Practical provision of the school sports and cultural activities calendar for 2025-2026

The Acting Secretary General of National Education and New Citizenship, Mr. Alexis Yoka Lapulinangu, approved on July 23, 2025, the practical arrangements for the calendar of sports and extracurricular activities for the 2025–2026 school year. This calendar was presented by the Directorate of Sports and Extracurricular Activities (DASP). To ensure a smooth start to the school year, the DASP is organizing sports and cultural activities in schools according to the following schedule: I. Preparatory Activities Before the Start of the School Year From Thursday, August 29, to Saturday, August 31, 2025: DASP meeting with the heads of the culture and school sports departments of the provincial divisions, as well as with the heads of technical units; DASP meeting with technical and financial partners; Exploratory visit to sports and cultural facilities in schools across the DRC, accompanied by the distribution of the official calendar. II. Sports Activities During the 2025–2026 School Year From Monday, September 2, to Monday, September 30, 2025: 1. Awareness-raising sessions for school principals, teachers responsible for sports and cultural activities, and student committees, conducted by technical unit heads under the supervision of provincial subdivisions; 2. Internal technical meetings in each school, organized by school principals, to prepare for interclass, inter-track, and inter-grade competitions in recognized school sports and cultural disciplines. Sports Activities in the Provinces First Quarter: Tuesday, October 1 through Friday, October 25, 2025: organization of interclass, inter-track, and inter-grade (elementary and secondary) competitions to form representative teams for each school; Monday, October 28, through Thursday, October 31, 2025: collection and submission of lists of representative teams by school, at the subdivision level, under the supervision of provincial and national authorities; Saturday, October 26, 2025: Official launch of the multidisciplinary interscholastic championships and cultural competitions. The opening ceremony will be presided over by the Minister of National Education and New Citizenship in a province of choice, and in the other provinces by local political and administrative authorities. Inter-term activities: From Saturday, November 2, 2025, to Friday, January 31, 2026: preliminary phase in the subdivisions, with elimination matches between schools to determine the champions of the interschool divisions (elementary and secondary); From Saturday, February 1 to Thursday, February 28, 2026: provincial phase featuring matches between subdivision champion teams, using a single-point system administered by each provincial office. Third quarter: From Saturday, March 1 to Saturday, March 22, 2026: playoff phase between provincial office champion teams, tailored to the specific circumstances of each entity; Monday, March 24, through Tuesday, March 25, 2026: placement matches; Thursday, March 27, through Saturday, March 29, 2026: provincial finals and award ceremonies for trophies and prizes in each discipline and category. All these activities will be organized under the patronage of the provincial governor, in accordance with his policy address and the applicable laws and regulations. Their implementation will be overseen by the Provincial Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the provincial committees of National Education and New Citizenship (EDUC-NC), and with the active involvement of municipal and local authorities. Consequently, all provincial officials of the Ministry are requested to comply with the provisions contained in the 2025–2026 school calendar. Marie-France Pala & Véronique Amboyalela