After Kinshasa, Tony Mwaba sets about rearming the morale of Central Kongo's school heads

There is no rest for the National Minister of Primary, Secondary, and Technical Education (EPST). Following his visit to the city-province of Kinshasa, Professor Tony Mwaba Kazadi has launched a new series of morale-boosting and motivational sessions for the heads of public and accredited private schools in the interior of the country. On Wednesday, July 19, 2023, he met with officials from three educational provinces in Kongo-Central. The venue chosen for the ceremony was the Loma Technical and Vocational Institute in the Mbanza-Ngungu Territory.

In his remarks, the head of the EPST emphasized the rationale behind his initiative, which stems from the unfortunate observation that contact between leadership and the rank-and-file has broken down. He reiterated the responsibilities of school administrators and the official directives aimed at ensuring the sustainability of free public primary education and the revitalization of the sub-sector through a relentless fight against all forms of anti-values in schools, in order to meet the expectations of President of the Republic Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo.

Professor Tony Mwaba Kazadi, the initiator of this meeting, emphasized that the three educational provinces of Kongo-Central are hotbeds of the much-criticized anti-values within the EPST, notably the misuse of operating funds allocated to schools, corruption, and the rape of female students. He issued a final warning before announcing a series of sanctions that will specifically target those who refuse to comply.

For all cases of abuse in schools, the minister has instructed school principals to report them by contacting the Ministry’s Call Center via SMS or WhatsApp at 0840018006 or through the toll-free number, 178.

Professor Tony Mwaba also called on officials in the region’s education sub-sector to familiarize themselves with the handbook, which outlines the various official guidelines for the proper management of both public and private schools. He thanked them for their attendance and encouraged them to commit to this new approach to their work.

At the end of the ceremony, the head of the EPST traveled to Mbuela Lodge in the city of Kisantu, where he will officially launch, this Thursday, July 20, the evaluation process for the addendum to the Bibwa Memorandum of Understanding signed on November 21, 2021, between the Congolese government and the union federation.

Christian BELLA