The development began with the expeditions and missions that followed the Berlin Conference (1885) on the partition of Africa. These missions were both political and religious. As evangelisation expanded among local populations, formal education emerged with the aim of training, transforming and developing society.

Despite broader metropolitan interests, progress made by these missions helped reveal communities and cultures through travel on major rivers, despite significant risks. From the Atlantic coast, Belgian explorers and colonists reached the mouth of the Congo River and followed its tributaries, establishing their first administrative, communication and cultural hubs in major population centres.

Administrative outposts first developed the economy, then created mass education centres. The main steps that shaped the history of education in Congo were organised into evolving periods and events that marked how it was managed.

Major milestones

• Pre-independence Congo (colonial period: Belgian State)
• Post-independence Congo (1960 to today)
• Evolution of the education system

Pre-independence period

I.a. The arrival of missions

Soon after the Congo was opened around 1906, the Belgian colony introduced mass education. Evangelisation by missionaries taught Black people to read and write. The Gospel aimed to replace the diversity of small gods found in African statuettes with faith in one God, the Father of Jesus Christ. This was the beginning of the path of education.

I.b. Learning centres

In 1926, training became increasingly organised and was turned into learning centres—mass gatherings on sites of large population centres. Women were taught on one side for domestic education, and men on the other with a focus on vocational training.

I.c. Vocational and craft training centres

Around 1930, a first agreement was forming between the Belgian State and Protestant and Catholic Churches; missions already had a strong impact on Congolese education. The first centres were gradually set up in many places.

They were located mainly in provinces in the central basin:

• Bas-Congo: Kimpese, Kisantu, Lemfu, Ntumba, Gombe Matadi
• Bandundu: Mbewo, Beno, Mukila
• Équateur: Mbandaka, Lisala, Bansakusu
• Oriental Province: Kisangani, Mombasa
• Kasaï Occidental: Ilebo, Mweka
• Kasaï Oriental: Lodja, Sankuru

I.d. The era of major reform

Between 1935 and 1940, several centres and vocational hubs were renamed and turned into craft trade schools and lower secondary schools.

I.e. Structured education

Between 1945 and 1950, on the eve of independence, lower secondary and craft trade schools trained complete Congolese intellectuals able to run administration and pass on what they had learned. The vocational school level ended with a D3 title equivalent to D6 (today’s State diploma), while the lower secondary level ended with a diploma equivalent to a higher institute graduate.

Post-independence period

From 1960 to 1971, overall education policy was broadly similar, with a common feature: schools were organised by the State and the State fully funded pupils and teachers. As a result, teacher credibility and the quality of teaching were high.

The different names of the Ministry

From its creation to today, the Ministry of Education and New Citizenship (“EDU-NC” today) has changed its name several times over the years. The summary table is as follows: