France, Sept. 1 -- Across most of the Democratic Republic of Congo, schools were due to reopen for in-person classes on 1 September, with the government also reiterating that public primary education is free and urging school officials to comply with existing rules on fees.

The start of the 2026-2027 school year will also see the launch of 78 pilot school canteens - three in each province - as well as new "citizen monitoring clubs", according to the Education Ministry.

But in a statement released on 31 August, Minister of State for National Education and New Citizenship Raissa Malu acknowledged that the new term was beginning in a "challenging context".

"Wherever conditions permit, school must resume," she said, expressing particular c...