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Study and find schools in DR Congo

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Cities to study in DR Congo

Lubumbashi

The DR Congo, which stands for the “Democratic Republic of the Congo,” is a very large country located in Central Africa, with a total land area of nearly 1 million square miles.  Since the accession of South Sudan from the country of Sudan, DR Congo is now the second largest country in Africa, after Angola, and the eleventh largest country in the world by area.  The DR Congo shares borders with the Central African Republic and South Sudan to the north, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and Rwanda to the east, Angola and Zambia to the south and the Republic of Congo, Cabinda and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.  Once a colony of Belgium, the DR Congo claimed its independence in June of 1960, and today its capital and largest city is Kinshasa.
 
According to the latest available census data, the population of the DR Congo is approximately 72 million, making the country the 19th most populous nation in the world, and the fourth most populous in Africa.  From an ethnic standpoint, statistics show there are well over 200 ethnic groups in the country, with the Kongo, Luba and Mongo people making up the majority of the population.  In addition to being very ethnically diverse, the country is also home to over 100 local languages and dialects.  French, however, is the official language of the country, and is used for all official purposes, including government, communications and education.  The majority of the population in the DR Congo practices a religion in the Christian faith, with about half of those being practitioners of Roman Catholicism.  Evangelical Christianity is the second most popular religious practice, a faith that is growing more and more with each passing year.
 
Education in the DR Congo
 
Education in the DR Congo is overseen by the national government, with responsibilities divided between the ministries of primary, secondary and higher education.  Like most of the poorer countries in Central Africa, the DR Congo’s system of education is consistently faced with challenges, including civil violence, disease and challenges related to providing equal educational access to its people, mainly due to a lack of funding for things like new schools, textbooks and materials.
 
Primary and secondary education in the DR Congo is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 and 14.  However, despite these mandates, the reality is that only about 65 percent of children in this age group in the DR Congo attend school regularly, and even fewer attend at the secondary level.  Those who do attend primary school receive instruction in basic reading, writing and arithmetic in the lower grades—subjects that are gradually supplemented by courses in life science, history, geography, literature, art, music and physical education.
 
Secondary education in the DR Congo is divided between academic and vocational studies, with the latter dominated by courses and training in agriculture and light manufacturing, the country’s leading economic industries.  Higher education is very limited in the country, with only about 10 percent of secondary school graduates attending.