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Church Leadership in DR Congo Not Involved in Catholic Teachers’ Strike, Cardinal Says

Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo. Credit: Courtesy Photo

By Jude Atemanke

Kinshasa, 09 October, 2021 / 11:30 pm (ACI Africa).

The leadership of the Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is not involved in the strike by Catholic teachers, the Cardinal in the Central African nation has clarified.

On October 4, a strike action by Catholic Teachers disrupted the start of the new school year in the DRC.  The teachers are demanding the fulfillment of various promises made by the government, including the gradual improvement of their salaries and other benefits such as health care.

Addressing journalists Friday, October 8, Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo dismissed government’s claims that the leadership of the Catholic Church is blocking the implementation of a constitutional provision allowing free access to basic education in the country.

“What is happening now has nothing to do with the Catholic Church. It is a labor dispute between an employer, which is the State, and its employees, which are the teachers,” Cardinal Ambongo explained.  

He further clarified that the strike “is not a conflict between the Congolese state and the Catholic Church. There are those who misinterpret the situation. When we are in a case like this, many start to insult the Catholic Church, the Cardinal, the Bishops. I think we are going very low with this culture.”

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Even if the Catholic Church has nothing to do in this controversy, Cardinal Ambongo pointed-out that protesting peacefully “is a constitutional right guaranteed by the legal texts in DRC.”

“Unless someone tells me otherwise, protest is a constitutional right in our country. You can't intimidate someone for going on strike, unless it's an anarchic strike. But if he has respected the necessary conditions for a strike, it is the right of teachers,” the member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap) said.

He urged parties in conflict to prioritize dialogue saying, “All I ask, and I appeal to all: the government, the minister, the teachers, is rather to favor dialogue.”

The Congolese government has accused the Catholic Church, through National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO), of being behind the Catholic teachers’ strike that has affected, for the most part, Catholic schools. 

On Wednesday, October 6, the Congolese Minister of Education threatened to dismiss all teachers who would take part in the planned strike.  

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According to Tony Mwaba, the teachers who would take part in the strike would be replaced and lose their monthly renumeration.

In 2019, President Felix Tshisekedi decided to apply Article 43 of the Constitution and proclaimed free education throughout the Central African nation.

Even though many welcomed the move, the problem of unpaid teachers has made the implementation of the decision difficult, especially in private schools.

For nearly 30 years, it has been the duty of parents to contribute to the salaries of teachers in DRC, a policy that made it difficult for many parents to keep their children in school.

The Catholic Church, which owns the majority of schools in DRC, is accused of using school managers as a tool to return to parental responsibility for primary education, RDC Infos  reported.

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Members of CENCO have been keen on DRC government’s promise to make primary education free for all Congolese school going children.

In 2019, the members of CENCO said that free access to primary education was “irreversible” and that relevant authorities needed to give teachers adequate remuneration to avoid the deterioration of national education.

Last year, Cardinal Ambongo clarified that the Catholic Church is not opposed to free primary school education in DRC.

“The Church is not against free education or pushes teachers to go on strike. People should not go about telling stories,” Cardinal Ambongo told journalists at the golden jubilee celebration of the St. Clement Parish Makala of Kinshasa Archdiocese on 23 November 2020.

In May, the Cardinal said the initiative toward free basic education needs to be implemented in such a way that everyone in the country benefits.

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Jude Atemanke

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.