In July and August 2011, Save the Children and OSISA conducted research on the barriers which prevent youth from accessing formal and non-formal education in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Given the demographic importance of youth and their central role in the social and economic life of a nation, it is surprising that so little research exists on their experiences and that so few programmes respond to their particular needs. Save the Children and OSISA commissioned this piece of work to begin addressing this significant gap in knowledge and programming. It is hoped that the research will aid in the development of appropriate interventions which will contribute positively and meaningfully to the lives of youth in eastern DRC today.]
In general, this research shows how profoundly poverty and the years of violent conflict have impacted the lives of young people in eastern DRC and documents the depth of constraint and hardship facing youth today. While it highlights the bleakness of their reality, this report also provides powerful evidence of the strength and resilience of Congolese youth: they are surviving and supporting themselves and their families in ways that defy expectation. If youth were provided the opportunities to study, to work, to realise even part of their incredible potential, the DRC could be a very different country today - certainly its future would appear much brighter.
The study was conducted in six research sites in North Kivu and Ituri District, areas which have long been affected by violent conflict and which continue to be plagued by insecurity, poverty, and unemployment. The researchers collected data from 300 youth between the ages of 12 and 24 years old, 63 parents, and 29 key informants; a total of 391 individuals participated in this study. An in-depth survey was administered to all of the youth research participants, and has provided an extensive base of information regarding their personal life situation, family and socio-economic details, as well as data on their school attendance experiences. All youth also participated in focus group discussions (FGDs) as did the parent participants; the FGDs explored themes about schooling, non-formal education, harmful practices and behaviours, daily life and coping strategies, and experiences of violence and conflict. The key informant interviews sought policy insights and best practices from the key actors working with youth in eastern DRC, including the government authorities, UNICEF and relevant non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The findings from the research have been analysed and categorised into four main sections, which provide the guiding structure of this report: The first section looks at the importance of formal education for youth in the DRC today. According to the research, formal education remains the main priority for youth and parents. For them, formal education is essential for finding a job and securing one’s economic future. It is also important for providing a sense of social worth and self-respect. Youth consider formal education as a protective mechanism, as something which allows them to be independent, and to ‘find their way’ in life. It also very clearly emerged from the research that formal education provides youth with the capacity to speak out, to ‘find their voice’ and to participate in public life.
Despite the consistent acknowledgement that formal education is essential for youth, many young people drop out of school before completing the secondary cycle. Ten main barriers emerged during this research and are described in detail in the report; they include poverty and the persistence of school fees, responsibilities facing young people, insecurity, numbers of children in the family, orphan hood, family breakdown, pregnancy, gender, absence from school and abuse by teachers. Eventual programme interventions to increase youth’s access to formal education will need to address these barriers, and some suggestions are provided in the Recommendations in the report.
The research also looked at the level of access to non-formal education opportunities available to youth. Unfortunately, it emerged very clearly that non-formal education opportunities are almost non-existent in rural areas and are very difficult to access in urban areas. Literacy and accelerated learning opportunities remain a high priority, especially for youth who are heads of households, mothers, or who are too old to return to school, but these options were reportedly not available to the research participants. When NGOs were said to have offered skills-training programmes, they were either poorly implemented or did not lead to the economic viability intended or required. Significant gaps in the provision of non-formal education are evident and need to be addressed. They should be considered as a complement to - and not a replacement for - formal education opportunities for youth. Government actors, including the Division of Youth, the Division of Social Affairs and the National Office of Employment should be considered as key partners in any non-formal education intervention, and would need to be provided with the technical and financial support to take the youth agenda forward.
The research also explored the ways in which participation in armed groups, the worst forms of child labour and early pregnancy might have an impact on youth’s access to education. Overall the research showed that participation in armed groups was not a significant barrier to accessing education. In terms of child labour, the most worrying form engaged in by youth was found to be the practice by girls of transactional or survival sex. As expected, pregnancy emerged as a certain and usually irreversible barrier to continuing schooling for girls. The use of drugs and the evidence of other psychosocial needs also emerged as significant concerns affecting youth.
The report also discusses the apparently intractable issue of school fees in the DRC. It urges donors and education actors to begin engaging seriously with this issue and to conduct targeted and persistent advocacy at the highest political levels. It also raises the question of why current developmental approaches to education remain focussed on ‘basic’ education and ‘minimum standards’ rather than expecting more for youth; high quality, universal secondary education would seem to be a more equitable minimum standard to be holding ourselves to when addressing the education needs of youth in the DRC.
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