Year Zero: 534 students and education actors consulted to design Students Acting

CERC received the Year Zero funds, US$23,986, in mid-June 2021, about three months after the period began, and adjusted its work plan. Because of Covid-19, workshops were limited to 20 participants, so more of them were held. Over 40 days, the team heard from:

The team ran participative workshops on what motivates young people to act, met the Provincial Directorates and Ministries of Education of South Kivu and Kinshasa and the national Ministry, held 16 key informant interviews and surveyed knowledge, attitudes and practices in 41 secondary schools.

In July, four consultative workshops followed, 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 9 participants from 6 faith-based education coordinations. With the 12 senior officials, discussions focused on bringing Integrity Clubs into every secondary school and the Integrity Education Handbook into the national curriculum.

The consultations also brought a hard truth to light: female students reported sexual harassment and sexual bribery in exchange for grades. CERC is committed to researching these issues further.

Next, the programme team will turn the evidence into the project: its objectives, theory of change, monitoring framework and budget, with a gender equality and social inclusion strategy and a baseline survey. The goal is Integrity Clubs in 150 secondary schools of South Kivu and Kinshasa, with 2,250 students aged 14 to 19 trained to monitor their schools.

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