Fears for education standards as teachers switch to politics

Parents and teachers in the Democratic Republic of Congo's South Kivu Province have expressed concern that educational standards could fall as experienced teachers and school inspectors leave the profession for political careers. "If there is a movement of primary school teachers into politics, the future training of primary school teachers is going to be problematic since the primary level constitutes the educational base," John Mukwanya, a retired primary school inspector, said. "Temporary teachers or interns don't have much experience; they are still trying to establish themselves." This situation, Mukwanya said, made educationalists fear that teachers would be less qualified in the future. Children taught by substitute teachers could end up in the unskilled labour force, he added. Although South Kivu Schools Main Inspection Office could not supply exact figures for the number of teachers due to contest the local elections in coming months, it estimated that an average 20 percent of teachers in primary and secondary schools had declared themselves candidates. However, this percentage varies from school to school. For example, at the Saint-Family Institute in Bukavu, funded by the Roman Catholic Church, five of its 22 teachers have already left to pursue political office. The schools inspector for Walungu Territory, Chrysostome Mungazi-Rwananza, said this figure could rise by 10 percent but it was less at the higher level. "Once elected we will enter office," Mungazi-Rwananza said, "but we have organised [the] training of substitute teachers to replace us." He said four schools inspectors were election candidates for the provincial National Assembly, due to be held later this year. Other elections The DRC held presidential and parliamentary elections on 30 July, its first democratic vote since 1960. Results are expected in coming weeks, but if there is no outright winner in the presidential poll, a second round is scheduled for 29 October, according to the Independent Electoral Commission. Voting for the 11 provincial legislative elections will take place at the same time. On 29 December, another election will be held for a new Senate. Then, on 16 January 2007, voting will take place for provincial governors and their deputies. Most teachers under the education system in Bukavu, capital of South Kivu, are contesting provincial and communal elections in coming months. If elected, some teachers will have to abandon their jobs, which could cause a huge shortage of qualified teachers in many schools. "To make up for this gap, private schools will take charge of students from public schools which lack teachers," Mungazi-Rwananza said. He said in some schools a teacher might have to supervise 120 students when the recommended teacher-student ratio per class was 1:55. Parents oppose solution offered Parents do not support this option of sending students to private schools because of the higher fees charged. For example, public school children pay an average of US $50 per year against double that in private schools. "I am a peasant, I don't see how I can support three or four children in private school," said Athanase Mukiegera, a subsistence farmer in Bagira, a Bukavu neighbourhood. "Already, I find it very difficult to send them to public school. Often, I pay the fees after long delays." The Saint-Family Institute is one school where many teachers have left the profession for political careers. An English teacher at the institute, Francky Balolebwani, said: "In our school, there were 22 teachers for 400 pupils during this term. Now, five teachers are candidates in the elections. Next year, they will probably not be here." The institute's management will replace the teachers who will have left, he said. However, he added, "Whether or not the newcomers will live up to the students' expectations is another story altogether." Teachers say Bukavu has some of the most educated people in the country because of funding by the Roman Catholic Church, which has had a presence in the region for almost a century. Bukavu has many primary schools, a college, and five secondary schools - reserved exclusively for girls. It has at least a dozen institutes specialising in health, finance, trade and rural development. The executive coordinator in charge of health and environment in the South Kivu movement of universities, Alfred Bulakali, said: "We've arrived at a situation where because of the lack of teachers, parents are contributing money to pay them. This is especially true for the rural areas." [Countdown in Congo] lmm/js/mw/oss