Strengthening Higher Education and Science, Technology and Innovation in DRC

Abstract

The state and quality of education of a country is strongly and positively correlated to its
economic development. It contributes to building the workforce of knowledge-based
progressive societies. Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced a proliferation of Higher Education
Institutions (HEIs) particularly, private HEIs in the last two decades. The quality of the private
universities is variable across the continent and dependent on the existence and level of
implementation of the legislative requirements, the quality of governance at the HEIs, quality
of the infrastructure and student recruitment. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is
a signatory to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Higher
Education and Training, and has acknowledged the role of higher education in national
and regional development and the importance of a regional higher education system. The
country has experienced two decades of instability which has impacted several sectors of its
economy, including its education sector. For the last two decades, limited statistics has been
published concerning the status, investment and challenges facing the sector. This information
is important in designing appropriate strategies for enhancing the impact of this sector to
the national and regional economy. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to i) review
the current statistics (including investment) available on Higher and Technical Education in
DRC, with a focus on those relating to Science, Technology and Innovation; ii) establish key
challenges for Higher Education;