USAID/DRC’s education portfolio increases access, equity, retention, and improves the quality and relevance of education for Congolese children and youth.

In DRC, ⅓ of school-age children don’t attend primary school. However, free primary education became a reality during the 2019/20 school year. Despite the challenges it poses, it has enabled more than 4.5 million children to join school. Right after the policy’s implementation, classrooms were overcrowded, as the number of students increased while the number of teachers tended to decrease. Student–teacher ratios thus became untenable. The main reason was that teachers who were not on the payroll now lost their main source of income, which was parents’ financial contributions.

Projects work in tandem with the Ministry of Primary, Secondary, and Technical Education, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Youth, and Ministry of Vocational Training and Trades. USAID/DRC partners with local civil society organizations, the private sector, and both formal and non-formal education centers. Each intervention integrates indigenous populations, girls’ education, and disability rights.

ELIMU NI JIBU YA USAID (EDUCATION IS THE RESPONSE)Family Health International 360 (FHI)/International Rescue Committee (IRC)

August 2020 - August 2025; $38,000,000Elimu Ni Jibu ya USAID supports the learning needs of children and youth living in crisis and conflict-affected communities of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu. They also deliver rapid education services in other provinces.

CATALYZE EDU-FINANCE Palladium/Opportunity International

January 2021 – September 2024; $6,000,000Catalyze EDU-Finance increases investment in the low-cost private education sector, strengthens the viability of schools to offer access to equitable education, and increases learning outcomes of disadvantaged children, especially girls. USAID APPRENDRE TOUS ENSEMBLE! (LET’S LEARN TOGETHER!) Education Development Center (EDC)/IRC/Alfalit International April 2021 - March 2026, $25,000,000USAID Apprendre Tous Ensemble ! improves literacy and socio-emotional skills for underrepresented and marginalized children ages six to nine, including indigenous groups, girls, and children with disabilities in Equateur, Tanganyika, and Maniema, with a focus on both non-formal and formal learning.

SASA TUNASOMA! (WE’RE READING!) Save the Children/World VisionApril 2021 - March 2026, $12,000,000Sasa Tunasoma! strengthens the education ecosystem in the catchment areas of Uvira and Kalehe of South Kivu. It builds literacy and socio-emotional skills for young children, especially indigenous groups, girls, and students with disabilities, with a focus on both non-formal and formal learning.

TRAINING TEACHERS AND CHANGING COMMUNITIES (TEACH) Planet Aid/Humana People to PeopleJune 1, 2015 – September 30, 2022; $500,000To advance teacher professional development and improve the quality of education, USAID’s American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) is improving campus facilities at the Mbankana Teacher Training College in Kinshasa Province. The project is constructing and furnishing classrooms and staff accommodations, drilling a borehole to provide a permanent, reliable water source, and building toilets. 

Original source can be found here.