Democratic Republic of the Congo Language of Instruction Country Profile
The Ministry of Primary, Secondary, and Vocational Education (Ministère de l'Enseignement Primaire,
Secondaire et Professionnel, or MEPSP) is responsible for overseeing primary education, including
setting the national primary curriculum. As of 2011, the national primary school curriculum covered five
domains: languages; mathematics, science, and technology; social and environment studies; art; and personal
development (MEPSP, 2011). Within these domains, the curriculum covers II separate subjects. The
complete list of subjects from the 2011 curriculum is displayed in Table 2.
As of the 2015-2016 school year, reading instruction took place each school day for 45 minutes in Grades
I through 4 (USAID & DFID, 2015). Despite these efforts, recent data has shown that literacy levels in
primary schools are low. Preliminary results from an Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) conducted
by the World Bank in 2020 revealed that 64% of Grade 4 students were unable to read a single word of
a grade-appropriate text in French (World Bank, 2020).
Upon completion of primary school, students take an examination called the test national de fin d'études
primaires (TENAFEP) covering three subjects - mathematics, French, and general culture. If the student
passes the TENAFEP and their school grades are determined to be satisfactory, they are awarded a
primary school leaving certificate (Certificat d'Études Primaires) and may advance to junior secondary
school (World Bank Group, 2015).
PRE-SERVICE TEACHER TRAINING CURRICULUM FOR LITERACY
The DRC does not have a formal policy around pre-service teacher training (Meysonnat & Torrano,
2020). Instead, pre-service teacher training is a stream that students can pursue during senior secondary
education. The curriculum for the first two years of secondary school (junior secondary, Grades 7-8)
are common across all three streams (general education, pedagogical, and technical). Upon completion
of junior secondary, students then opt-in to the pedagogical stream, which lasts for four years (senior
secondary, Grades 9-12) (World Bank Group, 2015). Upon completion of senior secondary, trainees in
the pedagogical stream earn a primary school teacher certificate, called the Brevet D'Instituteur.
Primary school teachers are not required to complete any formal training beyond the pre-service stream
during secondary schooling. Thus, the country has an extremely high rate of qualified teachers. As of
2012, almost 94% of primary teachers in the DRC held the required diploma to teach at the primary
Table 2. National Curriculum for Primary School
Domain
Languages
Mathematics, Science,
and Technology
Social and Environment
Studies
Art
Personal Development
Source: Adapted from MEPSP, 2011
Subject
Congolese Languages
French
Mathematics
Introduction to Science
Technology
Civil and Moral Education
Health and Environment Education
Art
Physical Education
Manual Work
Religion
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO | LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION COUNTRY PROFILE
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