Tony Mwaba hands over rehabilitated buildings at E.P. 1, 2, 3 and 4 Matonge

The Minister of Primary, Secondary, and Technical Education (EPST), Professor Tony Mwaba Kazadi, officially inaugurated the brand-new buildings of Matonge Primary Schools 1, 2, 3, and 4, located in the municipality of Kalamu, in the Kinshasa-Funa educational province. The rain that fell on Thursday, February 28, 2024, did not spoil the event; the ceremony took place as planned in the presence of several education officials, teachers, and students from these schools.

In his speech, Minister Tony Mwaba emphasized that the rehabilitation of these schools, which were previously in a state of severe disrepair, is one of the achievements of the first term of the President of the Republic, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, alongside the reform establishing free primary education.

"The rehabilitation of these schools is one of the achievements of the Head of State’s first term, during which he introduced free public primary education. And this free education, beyond its benefits, has left us with unintended consequences, notably overcrowding of students in classrooms due to infrastructure that is either nonexistent or dilapidated. This has prompted us to implement a small emergency project, initiated by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (EPST) and carried out by the National Directorate of School Infrastructure and Construction (DINAC). "The project involves the rehabilitation of all our major official schools that once educated many of us but have been abandoned today, as is the case with the school buildings we are officially reopening today," stated the head of the EPST.

The minister noted that funding for this renovation was made possible through operating funds allocated to the National Directorate for the Construction, Maintenance, and Management of School Infrastructure (DINAC). 

"We did not receive funding from external sources or from an external partner," he said.

Continuing his remarks, Professor Tony Mwaba also noted that this renovation—which remains a directive from the President of the Republic—applies to public schools in Kinshasa and all other provinces of the country, in order to enable students to study in optimal conditions.

"We have decided that across the entire country, all our major public schools will be renovated to make them competitive so they can offer our children a quality education. We started in Kinshasa with six major public schools that were targeted. A few weeks ago, we inaugurated the Mama Sifa Primary School in Kinkole, and on Monday we will be in Lemba," he said.

At the end of his remarks, the head of the EPST called on the administrators of Primary Schools 1, 2, 3, and 4 in Matonge to manage these schools with due diligence, as from now on, these institutions will be designated as model schools and will also receive the operating funds corresponding to this category of schools.

Built in 1957, Primary Schools 1, 2, 3, and 4 in Matonge had long been the subject of ridicule. Today, thanks to the renovation of these schools, carried out by DINAC in partnership with the Fund for the Promotion of Education and Training (FPEF), the Ministry of EPST has just restored its image in the municipality of Kalamu.

These renovated schools have enrolled more than 1,300 students this year, a 40% increase compared to last year, providing a positive solution to the problem of overcrowded classrooms—one of the unintended consequences of free primary education in public schools.

Christian BELLA