Haut-Katanga 1: the government plans to build a public school with a capacity of over 5,000 pupils

A delegation of education officials from Kinshasa is visiting Lubumbashi to learn about the project to build a large school, which the Congolese government plans to construct so that students in Lubumbashi can also benefit from free public primary education. Led by Daniel Ebondo Kashama Khom, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Minister of Primary, Secondary, and Technical Education (EPST), the delegation traveled on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, from downtown Lubumbashi to the Plateau Trois neighborhood in the Lubumbashi 4 educational subdivision to visit the construction site. Following this exploratory visit to the massive building—which features a total of thirty-nine classrooms, a multipurpose hall, two playgrounds, and teachers’ lounges constructed of reinforced concrete—Daniel Ebondo Kashama Khom explained that the Minister of EPST, Professor Tony Mwaba Kazadi, who remains aware of the growing demand for school infrastructure, is committed to doing everything possible to increase the number of public schools in order to bring free primary education to every corner of the country—a flagship vision of President of the Republic Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo. The director of the Haut-Katanga 1 educational province, Joseph Mwinkeu Tshiend, welcomed this initiative organized by the Minister of EPST, Professor Tony Mwaba Kazadi, who delegated his close associates to gather detailed information on the project to build a large school that will allow parents to send their children to primary school free of charge. He also noted that the Lubumbashi 4 educational subdivision has only one public school, and that this new school would help resolve the overcrowding issue observed in public schools on the outskirts. The National Director of the Fund for the Promotion of Education and Training (FPEF), Guy Lombela, stated: “To support and advance the Head of State’s vision, funds will be mobilized for the construction of this school.” It should be noted that this delegation consisted of the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (EPST), the Director of School Infrastructure, the Director General of the FPEF, the Legal Advisor to the Minister of EPST, the PROVED, the IPP, the DIPROCOPE, and the DIPROSERNI. Dan de Dieu Kayanda and Birhashwirwa Cheta