My name is Dagoberte, I work for the Congolese education inspection in Matadi. I am responsible for the inspection of nine primary schools. I have the advantage that I work in an urban environment, where the schools are located close to one another. My colleagues in the rural areas sometimes have to walk two or more days to visit their next school.
By means of the provincial head inspector, I receive the pedagogical brochures which are distributed by VVOB. Such instruments are essential in more than one way. Most schools do not have manuals, not for the teacher nor for the pupils. Often pupils don’t even have an exercise-book, nor a ballpoint to take notes. So they have to remember everything and they can not rehearse their lessons by any visual support. Some children cannot recognize the printed letter ‘a’ because they have only seen the handwritten version throughout their schooling years. The teachers are frequently under-qualified. You have to know that in Congo you can become a primary school teacher immediately after completing secondary education. You must, however, have followed the option pedagogy, but you do not need a higher degree. As a result many teachers have difficulties to teach certain subjects. In former days it happened that teachers just simply skipped these subjects. Now we try to train them using these brochures. We discuss the topics in the pedagogical entities, whereby teachers exchange experiences and learn from each other. Although the brochures have been conceived centrally by the national training service in Kinshasa, they nevertheless give a good picture of the problems which we encounter here in the schools.
It is important that the area inspectors can indicate the needs in the field. Likewise is the documentation with regard to the cross-cutting themes, such as gender and the prevention of HIV/AIDS, extremely important. A child cannot be informed early enough concerning such important questions. Teachers try to make these topics, which are sensitive and culturally loaded themes, as much as possible open to discussion in the class.
