From 2017 to 2020, 810 students in 54 Integrity Clubs in South Kivu monitored their schools and got classrooms, toilets and water fixed.
Translated from the original French edition.
| Acronym | Meaning |
|---|---|
| BEAG | Group d’Etudes et Capacitation en Gestion |
| CDF | Congolese franc |
| CERC | Centre de Recherche sur l’Anti-Corruption |
| CSOs | Civil society organisations |
| DRC | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| NORAD | Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation |
| SHINE | Students Acting for Honesty, Integrity and Equality |
| US$ | United States dollar |
What SHINE did and what it changed for students, schools and communities in South Kivu.
SHINE was CERC’s first project. From October 2017 to the end of 2020, it trained secondary school students in Uvira and Bukavu, South Kivu, to monitor their schools’ services, hold them to account and get problems fixed.
Students looked for solutions with school managers, parents and providers. These figures show what they achieved.
Thanks to our partners, from 2017 to 2020:
students trained in 54 Integrity Clubs in South Kivu.
projects and services monitored by students with DevelopmentCheck in their communities.
average fix rate in the cases where corruption had caused problems.
monitors trained in the first year, 152 of them girls.
schools monitored had water in their toilets by 2020.
SHINE set out to bring transparency and social accountability to education, by mobilising students to monitor the services of their secondary schools.
SHINE was CERC’s first project. CERC was founded in April 2017. NORAD and Sida funded SHINE through Integrity Action. Integrity Action also provided its Community Integrity Building method, its Integrity Clubs guide and its monitoring tool, DevelopmentCheck.
Project years ran from October to September: year 1 from 1 October 2017 to 30 September 2018, year 2 from 1 October 2018 to 30 September 2019. A third phase ran to the end of 2020.
In the DRC, free education is a constitutional right. Yet parents still fund most of the education system. Schools lack equipment, sanitation, running water and teaching materials. Staff are underpaid, often irregularly. For CERC, this lack of transparency and these poor services stem above all from a missing culture of integrity.
SHINE combined two things: integrity education, in Integrity Clubs at school, and community monitoring on the ground, using information technology.
Students were trained in anti-corruption, citizenship, transparency and accountability, inclusion and gender equality, and leadership. With DevelopmentCheck, they monitored their school’s services – class sizes, toilets, water, library, teachers’ attendance and qualifications, budgets and spending – and infrastructure projects in their communities. They then looked for solutions with school managers, parents and providers in joint working group meetings.
Integrity Clubs
In December 2017, CERC launched Integrity Clubs in 20 secondary schools in Uvira territory and trained their first trainers.
From 27 November to 1 December 2017, five CERC staff members took Integrity Action’s full Community Integrity Building training in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. There, they tested the new version of DevelopmentCheck.
On Friday 8 December 2017, CERC launched Integrity Club activities in 20 secondary schools in Uvira territory.
Two four-day trainings of trainers followed: from 20 to 23 December 2017 in Uvira town, and from 2 to 5 January 2018 in the Ruzizi plain. They trained 107 people: 19 principals, 38 teachers and 50 club leaders (the plan was the principal, two teachers and three club leaders of each school).
Community monitoring
300 students – 152 girls and 148 boys – were trained as community monitors. From February 2018, they monitored the infrastructure and education services of 20 secondary schools in Uvira, Kiliba, Sange, Luberizi, Bwegera and Luvungi: 20 services and 21 infrastructure projects.
A weekly radio magazine, “The Integrity Builders”, broadcast their debates in Swahili and French on two community radio stations.
In Bukavu, an integrity exchange workshop brought together 13 people from 6 local organisations and 2 representatives of the Ministry of Education.
Safer schools
The Integrity Club saved my life.
Yvette Rosalive Meucca, Integrity Club leader
At Institut Itara in Luvungi, monitors found students sitting three or four to a desk, 70 to 90 of them in a classroom built for 50. Rain poured onto them. There were only three toilets for 590 students.
The monitors met the school management and stakeholders. New classrooms were built in 2018. A block of eight latrines, with separate toilets for girls and boys, was started.
In 2018, according to CERC’s annual report, 1,780 students in Uvira were able to study in safer conditions thanks to the clubs’ monitoring and advocacy.
Growth
In 2018, 15 new clubs joined the first 20 in Uvira. In 2019, 55 Integrity Clubs were operating in secondary schools in Uvira and Bukavu.
On 8 and 9 December 2018, International Anti-Corruption Day, CERC mobilised 35 secondary schools in Uvira under the theme “United against corruption for development, peace and security”.
In 2019, according to the annual report, 55 Integrity Clubs were operating in secondary schools in Uvira and Bukavu, and CERC had a network of 1,000 young people.
In January and February 2019, school facilitators were trained in the anti-corruption legal framework. These educators are appointed by principals to guide the clubs.
The clubs held debates, sketches, paintings and short films. At Institut Guido Maria Conforti, members made a painting against corruption at school. Monitors travelled close to 5 km every month between Luberizi and Tengetenge to follow the rehabilitation of an irrigation canal.
Advocacy
In December 2019, 100 club members marched against corruption at provincial level. They handed the authorities a memorandum. It called on them to act against corruption in education, and to rehabilitate and equip schools.
In 2020, South Kivu’s education officials agreed that Integrity Clubs be rolled out across the region.
Results
Thanks to the joint working group meetings held in our school, the whole process has become clearer and more transparent.
Kahindo Ndjungu, principal of ITIP Uvira
Between 2017 and 2020, CERC trained 810 students in 54 Integrity Clubs in South Kivu. Over 40% of the monitors trained were girls.
With DevelopmentCheck, students monitored 54 infrastructure projects and services in their communities. They achieved an average fix rate of 32% in the cases where corruption had caused problems.
Classrooms were built, facilities rehabilitated, toilets built, desks repaired and tiles replaced. By 2020, 13 schools monitored had water in their toilets.
Every indicator of the results framework, by objective: the target, the result reported and where it stands.
6 of 8 indicators with a result; average achievement 78% (each result capped at 100% of its target).
| Indicator | Target | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth Monitors (15–19) benefiting | 990 | 810 | At risk |
| Agreements/MoUs signed with secondary schools | 29 | 20 | At risk |
| Additional CSOs contributing to project outcomes | 6 | – | Not reported |
| Additional CSOs participating in workshops | 12 | – | Not reported |
| National CSO workshops held | 2 | 1 | Off track |
| Fixi-Score assessments implemented | 29 | 20 | At risk |
| Projects/services monitored in DevelopmentCheck | 55 | 54 | On track |
| Schools where education services are monitored | 55 | 55 | On track |
9 of 11 indicators with a result; average achievement 81% (each result capped at 100% of its target).
| Indicator | Target | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth active in Integrity Clubs | 825 | 810 | On track |
| Integrity Clubs established and running | 55 | 54 | On track |
| Club members from groups at risk of exclusion | 15% | 6.2% | Off track |
| Fixi-Score impact on reached youth | 15% | 43% | On track |
| Integrity Club members who are girls | 50% | 51.1% | On track |
| Integrity Club leaders who are girls | 40% | 50.7% | On track |
| Youth reached by Integrity Clubs | 8,067 | 5,987 | At risk |
| Youth monitors trained | 1,250 | 810 | At risk |
| Contacts between CSOs and Integrity Clubs | 400 | – | Not reported |
| Integrity Club meetings held | 1,980 | – | Not reported |
| Learning sessions with students from other schools | 220 | 122 | Off track |
7 of 12 indicators with a result; average achievement 89% (each result capped at 100% of its target).
| Indicator | Target | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agreements between CSO partners and schools | 40 | 150 | On track |
| Fix-Rate achieved in focus provinces | 50% | 32% | At risk |
| Schools with clubs as formal extra-curricular activity | 40 | – | Not reported |
| Teachers, head teachers and club leaders per school taking part | 5 | 5.8 | On track |
| Teachers and head teachers supporting the initiative | 65% | – | Not reported |
| Trainings for teachers and head teachers | 10 | – | Not reported |
| Joint Working Groups established | 55 | 34 | At risk |
| Newspaper articles | 13 | 28 | On track |
| Community briefings | 10 | – | Not reported |
| Community feedback sessions | 13 | – | Not reported |
| Radio programmes | 3 | 3 | On track |
| Trainers trained (heads, teachers, club leaders) | 110 | 107 | On track |
No result reported yet for these 5 indicators.
| Indicator | Target | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| People reached (wider public) | 9,667 | – | Not reported |
| Expressions of support | 4 | – | Not reported |
| National awareness campaigns | 2 | – | Not reported |
| Development agencies working with partners and clubs | 1 | – | Not reported |
| Transparency and anti-corruption awards | 1 | – | Not reported |
4 of 4 indicators with a result; average achievement 100% (each result capped at 100% of its target).
| Indicator | Target | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students studying in safer conditions | – | 1,780 | No target |
| Schools asking to join the Integrity Clubs | 0 | 2 | No target |
| Schools monitored with water in their toilets | – | 13 | No target |
| CSOs at the integrity exchange workshop | 6 | 6 | On track |
Figures from CERC’s Salesforce records of the project, kept in step with this report. Status: on track at 90% of the target or more, at risk from 60%, off track below 60%. “–”: not reported or no target.
CERC’s indicators for each project year, result against target.
| Indicator | Year 1 Sept 2017–Aug 2018 | Year 2 Sept 2018–Aug 2019 | Year 3 Sept 2019–Aug 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integrity Clubs running | 20 / 20 | 35 / 35 | 54 / 55 |
| Youth monitors (current and past club members) | 300 / 300 | 510 / 525 | 810 / 990 |
| Young people active in the clubs | 277 / 300 | 510 / 525 | 810 / 825 |
| Youth monitors trained | 300 / 300 | 225 / 510 | 825 / 440 |
| Girls among club members | 52.2% / 50% | – / 50% | 51.1% / 50% |
| Girls among club leaders | 48% / 30% | – / 35% | 50.7% / 40% |
| Members from groups at risk of exclusion | 4.6% / 15% | 15% / 15% | 6.2% / 15% |
| Young people reached by the clubs (cumulative) | 1,623 / 2,000 | 3,255 / 3,500 | 5,987 / 8,067 |
| Schools whose services are monitored | 17 / 20 | 35 / 35 | 54 / 55 |
| Infrastructure projects monitored (cumulative) | 21 / 20 | 27 / 31 | 63 / 55 |
| Joint Working Groups | 20 / 20 | 35 / 35 | 34 / 55 |
| Integrity Club meetings | 295 / 360 | – / 630 | 314 / 990 |
| Learning sessions with other schools | 32 / 40 | 34 / 70 | 56 / 110 |
| Fix rate of the problems found | 22% / 50% | 32% / 50% | – / 50% |
| Impact measured by the Fixi Score | 43% / 15% | – / 15% | – / 15% |
Result / target. Targets are CERC’s: Year 1 from the August 2017 results framework, Years 2 and 3 from the revised DRC framework (CERC’s share; joint targets with CEDEJ were higher – for example 75 clubs in Year 3, of which 55 for CERC). Sources: the Year 1 monitoring template and internal evaluation, the Year 1, 2 and 3 reports to Integrity Action and the Year 3 monitoring sheet (54 schools). Activities stopped from April 2020 (COVID-19 school closures). “–”: not reported.
Evaluation
In October 2018, CERC evaluated the first year of the project. It found it relevant, effective and efficient, with “professional and transparent” management.
Douce Kanyeba Songolo, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer, and Heri Bitamala, then Programme Officer, carried out the internal evaluation. They used adapted World Bank evaluation criteria: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability.
The evaluation draws on the project documents and on a field mission from 15 September to 4 October 2018 with students, teachers, principals, community members and providers. It also draws on a survey of club members at the start and end of the year.
| Indicator | Target | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Young monitors aged 15 to 19 | 300 | 300, 152 of them girls |
| Young people still active in the clubs at year end | 300 | 277 |
| Girls among club members | 50% | 52% |
| Girls among club leaders | 30% | 48% |
| Members from groups at risk of exclusion | 15% | 4.6% |
| Integrity Clubs | 20 | 20, 19 of them active |
| Young people reached by the clubs | 2,000 | 1,623 |
| Impact measured by the Fix Score | 15% | 43% |
Between the start and the end of the year, club members’ answers changed markedly:
The trainings for teachers and club leaders had a multiplier effect. Those trained went on to train 240 other club members and more than 1,600 students in other schools.
Lessons learned
The evaluation found the project “unquestionably relevant”. It reached most of its planned results, and “project management was professional and transparent”.
It also points to weaknesses:
Where the money came from, how it was spent, and how it is accounted for.
The project’s funds in CERC’s records: received from the donor and spent, each year.
| Year | Received (US$) | Spent (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | 57,888.92 | 56,272.27 |
| 2018–19 | 44,425.40 | 44,786.65 |
| 2020 | 30,306.30 | 27,798.84 |
| 2022 | – | 3,521.36 |
| Total | 132,620.62 | 132,379.12 |
| US$ | |
|---|---|
| Programme activities | 56,610.13 |
| Staff costs | 50,796.32 |
| Administration and overheads | 12,125.02 |
| Rent, running costs and equipment | 9,312.72 |
| Professional fees, training and audit | 3,534.93 |
Amounts in US dollars as recorded in Salesforce from the audited accounts; the detailed statements are in the next section.
Accountability
Every period audited by Group BEAGCERC received CDF 93,925,930 from Integrity Action for year 1, CDF 73,202,400 for year 2 and US$31,320.20 for phase 3. The accounts of the first two years were kept in Congolese francs; they are converted into US dollars at the Banque Centrale du Congo’s average rate for the year in which most of each period falls (CDF 1,622.52 per dollar in 2018, CDF 1,647.76 in 2019), as on our financial accountability page. CERC made no contribution of its own.
| Period | Received | Received US$ | Spent US$ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 · Oct 2017 – Sep 2018 | CDF 93,925,930 | 57,888.92 | 56,272.27 |
| Year 2 · Oct 2018 – Sep 2019 | CDF 73,202,400 | 44,425.40 | 44,786.65 |
| Phase 3 · Oct 2019 – Dec 2020 | US$31,320.20 | 30,306.30 | 27,798.84 |
| Total 2017–2020 | 132,620.62 | 128,857.76 |
Phase 3: US$31,320.20 received according to the 2020 audit, of which US$1,013.90 (at the audit’s rate of CDF 2,000 per dollar) is the year 2 balance already counted. Balance at the end of 2020: US$3,521.36, owed to Integrity Action; with the US$241.50 exchange difference, it accounts for the gap between funds received and spent (in francs, the balances chain exactly). The funds of October–December 2019 fall between two audits.
91.65% of the CDF 102,481,500 budget was received. Spending went to staff (CDF 32,520,000), programme activities – trainings, clubs and monitoring, awareness raising and advocacy (CDF 39,991,100) –, rent, running costs and equipment (CDF 6,196,080), professional fees (CDF 3,138,200) and overheads (CDF 9,457,500). The workshop planned in Kinshasa with civil society organisations was held in Bukavu, the December 2017 campaign did not take place and the clubs were supported for only eight months out of twelve. Balance at 30 September 2018: CDF 2,623,050.
With the year 1 balance, the project had CDF 75,825,450. The clubs’ recognition ceremony was postponed to December 2019, as students could not be mobilised during the long holidays. Balance at 30 September 2019: CDF 2,027,803.
In 2020, CERC spent US$27,798.84: salaries (15,605.58), work with schools (4,799.45), training (1,203.05), clubs and monitoring (826.60), advocacy (953.44), professional fees (45.15), communication, printing and supplies (2,227.52) and overheads (2,138.05). At 31 December 2020, the audit records the balance of US$3,521.36 as a debt to Integrity Action.
The accounts were audited by Group BEAG (Uvira), with reports signed by Armand Aluma, chartered accountant, for year 1 (29 October 2018), year 2 (14 October 2019) and the 2020 accounts: each time an unqualified opinion. The auditors recommended surprise cash counts, a better inventory, compliance with purchasing procedures and payment of taxes and social contributions on salaries; CERC began paying them during year 2, and some recommendations were still to be implemented in 2019.
The 20 services and 21 infrastructure projects that the 300 monitors followed from February 2018 were worth more than US$1 million. The clubs received small grants for their monitoring and advocacy. The year 1 evaluation found that the project reached most of its planned results while staying within the budget agreed with Integrity Action; among the weaknesses it noted, good-quality trainings could not be repeated, for lack of funds.
Partners
CERC thanks Integrity Action, NORAD and Sida, the principals, teachers, facilitators and parents of the partner schools in Uvira and Bukavu, the education authorities of South Kivu, the community radio stations that broadcast the clubs’ debates, and above all the students of the Integrity Clubs.
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