Uneasy start to the school year – Congo Indépendant

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Teachers pretend they exist, but they don’t live. Their purchasing power is eroded by the devaluation of the Congolese franc and inflation. Parents struggle to find money to pay for school supplies, uniforms and other school expenses.

Gaston Mutamba Lukusa

Although the purse strings are tight, the government of the entire republic has set the date of September 2 for the start of the school year, not controlled by the evil Ugandan-Rwandan alliance, the M23 and Nangaa, or the AFC (Congo River Alliance). Kabila. It depends! But the teachers have another agenda. They pretend to exist, but they do not live. Their purchasing power is weakened by the devaluation of the Congolese franc and inflation. To this must be added the increase in the price of urban transport and traffic jams. Sapelipet! This explains that, on August 10, during the launch of the work of the joint syndicate-government committee in the Bibwa district of the N’sele commune, the teachers demanded a monthly remuneration of 500 dollars, the rate of the day before the start of the school year. It is this or nothing! Hell and damnation! Is this the last struggle? No one knows. Questions about the status of teachers, the abolition of salary zones, health care and the creation of school canteens are also on the agenda. Every year, the teachers’ unions accustom us to this type of activity. But after negotiations with the government, everything returns to normal. What goes around comes around! According to my friends who know what is happening in every corner of run-down Kinshasa, people’s living standards have dropped so much that pasta is cut in half and bars of soap are cut into three pieces at the market. The same goes for chicken thighs. The same goes for small jars of tomato sauce, tutti quanti… coma and trembling! It is no surprise, then, that the start of the new school year is not peaceful. Parents are having a hard time finding money to pay for school supplies, uniforms and other school expenses.

Raïssa Malu, Minister of National Education

As there are always those who fantasize that they lead in our country what all the neighbors and China covet, the Minister of National Education and New Citizenship, Raissa Malu, decreed on August 7 that tuition will be paid only in Congolese francs. As if that were not enough, she decided to ban the collection of tuition deposits before the start of the school year. Parents are free to buy school supplies, uniforms and sports clothing from the market of their choice. In addition, registration is free. The icing on the cake is that it stipulates that no entrance exams may be organized for new students, nor confirmation fees or re-registration fees may be charged to former students. Students cannot be excluded for national, racial, religious or economic reasons. “Thus spake Zarathustra.” For those who don’t know, this is a philosophical poem by Friedrich Nietzsche. He saw in the struggle between good and evil the real driving wheel of the development of things. Thus, the promoters of private schools will be able to live on fresh water. Anyway, let’s get on with it! On August 24, at the end of the work of the joint syndicate committee of the government and the banks, it was agreed to increase the monthly salary of teachers by 100,000 Congolese francs, that is, only 35 US dollars. Hell and damnation! In response from shepherds to shepherdesses, the Teachers’ Coalition will hold a general meeting on August 30 to assess the government’s response and take a stance for the start of the school year, which is at risk in the country. We say that true dialogue presupposes recognition of the other’s identity and activities.

General ML