DR Congo Students Protest For Schools To Reopen

Hundreds of secondary school students demonstrated outside the Democratic Republic of Congo’s parliament on Thursday, calling for lessons to resume three weeks into a teachers’ strike.

“We want to study,” The students chants as they stormed up the steps into the debating chamber where they met with the Parliament deputy speaker.

Congolese schools officially reopened on October 4, but lessons are yet to begin in many institutions as teachers have been striking for higher wages.

Schools minister, Tony Mwaba has warned those participating in the protest that they could be struck off the payroll altogether and He has so far not responded to an opposition senator’s proposal to replace strikers with new teachers.

President Felix Tshisekedi made free primary-school education central to his policy since September 2019, at an estimated cost of $2.6 billion per year — compared with a total government budget of almost $7.0 billion in 2021.

Pressure group Fight For Change has said that “free education is suffering from a lack of planning,” and called on the government to find “appropriate temporary measures to save the new school year”.