The reopening of schools in DRC is imminent. In view of the evolution of the pandemic in Covid-19, there has been a reopening of schools in the DRC, followed by a new closure since 18 December. as elsewhere, the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted the authorities to close schools and several places. This was done to prevent the spread of the pandemic. This decision was taken to contain the spread of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. In short, Congolese students are at home. This worries Unicef.

According to the UN agency, the government must now prioritise the reopening of schools in the DRC, taking all measures to protect pupils. The government says there will be no blank year.

Unicef draws attention to the consequences of the closure of schools in DRC

For the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the reopening of schools in the DRC must take into account a number of factors. In this perspective, it believes that the decision to close schools at the national level should be avoided as much as possible. According to UNICEF, the closure of schools should normally be a measure of last resort. In other words, when all other options have failed. In other words, after all other possibilities have been considered.

The case of the most marginalized children who are likely to drop out of education altogether has attracted unicef’s attention. « They pay the heaviest price of closing schools, » they said.

In addition, Unicef referred to recent studies that indicate a notable decline in enrolment, particularly among girls in schools when they reopened at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. So, the case of the reopening of schools in the DRC is not the only one.

Reopening of schools in DRC, ‘No White Year’, says government

For the Congolese government, this reopening of schools in DRC is not justified by any other reason. The most important thing is to do everything possible to ensure that this reopening does not pose a danger to students. This is how the government makes it clear that the health situation does not allow schools to reopen.

« We are making an effort to control the number of deaths, but the curve of people who died from the pandemic is starting to increase, » said Health Minister Dr. Eteni Longondo.
Classes will resume, he says, but no date has been given so far. « Let students and students not think there will be the white year, » the minister said.

For its part, Unicef insists that « if children are exposed to a long period of school closure, the effects will be felt for several generations. »

For the time being, the reopening of schools in DRC is imminent and there is an urgent need to take into account the current changes relating to the pandemic in Covid-19.

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