Action publique éducative et conditions de vie des populations de Kinshasa : Entre contraintes institutionnelles et logiques des acteurs au prisme des résultats de l’agenda 2063 sur le développement durable de la République démocratique du Congo

Abstract

Agenda 2063 is the development program of the African Union from 2013 to 2063. The educational dimension of this continental program carried by objective 2, aims to obtain "educated citizens and a skills revolution reinforced by science, technology and innovation”. This study approaches the 2063 agenda as a global reference. Our attention is focused on public educational action, in relation to objective 02, as a specific reference. For its implementation,the DRC initiated the policy of free primary education. It is constitutional. It was first partial from 2010 to 2018, then total from 2018 to date. Therefore, it should allow not only the improvement of the education system but also of the living conditions of the populations. This is why we seek to know "what is the impact of public educational action on the living conditions of Kinshasa people? We assumed that the preponderance of institutional constraints and the conflicts of logic between actors involved in the implementation of public policies in relation to Agenda 2063; particularly in the education sector, have influenced the slight improvements in the living conditions of the populations of Kinshasa in the DRC. To make this study operational, we use a mixed methodological approach. It mobilizes the structural-functionalist theoretical models of Talcott Parsons and the sociology of public action according to Pierre Lascoumes and Patrick Le Galès. Structural-functionalism has made it possible to analyze the effects of Agenda 2063 according to the AGIL model. As for the sociology of public action, it has helped to analyze the interactions between the actors involved in the implementation of Agenda 2063 and to understand their logic through representations, processes and results. For the collection of primary data, we used direct observation carried out within schools and some departments of studies and planning (DEP). A questionnaire was administered to a representative sample of the population of Kinshasa. For secondary data, we used the documentary technique. Regarding analysis techniques, we used content analysis for semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The statistical method made it possible to group the data and process them in tables and graphs in order to facilitate the analysis. The overall result of this study is mixed. The quantitative data shows that out of the 20 indicators, 3 have levels close to the average, i.e. 15%. The level of income per household increased to 12.9%; the school enrollment rate for children rose to 10.7% and financial and monetary institutions increased to 10.6%. The other indicators are evaluated at 5.6% on average and represent 85% of the total indicators evaluated. Qualitative data show that, due to a lack of planning, the weight of institutional constraints (and other imponderables) as well as the conflicts in the logic of the actors explain the poor results of public action for free education on the well-being of the populations of Kinshasa. We understand that, following political determinism, the PGE is a step backwards. Hence, a social environment where the school is at the center of sustainable endogenous development is necessary