The Democratic Republic of Congo

Digitizing the National Curriculum

831 schools • 230,000 students • 9,500 teachers

We’ve partnered with the Communauté Baptiste Au Centre de l’Afrique (CBCA)

We are implementing Tusitawi in CBCA’s 831 schools. This life-altering educational revolution will transform learning for 230,000 students and over 9,500 teachers in 4 of DRC’s provinces. In addition, Tusitawi will be implemented in CBCA’s recuperation centres, where out-of-school adults and youth can work towards their primary or secondary school diplomas.

Our 3-phase rollout plan

Phase 1

August 2020 to August 2022 – successfully concluded: Tusitawi launched at 3 schools in Goma (Institut Himbi, Institut Visoke, and Mabanga Primary) and 2 recuperation centres (centres located within Visoke and Mabanga for out-of-school children to return to their education). At CBCA’s request the initial focus was on Math and French digital learning resources aligned to the DRC national curriculum, aggregated by the combined teams of CBCA and L4H. These resources, along with digital devices, are now available to 2,500 students and 120 teachers for daily use in the 3 schools and 2 recuperation centres. The accomplishments in Phase I form the basis for scaling out to all 831 CBCA schools over the next 5 years.

Phase 2

September 2022 to August 2024 – in progress: Expand Tusitawi eLearning Platform to cover all grades and subjects,train all 120 teachers in the Phase 1 schools, and install Digital Classroom Teaching Systems in every classroom.

Phase 3

September 2023 to December 2028: Scale out Tusitawi to all 831 CBCA schools; allowing access to Tusitawi DRC for all teachers and students at CBCA schools in DRC.

About the DRC

The largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, DRC has been politically unstable for decades due to its vast resources and other geopolitical issues in the region. In 2016, the Human Development Index ranked the country’s level of human development as 176 out of 187 countries with 73% of the population living on less than $1.90/day, with the most extreme poverty concentrated in North and South Kivu, where CBCA is located and focuses its work.

DRC has been experiencing epidemiological shocks, first outbreaks of Ebola, and COVID-19. As of 21 April 2021, DRC had 29,084 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 748 deaths. In North and South Kivu, this health situation meant that 18 million children had their studies interrupted, causing a risk of long-term school drop-out. L4H and CBCA are addressing these issues by developing Tusitawi coupled with ubiquitous digital delivery of Tusitawi: in school, at home and in fragile contexts.

The Digital Divide

There exists today a digital divide, as lower-income countries fall behind in their capacity to support blended learning and, importantly in the context of COVID-19, remote learning options. As of 2020, less than 30% of Sub-Saharan African countries were using ICT in schools. According to the Brookings Institute, this disparity has been even more pronounced during COVID lockdowns, where unlike in high income countries where students could continue studies during lockdown through online means, only 11% of students in Sub-Saharan Africa had access to any form of online or blended learning. DRC ranks 145 of 187 countries in access to the internet. As governments in the region are increasingly looking for technological solutions, affordable platforms, such as Tusitawi, are an important part in achieving access to education for all.