DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS FOR THE DRC TO 2050: SPECIAL REPORT

The DRC's education system is a hybrid of public and religious schools, showing improvements in adult literacy and gender parity, particularly in primary education. However, the system suffers from low completion rates, poor educational quality, and significant underfunding, with government spending at 2.5% of GDP in 2019. While the 2019 implementation of free primary education has increased access for 2.5 million children, concerns remain regarding the government's capacity to fund the estimated US$1 billion annual cost. The World Bank has provided US$1 billion in loans and grants to support education and health, specifically targeting the poorest provinces.

• The DRC has seen a rise in adult literacy (ages 15+) from 61.2% in 2007 to 79.5% in 2019, with forecasts suggesting a rate of 98% by 2050.
• Educational completion rates are very low across all levels, with approximately half of university students dropping out before their third year. Key obstacles include malnutrition, the transition from mother tongues to French, and financial constraints, which 64% of households cited as the primary barrier in 2018.
• Free primary education in public schools was implemented in September 2019, granting access to an additional 2.5 million children. However, this creates a funding challenge for the government, as costs for teachers' salaries and other expenses are estimated to exceed US$1 billion annually.
• Gender parity in education has improved, most notably in primary education where the parity ratio rose from 0.81 in 2007 to 0.99 in 2019. Secondary parity rose from 0.5 to 0.70, and tertiary parity improved from 0.35 to roughly 0.60 in the same period.
• The quality of education in the DRC is poor, ranking 40th out of 44 African countries. This is attributed to a shortage of skilled teachers, obsolete equipment, and overcrowded classrooms. The sector is underfunded, with 2019 government spending at 2.5% of GDP, compared to a sub-Saharan African average of 4.3%.
• In June 2020, the World Bank approved US$1 billion in loans and grants, with US$800 million dedicated to the free primary education programme in the poorest provinces, including Kinshasa, East, and Centre, and US$200 million for health emergencies in 14 provinces.

APA

Yeboua, K. (2023). DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS FOR THE DRC TO 2050: SPECIAL REPORT. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/drc&topic=06-education

Chicago

Yeboua, Kouassi. DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS FOR THE DRC TO 2050: SPECIAL REPORT. Institute for Security Studies, 2023. https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/drc&topic=06-education.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Yeboua |first1=Kouassi |title=DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS FOR THE DRC TO 2050: SPECIAL REPORT |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=15 May 2023 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/drc&topic=06-education |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yeboua2023development, author = {Yeboua, Kouassi}, title = {{DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS FOR THE DRC TO 2050: SPECIAL REPORT}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/drc&topic=06-education}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }