Spotlight on basic education completion and foundational learning: Democratic Republic of Congo

The Spotlight Study provides education partners with a fact-based diagnosis of the national education system, with a focus on basic education and foundational learning. It seeks to highlight the progress made within the system in relation to the impact of factors such as education vision, teaching and learning, teachers, leadership and management, assessment, parent and community intervention, and evaluation of basic education and foundational learning. The study aimed to stimulate an informed and strategic country-led policy dialogue with stakeholders and development partners which would, in turn, lead to tangible actions to address identified issues. It also assessed progress towards reaching targets. This Spotlight report will be a key input into an annual continental Spotlight report that will serve as a basis for continental peer dialogue on issues related to universal basic education (UBE) completion and foundational learning. Four research questions guided the study: 1) What is the current state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s education system in terms of the seven factors identified for the report’s analytical framework? 2) What progress has the country made in achieving UBE completion and foundational learning skills? 3) What challenges does the country face in achieving UBE completion? What solutions is the country pursuing to overcome them? 4) What are potential ways forward to foster foundational learning outcomes given the structural characteristics of the country’s education system and the country’s current commitments to other goals.