Improved management and accountability: Conditions for better access and quality of primary education in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

There are well-documented access and quality issues in the schools of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that negatively affect the learning of Congolese Children. Indeed, one out of three children will drop out of primary school before graduation, while only about half of those graduating are considered literate. This Policy & Practice Discussion Paper explains how these issues are intimately linked to governance challenges facing the education sector. Understanding how school systems are managed, and how accountable school directors and these systems are to parents is crucial when intervening to strengthen the delivery education services in sub-Saharan Africa. While school construction and teacher training are important interventions, they are not sufficient on their own to sustainably improve learning outcomes. This discussion paper aims to stimulate a broad debate of these questions among education stakeholders in the DRC. Concrete actions by the Congolese government on this front will be indispensable to improve learning for all Congolese children in coming years.