Tony Mwaba engages private sector players in improving the quality of education

The Minister of Primary, Secondary, and Technical Education (EPST), Professor Tony Mwaba Kazadi, chaired an important meeting to review the resolutions of the Roundtable on Accredited Private Schools, a forum that focused on improving the quality of education—a priority for both the public and private sectors. This working session, which brought together various unions of teachers from accredited private schools, the National Association of Private School Promoters, and the National Association of Parents of Students in Congo, in the presence of the Secretary General of the EPST and the Inspector General of the EPST, highlighted what has already been accomplished and what remains to be done regarding the Roundtable’s resolutions.   Speaking first with the authorization of the head of the EPST, the Director-Head of the Department of Administration for Accredited Private Schools, Pierre Munday, presented the results of the quarterly evaluation of the follow-up to the Round Table resolutions, starting with the follow-up plan for the various resolutions and moving on to the results of the evaluation of those resolutions. He also discussed the review of the draft decree establishing a specific observatory for accredited private schools, while presenting the draft decree establishing the partnership consultation framework for this category of schools. Speaking second, the National President of the National Union of Teachers of Accredited Private Schools, Alain Kyesse, first thanked Minister Tony Mwaba Kazadi, whom he praised, noting that it is only since the privatization of education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1975 that private school teachers now feel valued.   "This gives us the courage and enthusiasm to say that we currently have significant influence within the EPST. Since 1975, there has never been a roundtable discussion to address the issue of teachers’ salaries. And today, we are participating in high-level meetings, the EPST summit, where private-sector teachers are represented to discuss their social conditions. "Those who were forgotten yesterday feel honored to be approached by the government to also address the issue of improving their working conditions with the aim of achieving quality education in our country," he said.   Alain Kyesse further emphasized that there are resolutions that have not yet been implemented to this day. He noted, among other things, the refusal by the promoters of accredited private schools to sign employment contracts with their teachers, as well as the collusion observed between the promoters and CNSS inspectors when teachers’ social security contributions—duly withheld at source—are not paid into the fund after verification. In light of what was discussed in the meeting room, the head of the EPST instructed that, from now on, to sign a ministerial decree approving a private school, the sponsor must provide all documents required by law, as well as lists of teachers, their employment contracts, and copies of their voter registration cards. Without these, no school will be granted accreditation. For existing schools, Professor Tony Mwaba specified that they must comply with this requirement; otherwise, their students will not be admitted to the State Examination or will be transferred to schools that are in good standing and compliant.   In conclusion, the minister invited the Director-Head of the Department of Accredited Private Schools to involve the Deputy Inspector General of the EPST in charge of Accredited Private Schools, the unions, Congo’s parent-teacher associations, and school operators in drafting the documents to be discussed at the next meeting, with a single objective: to improve the quality of education in the DRC.