The Impact of Decentralisation on Educational Governance in the DR Congo: Strained Budgets and a Patchworked Administration

This chapter analyses the impact of decentralisation on educational governance in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It considers two facets of decentralisation: deconcentration and devolution (découpage). We analyse budgetary issues and the number of civil servants as two essential aspects of educational governance. The chapter demonstrates four aspects: First, evidenced by unilateral and precipitated decisions by the Minister of Education, deconcentration has been politically motivated to offer patronage-based recruitment opportunities. The idea to tie educational provinces to administrative provinces (découpage) has recently been abandoned. Second, deconcentration causes budgetary strains that households have to bear while waiting for the government to provide salaries and operational costs. Third, opaque deconcentration reinforces administrative illegibility of educational actors. Fourth, découpage has caused a potential need for restructuring faith-based offices, which are highly fragmented on the ground. The results suggest a marginal role of faith-based organisations in national-level educational policies and of international donors in formalizing decision-making processes within the Ministry of Education, an objective they’ve pursued for several years.