DR Congo – More Than 1,500 Displaced Children From Kwamouth To Receive Free Education In Kwilu

More than 1,500 displaced children of school age fleeing from the violence in Kwamouth will be given free secondary education where they are sheltering in Kwilu, authorities say.

The Kwilu provincial minister of primary, secondary and technical education, Eric Muziazia who made the announcement Nov 17 said he had instructed heads of educational institutions not to send away displaced children from school because they have not paid school fees or because they don’t have school uniforms.

“Kwilu province has received displaced persons and they are right now in the town of Bandundu and in Bagata territories. Among these displaced persons are many children of school age. They have been admitted into various schools. We have told the management of the said schools not to drive displaced students from school because if they are driven away from school, where would they get the school fees to pay so we have asked that these children be allowed to study free of charge. There would be no demand for uniforms as well as school fees”, Muziazia said.

The displaced children have been admitted into fifty-one schools in Bandundu. They fled from various villages in Kwamouth territory of Mai-Ndombe province and Bagata in Kwilu province following the Teke and Yaka conflict which has already resulted in the deaths of more than 200 people.