PAAF: launch of the modernization of pedagogical follow-up 30 years on

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is taking a new step forward in educational monitoring by revamping its methods for observing classroom practices, more than three decades after the last update. The previous tool used, the C3—an educational monitoring form—had never been adapted to educational reforms or to pedagogical and technological innovations. Today, with the support of the Girls’ Learning and Empowerment Project (PAAF), the Ministry of National Education and New Citizenship is launching a new tool designed to standardize educational monitoring in all schools across the country. To ensure its effective rollout, a workshop is taking place from October 22 to November 1, 2025, in Mitendi, on the outskirts of Kinshasa. This meeting aims to design a training module for inspectors and other education stakeholders to strengthen their skills in using this new tool. “This approach aims to strengthen teachers’ skills, encourage pedagogical innovation, and foster a culture of constructive assessment,” explains Ms. Rose Leta, head of the Continuous Teacher Development subcomponent of the PAAF project. The system will be rolled out at all school levels—preschool, elementary, general secondary, and technical secondary—to reduce the proliferation of existing tools and harmonize observation practices, notes Zephyrin Sumbi, Principal Inspector at SERNAFOR and workshop facilitator. This initiative represents a major step toward quality education, focused on teacher performance and improved learning, for the benefit of all Congolese students. Marie Shomba