Opposition
Poor education and increased social problems are not entirely caused by corruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The country’s government has formulated policies that improve the country’s quality of education. For example, the government developed a 10-year education sector plan in 2015, which resulted in the distribution of millions of textbooks across the country (Global Partnership for Education). Moreover, the Congolese education ministry engages with teachers, parents and other partners in the educational sector to prepare for global partnerships. Furthermore, the government has taken a regional step by joining the East African Community to boost various economic sectors, including education (East African Community). If the government was corrupt, much of the resources would not have reached the schools. Moreover, the policies formulated would benefit private schools, which are dominated by rich Congolese students. Therefore, corruption in the educational sector is not the absolute cause of poor education and increased social problems in the DRC.
Refutation
While it is true that the Congolese government has taken steps that refute its corrupt character, corruption in the educational sector is conducted at the individual level. DRC government has taken overt steps to overcome civil wars and other social problems that encumber the country’s social and economic development. It is true that the government has developed a 10-year educational plan that has led to the distribution of millions of books and global partnerships. However, public schools only benefit from the books and not the scholarships to global universities. Moreover, the resources allocated to public schools are not sufficient since corrupt individuals use them for their benefit. For instance, primary and secondary schools in DRC are subject to payroll fraud (Brandt et al.). Therefore, the government is doing enough to ensure quality education in DRC, but corruption limits its efforts.
Works Cited
Brandt, Cyril Owen, et al. “Why Payroll Fraud in the DRC’s Education Sector Will Be Hard to Fix.”The Conversation.
East African Community. “The Democratic Republic of the Congo Formally Joins EAC after Signing of the Treaty of Accession to the Community.”East African Community, 2022.
Global Partnership for Education. “DR Congo: GPE Supports Teaching in National Languages in the Early Grades.”Global Partnership for Education, 2020.