CATALYZE EduFinance Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Supports Non-State School Leaders with Capacity Building on Child Protection as Part of Wider Education Quality Efforts
Educational attainment and child protection are mutually dependent, but across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), violence against children is widespread in many settings, including schools. According to UNICEF, eight out of 10 children under age 14 are regularly subjected to physical punishment, and 15 percent of children aged 5 to 17 are engaged in child labor.
By combining access to locally-sourced affordable finance with education quality and school management improvements, USAID CATALYZE EduFinance DRC supports low-fee, non-state schools to increase access to inclusive and equitable quality education.
Through its EduQuality program, EduFinance DRC offers professional development to school leaders and teachers to strengthen school management and teaching techniques. This includes professional development for teachers and school leaders, as well as support with creating school development plans that strengthen the capacity of teachers to support student-centred learning. To improve educational access, EduFinance DRC also works with local financial institutions to launch and expand suitable education finance products — including school fee loans and school improvement loans — to low-fee, non-state schools, which make up approximately 80 percent of DRC schools.
Prior to joining the EduQuality program, many school partners scored child protection as one of the lowest areas of school quality, despite its critical role in fostering safe and inclusive learning environments. Recognizing this, CATALYZE EduFinance DRC recently launched a series of professional development workshops focused on child protection. During the workshops, trainers worked to build school leaders’ capacity to develop child protection policies and practical steps to implement them, and how to develop standard procedures for reporting concerns or incidents involving children, empowering school leaders to create safe spaces for children to learn. The first session was held in Lubumbashi in June, and 65 out of 71 school leaders participated.
To date, EduFinance DRC has supported 490 schools and 4,241 parents of learners, with 250 schools participating in the EduQuality program. To learn more about CATALYZE EduFinance’s approach and impact across Africa, click here.
