PERSE launches awareness-raising workshops in Kinshasa on the rationalization of schools and management offices

The Project for Equity and Strengthening of the Education System (PERSE), funded by the World Bank, launched a series of awareness-raising workshops on the streamlining of schools and administrative offices on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. On this first day in Kinshasa, the event brought together the directors-general of the central services of the Ministry of Primary, Secondary, and Technical Education (EPST). Speaking on the occasion, Godfrey Talabulu, a human resources specialist at PERSE, first took the opportunity to recall the context in which the PERSE project was established, namely “to support the constitutional provision for free primary education implemented by President Félix Tshisekedi in 2019.” According to this expert, World Bank funding could only be secured if the DRC government met a certain number of Disbursement-Linked Indicators (DLIs). The streamlining of schools and administrative offices, for example, falls under DLI 3. “The ideal here is to manage staffing levels in both schools and administrative offices not only at the national level but also in the provinces. There should be no overlap; everyone within the EPST, like pieces of a puzzle, should have a clear idea of what they need to do,” said Godfrey Talabulu. Augustin Kalume, division head at the Directorate of Teacher Training and Administrative Offices (DIFORE-BG)—the EPST unit overseeing this reform—emphasized the need to streamline staffing and structures within schools and administrative offices. According to the field study, there has been an “increase in school administrative offices and staff in these offices, excessive staffing levels in administrative offices, a mismatch between job profiles and requirements, the creation of administrative offices in violation of relevant standards, and poor service quality,” revealed Augustin Kalume. He also addressed the potential impact of this streamlining on free primary education. “Since the government has eliminated parental contributions at the primary level—contributions that used to account for up to 73%,” he explained, “it is now obligated to streamline its resources to effectively cover the costs of schools, primary school teachers, and the operating expenses of schools and administrative offices,” he added. It should be noted that this series of awareness-raising sessions on the streamlining of schools and administrative offices spans four days and is initially aimed at the directors and heads of central services at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, national coordinators, unions, parent committees, as well as technical and financial partners. Bruno NSAKA