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One Reason Millions of Congolese Children Don't Go To School: Fees Parents Can't Afford
While cash
may be a little tight around the holiday season, there are some basic expenses
most families don't have to budget for. That includes, for example, having to
pay fees every day simply for our children to go to school.
But in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where I am today, thousands of
struggling moms and dads are still paying school fees even although the
country's government has ordered them to be abolished and is fully committed to
free school education.
Sadly, the noble aspiration has yet to become an everyday reality. An estimated
11 million families still have to pay for their children to have an education.
Almost 75 percent of school finance still comes from ordinary families, and the
average fees are $44 per year, per student. The tragic result of that is that
40 percent of pupils drop out of education before they have even finished their
primary schooling.
Charging for school shuts millions of children out of a basic
chance to learn. Denied the oxygen of opportunity, they will never obtain
skills that are needed for work in a country that, if well-educated, has
enormous natural resources to exploit. Charging for learning is one of the
reasons why the Democratic Republic of Congo has, out of all African countries,
the second largest out-of-school population at 3.5 million children. One out of four children never
start primary school, and only
60 percent of those
who start actually complete their primary education - among girls, it's only 30
percent. Most of these children cannot afford to continue school because their
parents cannot meet the costs. Thus, another generation loses the chance to
better itself.
So this week, I met with the president to discuss an ambitious
plan to make schooling free and universal for everyone by the end of next year.
I have seen with my own eyes why it is essential. On the way to the meeting, I
travelled along roads with dozens of school-age boys and girls walking
aimlessly, some of them begging -- all of whom should be in a classroom,
learning basic skills that will equip them for the rest of their lives. The DRC
education budget has risen from 6.5
percent to 13.8 percent in the past two years. And while teachers' salaries
have increased, the national coffers of one of the poorest countries in the
world are big enough only to pay teachers a paltry $90 per month.
Think about that. That's an average pay of $3 a day, or 37 cents an hour, even
for a qualified teacher. This is unacceptable not only in the West but
everywhere. Parents are asked to pay school fees to top off the teacher
salaries, and even then, it is still not a living wage.
You may think that charging poor people to go to school is a vicious idea that
should have been left behind in the 19th century but the Democratic Republic of
Congo will need an extra $500 million simply to complete the abolition of
school fees.
And as its population inevitably grows, the DRC will also have to find the
money to increase primary school capacity by 50 percent over the next 10 years.
At the same time, they have to pay to construct classrooms urgently needed
today in the most remote rural areas. On top of that, they have to provide the
books and equipment, including computer technology, that are now essential for
children to have the best possible start in life.
The costs indeed are daunting and might deter a government less committed than
today's DRC President, Prime Minister and Education Minister. But as they
recognize, the consequences of doing nothing are far, far worse. The U.S.
Agency for International Development and the U.K. Department for International
Development recently signed an agreement to implement a bold, five-year $180
million program to help nearly half a million children in the DRC go to school
and another 1.4 million learn to read by 2020. The Global Partnership for
Education has also recently joined the coalition now assembling to back the
education ambitions of the DRC with $100 million over four years.
But the international community will need to do more in the new year if, by
December 2015, no child is to be denied the right to go to school or to face a
closed classroom door because her parents are not able to pay a fee.
Sourcing
for statistics: Department for International Development, United Kingdom
(2014). "Overview of Education in DRC." London: Department for
International Development.
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Why Africa Realities Media Is Different
Africa Realities Media speaks to Africa and to the developed world. Many abuses facing African people are committed by African states and ruling elites, but they are often protected by international silence, lobbying, public relations, trade interests, migration deals and unequal global accountability. While governments pay lobbyists to present a good image abroad, ordinary African people continue to face violence, hunger, disease, poverty, repression and exclusion. We challenge the normalisation of African suffering and demand equal truth, equal justice and equal protection.
Pourquoi Africa Realities Media est différent?
Africa Realities Media s’adresse à l’Afrique et au monde développé. De nombreux abus subis par les peuples africains sont commis par des États africains et des élites dirigeantes, mais ils sont souvent protégés par le silence international, le lobbying, les relations publiques, les intérêts commerciaux, les accords migratoires et une responsabilité mondiale inégale. Tandis que des gouvernements paient des lobbyistes pour présenter une bonne image à l’étranger, des Africains ordinaires continuent de faire face à la violence, à la faim, aux maladies, à la pauvreté, à la répression et à l’exclusion. Nous contestons la normalisation de la souffrance africaine et exigeons une vérité égale, une justice égale et une protection égale.
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Africa Realities Media is an independent African accountability platform based in London. We report, analyse and challenge the systems that shape African suffering, silence African victims and protect abusive power.
We are not here to repeat diplomatic language. We are here to ask the questions that are often avoided: why are African deaths treated as normal? Why are African victims given less urgency? Why are governments that imprison, exclude, displace or kill their own people protected when they serve powerful international interests?
Africa Realities Media gives space to writers, researchers, experts, activists, community voices, campaigners, analysts and people with lived experience who want to contribute thoughtful, responsible and courageous content about the changes needed in the region, as well as the political, economic, cultural and social African realities that are often ignored, minimised or misrepresented.
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