School activities resume in a climate of peace

On Sunday, October 6, 2024, the main teachers’ unions decided to end the disruptions to school activities that had been ongoing for nearly four weeks in certain public schools across the country. This situation, which nearly brought the subsector to a standstill, was resolved thanks to the Minister of State, Minister of National Education and New Citizenship (EDU-NC), Raïssa Malu, who has been closely monitoring the situation.

Upon her return to Kinshasa, on Saturday, October 5, following an official mission, the minister convened an important meeting that same evening with union representatives from the Intersyndicale, SYECO, and SYNECAT to address the various concerns of teachers. These discussions are part of her vision to maintain an ongoing dialogue to ensure social peace within the sub-sector.

During this working session, Raïssa Malu placed particular emphasis on the commitment of Head of State Félix Antoine Tshisekedi and Prime Minister Judith Suminwa to improving the socio-professional conditions of Congolese teachers. She recalled the agreements reached in Bibwa during the meetings of the Joint Government-Union Commission in August 2024 and noted that, to date, the government of the Republic has already fulfilled more than 70% of its commitments.

While commending the firm commitment of both parties to placing children at the center of all educational efforts, Minister of State Raïssa Malu urged union delegates to remind teachers who had not yet returned to the classroom to report to their respective schools as of Monday, October 7, 2024, in order to resume teaching students as usual.

The union representatives were very respectful and responded favorably to the call from the head of EDU-NC.

Christian BELLA