These are pictures of a short program for teachers at The Mua Tshianyi High School in Mbujimayi City, supervised by Pauline Ngomba, PRH educator.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the exercise of authority is a problem. And this is strongly felt in the education sector. It can be said that the whole of society is often in crisis, especially the basic sectors such as the family and education. In this respect, improper or downright absent infrastructure is an important negative factor.
You can find up to 60 children in a classroom, all sitting on the floor, because there are no benches. Students who have not received a proper education in their families are difficult to control, especially during adolescence. Severe corporal punishment is still common, simply because authority figures know of no other way to guide children and young people. And they are often trained in this way themselves. Moreover, because teachers have been treated and paid so badly for almost thirty years, they no longer count in society. They often behave out of control and in a complex way, even in front of their students. They experience their authority as authoritarian in order to “show who they are”. School principals treat their staff in the same way. It is often worse in the interior of the country than in the cities.
Given the poor remuneration of education officials, even school principals (sometimes less than USD 100/month), the participants themselves are unable to contribute financially and these projects are completely dependent on sponsorship for their viability.
The project consists of three sessions of a total of 42 hours for a maximum of 15 participants, as well as individual coaching. All participants are teachers.
Contents of the project
The participants follow three different sessions and helping relationships:
- They learn to listen and how to communicate better.
- They are taught how to exercise authority in their role as a teacher, and how they can do this is a constructive manner in order that they will naturally gain authority while respecting the students at the same time. Pathways are presented to evolve in this regard.
- They learn to gain insight into their capacities and how to further develop these. They learn to understand their feelings and are taught methods to take steps towards a more harmonious functioning. They learn to get in touch with their inner strength in order to experience their profession as a teacher more positively.
They may also request individual coaching.
This project costs a total of 500 USD for the entire package. The participants themselves pay between 1 and 5 USD per training.
If you would like to contribute to this project, please specify ‘Vorming Leerkrachten RDC’
on the transfer to the IAAR account – Listdreef 22/3, 2900 Schoten, Belgium
IBAN: BE 757 33034737851
BIC: KREDBEBB
