How to address the language barrier to improve access and quality of research training in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the multilingual countries in Africa, with more than 250 local languages.  In addition to French as an official language, the country has four national languages: Lingala, Swahili, Tshiluba, Kikongo.  Didactics (or learning) can only be effective if it is integrated into the tri-relation of «language-education-development», in the context of the DRC’s development process.

Unfortunately, the DRC lags behind in the integration of English in scientific, technological and innovation research. While the non-formal usage of English alone is not the problem, many international opportunities and interventions are provided in English which denies DRC citizens in benefiting from many transformation educational initiatives. This happens because of a historical context, which I discuss next, and further provides insights into how these can be solved. 

Institutional and political context of the scientific research sector

The DRC’s education system needs a lot of support to catch-up with the scientific research and education in other African countries or the Western countries. The gaps in general education levels is due to the long history of political unrest and persistent conflicts especially in the mineral-rich areas. The percentage of gross domestic product allocated to research and development (R&D) is still at very low levels.

The DRC’s education system needs a lot of support to catch-up with the scientific research and education in other African countries or the Western countries.

There were a number of national level efforts which have increased the literacy rates though more is still expected. Since September 2019, the government has been implementing its flagship free basic education programme.

The Council of Ministers approved and appropriated the Scientific Research Policy Document of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DPRS), referenced DRC/GC/SGG/0615/2021 of 29 November 2021. This document has defined the organization and coordination of capacities, skills and programs, in order to promote the economic, social, environmental and cultural progress of the DRC, and to increase investments in human resources, infrastructure and equipment.

Main challenges of the scientific research sector

Scientific research is one of the key areas of nation development.  However, in the DRC, this area does not seem to receive special attention from the authorities, because the budget allocated to this sector is insignificant. The challenges facing scientific research in the RDC are threefold:  institutional research capacity, research supply capacity and the provision of scientific, technical and innovation knowledge.  

Firstly, regarding institutional research capacity, the governance of the research system in the DRC has long been a problem, resulting in a slowdown in activities carried out in public and private research institutions and higher education establishments. This reveals a number of weaknesses, notably the inadequacy of the legal and regulatory framework, the absence of planned implementation measures, the lack of research coordination mechanisms and an adequate statistical information system, all of which have weakened the DRC's scientific and technological research system.

Secondly, on research supply capacity, the lack of the critical mass needed in public-sector institutions and higher education establishments is one of the major weaknesses of the research offered in the DRC. This is due to the ageing of the scientific community, particularly senior researchers, the absence of a status that values researchers, the absence of a policy of training to doctoral level, the absence of a policy of upgrading staff, especially in promising scientific fields, the absence of incentives for students in scientific fields at secondary and higher education level, and the non-existence of measures to encourage and support deserving researchers.

Thirdly, on the provision of scientific, technical and innovation knowledge, one of the major weaknesses of the DRC's scientific apparatus lies in the absence of a strategic vision for short, medium and long-term research programming, based on sustainable development priorities. An analysis of the research programs initiated in the DRC since the country's accession to national and international sovereignty reveals that most of them have not been carried out within the framework of a national development plan.

Consequences of language and national barriers in research

In the DRC, these consequences lead to inequalities for underrepresented communities, making information and knowledge in a language other than French inaccessible for students, researchers and even decision makers.

Globally, scientists generally disseminate their research in English, but rarely in other potentially relevant languages like French. Many academic research search engines are made with English as the focus leading to the situation where French writing is either ignored, or French innovations especially from African countries are scarcely engaged with or found in global relevant contexts in a timely manner.

English-French Collaboration, the key to reforming and improving scientific research

I argue that, while DRC is politically a Francophone country, efforts that use traditional and tech-tools to drive collaborations and capacity building for French speakers like citizens of the DRC will provide significant development results. The linguistic diversity could promote greater scientific productivity, through three factors:

1. Collaboration between Congolese universities and universities in English-speaking countries: Congolese universities, with the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN) in the lead, should seal partnerships focused on development with other African, Global South and global universities.  An example is what emerged from the official visit that a delegation from Harvard University had made on January 18, 2023 on the UNIKIN campus.  In terms of training and capacity building, the Harvard University delegation mentioned the scholarship program for students, for the scientific body, for professors and deans of faculties and heads of higher education institutions.

I argue that, while DRC is politically a Francophone country, efforts that use traditional and tech-tools to drive collaborations and capacity building for French speakers like citizens of the DRC will provide significant development results

2. Use of technology as a lever to train French Speakers at Scale: Given the post-COVID-19 context where a lot of technologies that are available for researchers to engage and interact with each other. I believe that training institutions that usually focus on English speaking countries can now rope-in the French speaking countries. There are many research training courses or on-demand courses that are developed in English. With technology, they can be converted into French with videos recorded in French or with French transcripts that can help a vast number of French students and learners. Efforts like that can also enable the French speakers to eventually learn how to speak or read in English. 

3. Improving education as a vector of development and social transformation: Education is a fundamental right, a powerful vector of development and one of the best ways to reduce poverty, raise health levels, promote gender equality and advance peace and stability.  It has a significant positive impact on improving incomes and is the first factor of equity and inclusion.  Moreover, the fourth objective of sustainable development (SDG 4) is to ensure access to quality education for all, on an equal footing, and to promote lifelong learning opportunities. Any intervention that includes francophone countries which achieve all these positive impacts.

Conclusions and recommendations

Better choice of languages in scientific research training is a strategic issue, likely to open new opportunities for young Congolese researchers. It is a political and historically connected decision on what language countries selected as the official business language. That is hard to alter, but what is within our power to change is how current research training programmes, interventions and webinars are structured to be inclusive of people from the DRC or other French speaking countries like Benin, Cote d’ivoire or Togo.

I believe that these will require commitment from French speakers, students and researchers as well as the development organizations known in the Anglophone countries that wish to expand into the francophone countries. If done, this will yield positive sustainable development results with an even faster impact than what has been realized in Anglophone countries.

About the Author

Gédéon CHOMBA SENGA is currently a civil servant, teacher and researcher in Kinshasa. He works at the Ministry of Finance, at the Faculty of Law of the Université Belgo-Congolaise (UBC) and at the Ecole Informatique des Finances. He is also national coordinator and international administrator of Francophonie sans frontières. Gédéon is a member of the Dataking Research Lab of Dataking Consulting, where he conducts policy analysis on themes related to public affairs and development. He had some engagements with members of the AuthorAID Ghana Hub.

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