The Regional Teachers Initiative for Africa (RTIA), a programme funded by the EU/EC via the Education section (G3) of DG INTPA aims to improve learning outcomes and the socio-emotional development of children in Africa, by having a more competent, motivated and inclusive teacher workforce in basic education.  

The RTIA will especially seek to achieve the following outcomes over the next 6 years:  

1. Improve the governance, management, attractiveness, and gender balance of the teaching profession, with a strong focus on increased digitalisation and innovation.  

2. Enhance the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of initial and continuous teacher professional development, notably through digital education, peer-to-peer learning approaches and regional collaboration.  

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 national 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 funded 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 call for expert falls within the scope of window 1 on delivering Technical Assistance (TA) to support countries on specific thematic areas related to teacher policy and governance, as well as teacher education and professional development.  

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'Éducation 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, totaling $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 revitalize 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 Permanent Secretary for support and coordination of the Education sector (SPACE), 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 pedagogical humanities and the Teacher Training Institutes de (Institut de Formation aux Métiers d'Enseignement - IFME).