Struggling Education System (3 of 5)

Each school day Shakes, a 12 year old boy in Butembo, arrives to school before any other children and is the last to leave. Like many children in his situation, Shakes isn’t going to school to learn, he goes to school to earn money for his family. Shakes sells sugarcane and bananas, earning roughly 75 cents a day. With four brothers and sisters, the income Shakes earns is likely necessary for survival.

Shakes selling bananas to students

Though attending school is constitutionally compulsory and free, in reality even the price of public education is at least $20 and many children are not registered to attend. The argument to send a child to school isn’t always convincing when the cost of school means having to sacrifice somewhere else like food, clothing or shelter.

The low benchmarks of standardized education found during the Buffett survey clearly manifest themselves in the markets in North Kivu where women and children peddling produce don’t understand more than a few words of French.  French is the primary language used in schools so it’s clear these hard working individuals did not receive a standardized education.

Surprisingly, staggering levels of truancy do not correlate with low number of universities in Butembo, North Kivu. Butembo recently shut down nearly half of its 23 universities and colleges for not registering with the ministry of education. There’s a high demand from parents and children for higher education but there’s also a growing concern within the local community that many of the universities are scamming their students by providing educations without providing valuable skills.  

Reputable universities such as Université Catholique du Graben (UCG) struggle to address concerns within their student body about rising tuition (currently $243 a semester). UCG students have demonstrated their concerns in the form of three walkouts within the past year.

While many children’s parents can’t afford sending their children to school, some universities are scams and others are struggling to keep costs down.  Aat least the streets of Butembo are safe enough for the children to go to school. It’s a start.