Message from the Minister of State, Minister of National Education and New Citizenship to the finalists of the 2025 State Examination in North and South Kivu

Dear graduating students, parents, teachers, and communities of North and South Kivu,

With just a few hours to go before the release of the State Exam results, I would like to address you with deep emotion and gratitude. You have demonstrated exemplary resilience in a context marked by war, insecurity, and suffering. Despite the violence that has cast a shadow of grief over our provinces, you were determined to prepare for and take this decisive exam. Your courage is a lesson for the entire nation.

The participation figures speak for themselves: 68,866 final-year students, including 32,391 girls, in North Kivu; 75,097 final-year students, including 34,092 girls, in South Kivu. These statistics illustrate your determination and remind each of us that, even in times of crisis, education remains a flame that no war can extinguish.

I warmly congratulate those who will be declared winners and urge them to continue nurturing big dreams—for their future and for a united and strong Congo. To those who did not succeed this time, I say: never lose hope. Every step, even one marked by failure, prepares the way for a new beginning.

My thoughts also go out to our children whom the war has deprived of schooling or drawn into armed groups, when they should have been among you. To them and their families, I express my deepest sympathy.

I thank the Head of State, His Excellency Félix Antoine TSHISEKEDI TSHILOMBO, for his vision and his constant commitment to education, particularly through covering the participation fees for all candidates from North and South Kivu. This measure is proof that, despite the difficulties, the country has not abandoned you.

I pay tribute to all those who, in conflict zones or areas under occupation, contributed to the organization and smooth conduct of these exams: inspectors, teachers, proctors, and communities. Your sense of duty and civic commitment made it possible for the exam to take place, even under extremely difficult conditions.

My gratitude also goes to our technical and financial partners, particularly UNICEF, for their support in delivering the exam materials and providing the logistics essential to holding the exams.

Dear graduates, dear compatriots,

The State Exam is more than just an academic test. It is a symbol of our unity, a thread that binds us together, from East to West, from North to South. It reminds us that we are one people, one nation.

We are the national education system; we are preparing our children’s future; we are building the nation.

Kinshasa, August 28, 2025

Raïssa MALU DINANGA

Minister of State, Minister of National Education and New Citizenship