Blog post
Educational data: the raw material for accountability in the Congolese mining regions
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the national strategy for education in emergency situations1aims to respond to crises, population displacement and situations1 of instability. However, this strategy does not cover schools which are located around artisanal mining sites, which, even if they are not in open conflict zones, are exposed to a number of factors which increase the vulnerability of the population – such as household mobility, overcrowded classrooms, school drop-out, child labour, as well as the specific vulnerabilities faced by girls.
Lack of reliable data and risks of corruption
This lack of recognition stems from the shortage of detailed, localised and regularly updated educational data. When it is not known how many children are arriving, which schools are under pressure or what actions have actually been taken, it becomes difficult to plan appropriate action and ensure accountability. These areas of uncertainty increase risks of corruption: why is a particular school being prioritised? Are additional resources actually reaching the places they are intended for?
Traditional diagnostic tools, such as statistical yearbooks or RESEN2-type reports, remain essential for understanding the education system as a whole. However, they are structurally ill-suited to artisanal mining areas where the situation can change within a matter of weeks: the opening of a site, an influx of new miners, families settling in, schools becoming overcrowded, and silent dropouts.
The General Cobalt Company in the DRC
Tombolo is an artisanal cobalt mining site located north-east of Kolwezi, in a remote area of Lualaba Province, where the presence of educational institutions remains limited. As a greenfield site which is not yet operational, it offers a rare opportunity to anticipate future developments. The immediate area covers 10 villages and 4,094 inhabitants, including 1,769 children. The two primary schools (EP) within the area, Mpwene and Kaponda, enrol 1,033 pupils, including 504 girls, with a critical pupil-to-teacher ratio of 123.8 at Mpwene, even before any influx linked to the site’s opening.
The Entreprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC) is a Congolese state-owned enterprise tasked with contributing to the structuring, traceability and formalisation of artisanal cobalt mining. By using its own funds to launch a structured review of the socio-educational pillar of the area even before the site opened, and by financing initial rapid interventions — renovation of schools in the area, provision of textbooks, and refurbishment of community sports facilities — the EGC is adopting a unique approach by anticipating vulnerabilities rather than waiting for them to arise. In order to implement this approach, EGC has developed a territorial mapping tool that helps translate education data into action.
A dynamic school map promoting transparency
Mapping schools is not simply a matter of placing them on a map. It is about highlighting needs, priorities, resources and the gaps between what is promised and what is actually achieved.
At this stage, the tool developed by EGC is a mobile territorial visualisation mechanism that is based on information gathered in the field, including during a working visit by the Minister in charge of the portfolio on 10 June 2026. It covers the Tombolo site, the ten villages within the area, the schools and includes various data from the assessment: condition of buildings, photographs, pupil numbers, divisions, classrooms and available equipment.
The challenge now is to consolidate this foundation into a fully dynamic school map, a tool for planning, transparency and accountability, enabling the monitoring of how the education system actually operates: pupil numbers, pupil-teacher ratios, availability of textbooks, attendance, vulnerabilities faced by girls, and changing needs. Stakeholders include the EGC, education authorities, school management teams, and technical and financial partners. This tool would allow resources, such as the 0.3 percent allocated to community development as per the mining code, to be channelled towards needs that have been objectively identified and are verifiable.
The role of AI in improving data
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to further improve the use of this data. While it has not yet been integrated as an operational feature of the school map, is it a component currently being prototyped. After first establishing a reliable regional database, the tool will be enhanced to perform simple data queries, cross-referencing between disparate sources, flagging of inconsistencies and identifying weak signals.
The aim would be to flag issues that require a quick response: sudden increases in pupil numbers, falls in attendance, teacher shortages, recurring needs for textbooks, or discrepancies between promised support and support that is actually provided. Used with caution, AI can thus help transform scattered data into actionable alerts, while making decision-making processes more transparent and verifiable.
Overall, in a mining region, raw data is also a raw material that must be extracted, verified, refined and transformed into useful information. In Tombolo, the challenge is to turn educational data into a tool for transparency, trust and accountability.
- Stratégie de l’éducation et de la formation en situations d’urgence en République démocratique du Congo 2025–2029.
- Rapport d’état du système éducatif national.
