Feature storyUnderstanding young people to better fight corruption in schools2021Impact stories2021By CERC
More than 600 education actors mobilised for corruption-free schools
In 2021, before launching Integrity Clubs in 150 schools, CERC listened to those who live the school every day. Students, parents, teachers, officials and experts – more than 600 education actors in South Kivu and Kinshasa – shaped the project and a strategy against corruption in education.
Listening to the people who live the school
From May to July 2021, CERC ran the Year Zero of Students Acting for Accountability and Quality of Education, funded by the Global Partnership for Education through Education Out Loud, with Oxfam IBIS: a preparation phase to design, with the people concerned, Integrity Clubs for 150 secondary schools.
Because of Covid-19, workshops were limited to 20 people, so the team held more of them. In 40 days, it heard 534 students (271 boys and 263 girls), 39 school principals and 50 teachers, 21 parents’ committees, 19 representatives of 8 civil society organisations working in education and 12 senior education officials.
Officials and experts around the table
In June and July 2021, CERC also conducted in-depth assessments with 54 senior Ministry of Education officials and 19 anti-corruption practitioners and experts, leaders of civil society organisations, teachers’ unions and faith-based associations, in Kinshasa and South Kivu.
Four consultative workshops followed in July, including one in Kinshasa on 26 July. They brought together the national association of parents of students, the parents’ associations of Catholic and Protestant schools, three teachers’ unions, the African Zone League for the Defence of Children and Students’ Rights, the National Coalition for Education for All and faith-based school networks. With senior officials, the discussions focused on two goals: an Integrity Club in every secondary school, and the Integrity Education Handbook in the national curriculum.
What the evidence showed
Alongside the consultations, CERC surveyed knowledge, attitudes and practices in 41 secondary schools and reviewed existing studies on corruption, youth participation and accountability. The study showed that young people want to improve their schools, that personal development motivates them to become monitors, and that the support of teachers, head teachers and families makes the difference.
The consultations also brought a hard truth to light: female students reported sexual harassment and sexual bribery in exchange for grades. CERC committed to research these abuses further, and later documented them in higher education.
From evidence to action
In all, more than 600 education actors were brought together in 2021. Their contributions produced a baseline strategy to influence education policy, made senior officials, teachers, head teachers, parents and students more aware of the corruption that matters to students, and led to two projects to improve transparency and accountability in education.
The first was Students Acting itself: Integrity Clubs in 150 secondary schools of South Kivu and Kinshasa, with 2,250 students aged 14 to 19 trained to monitor their schools.
Officials who made the clubs their own
The dialogue did not stop in 2021. In 2022, CERC brought together 96 participants in Bukavu and Kinshasa – senior officials, members of parliament, journalists, unions, parents and experts. On 28 July 2022, the Provincial Directorate of Education of South Kivu 1 signed a memorandum of understanding with CERC to bring Integrity Clubs into every secondary school in South Kivu.
To extend that commitment to every school in the country, CERC then turned to the law, with two bills on Integrity Clubs and integrity education taken to the National Assembly in April 2024.
About CERC
The Centre de Recherche sur l’Anti-Corruption (CERC) is a Congolese non-governmental organisation founded in April 2017 in South Kivu. With young people at its heart, CERC works with schools, communities, public institutions and partners to promote transparency, accountability and integrity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has held special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 2021. Learn more: Who we are.
Feature storyUnderstanding young people to better fight corruption in schools2021
Feature storySouth Kivu and Kinshasa: thanks to advocacy by CERC-trained students, 150 schools repair their facilities2021–2025
Feature storyEducation authorities adopt Integrity Clubs for all their schools in South Kivu2018–2023
Feature storyTowards a law to teach integrity in every school in the country2023–2024
