Perspectives on Technologies in Hard-to-Reach Areas: An Opportunity for Inclusive Education for Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Our panel looks at a topic of critical importance: Perspectives on technologies in hard-to-reach areas: an opportunity for inclusive education for children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The DRC is a large country in Africa in both geographical size (2,345,000 km2) and demographics (with a population of more than 100 million inhabitants, the vast majority of whom are young people under 25 years old). This large and young population has a significant impact on education. In 2020-2021, the Ministry of EPST, through the DIGE (Directorate of Information for Education Management), registered more than 28,253,003 students and 1,101,667 teachers. Unfortunately, given the various economic and logistical challenges facing the DRC, there are still a large number of children, particularly from marginalized groups (girls, children living with disabilities and those from indigenous Batwa communities) who do not go to school. Others are unable to complete the school year due to difficulties in accessing education centers or the inability to obtain the necessary supports for a quality education.
The vision of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo is the construction of an inclusive and quality educational system that contributes effectively to national development, the promotion of peace, and active democratic citizenship. To materialize this vision, the Government adopted, in 2015, the 2016 Education and Training Sector Strategy-2025 (SSEF), which covers the entire education sector.
The COVID 19 pandemic raised awareness of the many difficulties of access to education and the obvious limits of face-to-face mode teaching in general. The National Education Framework Law No. 14/004 of February 11, 2014 retained the option of Open and Distance Education in response to the various challenges mentioned above.
The number of isolated initiatives that have existed in this area of distance education are not controlled or monitored and thus encounter many difficulties. The government is now establishing a mechanism to manage all existing online education systems under a single platform.
This panel will present innovative projects that use technology to overcome the obstacles described above.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Bethany Lynn Mulimbi, USAID

Individual Presentations

• Distance Learning Media in the DRC: Challenges and Opportunities - Jessica Mputu, Vodacom DRC; Grace-Attalie Masamba, Kinshasa Digital SAS

• Using New Technologies to Improve Access to Quality Education for Girls - MUSHAGALUSA GANZA WILFRED, PAAF

Discussant

• Bethany Lynn Mulimbi, USAID