The Regional Teachers' Initiative for Africa (RTIA), a programme funded by the European Union (EU) via the Education Section (G3) of Directorate General INTPA, aims to improve learning outcomes and the socio-emotional development of children in Africa, by having a more competent, motivated and inclusive teaching workforce in basic education. 

In particular, RTIA will seek to achieve the following results over the next 6 years: 

Within this framework, the Regional Teacher Initiative Facility for Africa (RTIA) will support teacher policies and contribute to improving teacher education and professional development systems by i) providing technical assistance for capacity building at country level, ii) promoting innovation and scaling up of effective teaching solutions, iii) increasing the generation and use of data and evidence, and iv) promoting the use of regional frameworks, evidence-based practices and joint learning at regional level; (iii) increasing the production and use of data and evidence, and by (iv) promoting the use of regional frameworks, evidence-based practice and joint learning at regional level. 

The Regional Teacher Facility for Africa (RTIA) will achieve the above objectives through 3 types of instruments or "windows": i) a window aimed at providing technical assistance on governance, teacher training and professional development based on demand from eligible partner countries, ii) a window aimed at testing and scaling up effective programmes for teacher training and professional development, particularly in the thematic areas of digital, gender, environment and pedagogy, including in contexts of crisis, with refugees and displaced populations, iii) a research window to create new data and support the integration of this data into the policy development process and the design of teacher training and professional development programmes. 

In addition to these windows, the Facility's cross-cutting knowledge management and communication activities will also contribute to the sharing of knowledge, evidence and best practice related to the overall results of the Initiative. 

The Facility is financed by the European Union and co-implemented by the Partnership formed by three Member State agencies: Expertise France for France, Enabel, VVOB and APEFE for Belgium, EDUFI for Finland. Expertise France has been designated as the Coordinating Agency for this Partnership. With the governance scheme of the Facility serving as the governance scheme of the Initiative, it is expected that the Partnership will work in close collaboration with UNESCO and the African Union Commission (AUC), in charge of the 2 other components of the European Union (EU) Initiative. 

The action is scheduled to run from 01/02/2024 to 31/01/2027 (36 months) with a budget of EUR 46,000,000. 

The education system in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has undergone numerous policy reforms and initiatives aimed at improving the quality of education, particularly for teachers. The main reforms are outlined below. 

Policy reforms and the policy design process 

In 2015, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) adopted an education sector plan entitled Stratégie Sectorielle de l'Education et de la Formation (SSEF), covering the period 2016-2025. This strategy emphasises adherence to reforms, management based on consultation and partnership, equity in interventions, transparency in the allocation and use of resources, and the accountability of stakeholders. 

The Partnership Compact 

In September 2022, a Partnership Pact was validated, putting forward a priority reform to provide the Congolese education system with competent, motivated and available teachers. These teachers, key players in the transformation of the education system, are committed to a culture of quality to ensure academic success for all pupils, regardless of gender, background or vulnerability (displaced children, refugees, children living with disabilities, etc.). 

The three strategic axes of this reform are: 

Upgrading the teaching profession: Motivating teachers and attracting more women to the profession. 

Merit-based recruitment and continuous professional development: Ensuring relevant and effective professional development, focused on priority challenges, success for all and gender equality. 

Improving teaching-learning conditions: Creating learning-friendly environments, particularly for girls, to ensure successful schooling. 

In October 2023, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Board approved funding of $112.5 million for education system transformation and $25 million for accelerating girls' education, totalling $137.5 million. In addition, revised triggers were approved to access an additional allocation of $50 million. The co-agent partners for this funding are the World Bank (PEQIP project, USD 69 million) and AFD (EFFICACE project, USD 68.5 million). 

The Partnership Pact, signed in March 2022, aims to revitalise the teaching profession to ensure a resilient, high-performance education sector in the DRC.  

Policy implementation and sectoral coordination 

The implementation of education policies in the DRC is marked by a dynamic of consultation and partnership between the various players in the sector (Education and Training Sector Strategy 2016-2025). Sectoral coordination is ensured by the Secrétariat Permanent d'Appui et de Coordination du Secteur de l'Education (Permanent Secretariat for Support and Coordination of the Education Sector), which monitors the alignment of the interventions of technical and financial partners. 

Progress in implementing education policies 

The DRC has made significant progress in implementing education policies, notably with the increase in the education budget and the implementation of the free primary education policy introduced in 2019. This has enabled more than two million children outside the system to gain access to school and has raised the status of teachers by abolishing school fees. However, it poses many challenges, particularly in terms of the quality of education.  

A reform of initial teacher training has also been underway in the DRC since 2022. The action plan and the activities that will be developed in connection with initial training will have to take account of this reform and link up with the new mechanisms that it brings in, in particular with the reformed humanities teaching and the Instituts de Formation aux Métiers d'Enseignement (IFME). 

The objectives of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in terms of pre-school enrolment, set out in particular in the Education and Training Sector Strategy, aim in particular to improve access to quality pre-school education, especially in rural areas. The country aims to achieve a gross pre-school enrolment rate of 15% by 2025, compared with 4.7% in 2014. Strategies include the creation of preparatory classes in primary schools and the development of partnerships with local communities to set up community early learning . The 2024-2029 Five-Year Plan focuses on continuing teacher training to incorporate new teaching methodologies and digital technologies. The aim is to prepare children aged 3 to 5 to succeed in primary school by improving their cognitive and social development. Previous work has led to the development of a pre-school curriculum. This programme applies unevenly in schools. 

Upon request of the DRC Ministry of Education (MINEDU-NC) for Technical Assistance (September 2024), a Country Action Plan (CAP) was co-developed between the Facility Implementation Team and the SPACE from the Ministry of Education in consultation with other national and international partners, on the foundations of the national education sector plan (SSEF). The CAP covers 3 technical areas of expertise, including pre-service teacher training at preprimary level. The related work package begins with a diagnostic to get stock of the existing initial training programmes for pre-school teachers and the development of the pre-school teachers competency framework.