After years of war and economic decline, the picture of education is bleak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): 4.6 million children are out of school, of which 2.5 million are girls. The country is one of the 25 countries where UNICEF has intensified efforts to accelerate girls’ education.
One of the main reasons why children, especially girls, do not go to or stay at school, is that the family has to pay for educational supplies such as pens, slates, notebooks, crayons, etc. Since 2005, UNICEF has taken on a huge challenge: to provide 2.5 million children – 50% of them girls – and 55,000 teachers with educational supplies. This involves the procurement, production and distribution of 36,000 educational kits. Each student kit contains crayons, exercise books, pens, a ruler, a pencil sharpener and an eraser, as well as a bag to carry the items. Teachers’ kits contain exercise books, pens, white and coloured chalk and a bag.
Primary school education in the Democratic Republic of Congo is neither compulsory, free nor universal, and many children are not able to go to school because parents were unable to pay the enrollment fees. Only half of all children in the DR Congo ever attend school. Half of these won’t finish the fifth grade.