I do know. The exam that put me at ease was the language section, because I’m really good at French,” said student Lushiku Ntumba from the Institut de la Gombe 1. He continued: “Overall, the exams went well; I’m so proud of myself—I did very well. Of course, there was some stress and anxiety, but God was merciful—we made it to the end. Now we’re just waiting to see what happens next,” he said. Marking of the exams is scheduled to begin on Monday, July 1, with results expected to be released around July 20, 2024. Willy Kambulu