DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: A BETTER LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR STUDENTS

Since 2019 the humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has deteriorated considerably. The country faces a multidimensional crisis characterized by recurrent armed conflicts, severe food insecurity, nutritional crises, population displacements, natural disasters and epidemics including COVID-19 and Ebola.

The first round of COVID-19-related school closures in March 2020 deprived 27 million children of access to education, and the country experienced a general decline in school attendance after the initial reopening in October 2020. School closures exacerbated education challenges in DRC with, for example, increases in teenage pregnancy and the number of boys recruited by armed groups in rural areas affected by conflict.

Crises have led to school facilities being directly destroyed. Others have begun collapsing because of insufficient investment. GPE provided a $20 million accelerated grant from 2020-2022 to help DRC with the construction of 440 classrooms, including sanitation facilities. The program aims to ensure access and continuous attendance to quality inclusive education in a safe and protective environment.

DRC has been a GPE partner since 2012 and has received nearly US$237 million in grants. The recent classroom construction contributes to the country’s wider efforts to increase access to basic education and increase the quality of learning for primary and lower secondary school students affected by crises.