Uvira, May 19th, 2025 (CPA) – A number of Congolese pupils from the territories of Uvira and Walungu in South Kivu (east of the Democratic Republic of Congo), refugees in Burundi following the Rwandan aggression, spoke on Monday of their difficulties in attending classes normally, faced with the barrier of the local language of instruction, essentially Kirundi. ‘The pace and the language in which some lessons are given here in Burundi make us a bit passive at school. There are certainly classes where we are taught in French and English, but most of the others are taught in Kirundi and we can barely adapt to them. Also, the national curriculum in Burundi is very different from our curriculum in the DRC,’ says Adrien Bahige, a pupil in the 8th year of basic education. ‘So as not to lose the balance in the subjects taught, we asked for special lessons to be organised for us in the camps where we are interned, obviously by Congolese teachers who are also refugees here’, he added.
He continued: ‘This will enable us to keep up with our colleagues who are teaching in the DRC. What’s more, we are disturbed and hope that this war will come to an end so that we can return to our homes, so that we don’t fall behind in our schooling’. The war of aggression, caused by the invasion of the army supported by its AFC-M23 auxiliaries, has been disrupting school activities in the territories of Walungu and Uvira since February. Against this extremely difficult backdrop, some families were forced to seek refuge in Burundi. Faced with this situation, other children have been forced to drop out of school altogether due to their parents’ lack of financial resources.