Author: Arsene Mbala

Steady gains define 2025 BAC performance The publication of the June 2025 general baccalaureate results ended an anxious interlude for nearly ninety-three thousand candidates across Congo-Brazzaville. By early afternoon on 15 July, the jury chaired by Professor Dominique Oba had certified 43 682 successful candidates, translating into a 46.97 % pass rate. The figure may appear modest by global standards, yet it represents the sixth straight yearly increase and confirms a trajectory first noted by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, which has tracked a regional upward trend in upper-secondary completion since 2019 (UNESCO, 2024). From 34.76 % in 2020 to…

Strategic training gains diplomatic traction The conference hall of the National Institute for Youth and Sports in Brazzaville seldom attracts the attention of chancelleries, yet the four-day capacity-building session that unfolded there from 30 June to 3 July 2025 resonated far beyond its walls. Forty senior trainers, psychologists and social workers gathered under the joint auspices of the Congolese Ministry of Youth and UNESCO to refine their understanding of juvenile delinquency and gender-based violence. Charles Makaya, chief of staff to Minister Hugues Ngouélondélé, pointedly framed the event as a ‘preventive investment in the republic’s social capital’. His remark echoed the…

Strategic Pedagogy at the Heart of Brazzaville’s Agenda The quiet arrival of five secondary-school prodigies and two of their teachers at Maya-Maya International Airport would normally pass unnoticed. Yet the delegation’s week-long immersion in Shenzhen’s celebrated innovation corridor represents far more than an academic excursion; it is a microcosm of Congo-Brazzaville’s determination to plug its youth directly into the circuitry of the fourth industrial revolution. Endorsed by the Ministry of Technical and Vocational Education and shepherded by UNESCO’s representative Fatoumata Barry, the mission dovetails with President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s National Development Plan, which singles out human-capital enhancement and digital infrastructure…

A Tradition of Excellence at the Heart of Brazzaville The midday sun of 14 July lent a ceremonial glow to the parade ground of Brazzaville’s École Militaire Préparatoire Général Leclerc, where 428 cadets, spotless in khaki and scarlet, heard their names proclaimed against the backdrop of a 100 percent success rate. The school’s average mark of 18.12 out of 20 comfortably surpassed last year’s already formidable performance, a consistency that has become almost expected within this storied institution founded in 1936 and revitalised in 2007 under President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s defence modernisation strategy (Congolese Ministry of Defence communiqué, 2025). Metrics…

An Encouraging Statistical Upswing in 2025 The definitive results of the June 2025 technical and professional baccalaureate have injected a cautious optimism into Congo-Brazzaville’s educational landscape. According to figures released by the national board of examinations, 7 681 of the 15 843 candidates who sat for the assessment obtained their diploma, lifting the success rate to 48.48 percent, a leap of more than five percentage points compared with the previous session’s 43 percent. While still shy of the symbolic 50 percent threshold, the progression is read in Brazzaville as a concrete sign that the reforms launched after the 2022 sectoral…

Corporate citizenship aligned with national development priorities In Congo-Brazzaville, where the median age scarcely crosses twenty and youth unemployment hovers near one third according to the World Bank 2023 estimates, the battle for skills is more than a social imperative; it is a strategic determinant of stability. Against this backdrop, TotalEnergies EP Congo has launched its first edition of the “On Job Training” programme, a nine-month learning pathway that graduated twelve young residents of Djeno at the end of June. The initiative sits comfortably within the government’s 2022–2026 National Development Plan, which prioritises technical education as an accelerator of economic…

Symbolic Departure Signals Deepening Sino-Congolese Educational Ties The quiet departure of five students and two teachers from Maya-Maya International Airport on 8 July has carried a resonance that extends well beyond the terminal gates. Their ten-day immersion in graphic coding, hosted by the Chinese ed-tech platform Codemao in the high-tech corridor of Shenzhen, underscores the growing density of exchanges between the Republic of Congo and the People’s Republic of China. While infrastructure finance has long dominated bilateral headlines, a softer vector—knowledge transfer—now occupies a privileged place in the partnership, mirroring Beijing’s emphasis on people-to-people diplomacy and Brazzaville’s aspiration to cultivate…

Academic Year Culminates Amid Optimism The closing ceremony at Saint Joseph Le Grand in Mfilou merged the solemnity of report-card distribution with the exuberance of a student-led showcase, drawing a standing ovation from parents, teachers and local officials. The scene, carefully choreographed yet disarmingly spontaneous, underscored a national calendar that has seen nearly 1.9 million Congolese pupils complete the 2023-2024 cycle, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. While end-of-term festivities are hardly new, the scale of engagement this year points to a growing realisation that ceremonial pageantry can serve as soft power in the…

A well-choreographed academic marathon When the last scripts of the BEPC are collected on 18 July, Congo-Brazzaville will have guided more than half a million pupils through a three-stage national evaluation cycle that began with the CEPE in early June. According to data released by the Ministry of Pre-School, Primary, Secondary and Literacy Education (MEPPSA), the country’s examination calendar has remained unperturbed by the regional disruptions that have occasionally affected Central Africa’s school systems (UNESCO 2024). The smooth sequencing—from primary gateways to the baccalauréat—has been interpreted by several diplomatic observers as a sign of administrative maturity and political stability. An…

A Symbolic Handshake Rooted in Historical Affinities The cooperation accord initialed on 4 July in Brazzaville was more than a routine academic gesture; it resurrected a long-standing friendship that traces back to the early 1960s, when Soviet universities opened their lecture halls to African liberation leaders. Professor Parisse Akouango, President of Marien Ngouabi University, and Dr Natalia Pomortseva, who led the Russian delegation, framed the signature as a natural extension of those formative decades. Russian officials present at the ceremony underlined that Congo remains a “priority partner” in Moscow’s renewed outreach to Sub-Saharan Africa, a position echoed by several analysts…