ENROLLING CHILDREN

DOOR AFTER DOOR

Class photo of formerly out-of-school children, Kimpanda

Primary School of Djuma (Bandundu). Benoit Almeras /
UNICEF, 2014.

Door-to-Door Enrollment
Campaigns in Bandundu
Province

UN ITED N ATIONS C HILDRE N S FUND Demo cratic Re publ i c of t he Congo

CONTEXT
According to the national survey
on Out-Of-School Children (OOSC)
conducted in 2012 with the technical
support from UNICEF, more than 7
million children aged 5 to 17 were
not enrolled or not attending school.
Half of these are 6 to 11 years old,
the age group corresponding to the
compulsory primary education.
The survey identified household
poverty; long distance between
homes and schools; the poor
physical state of schools; the
low education level of parents;
and gender discrimination are

Diane Nzinga, 7 years old, was enrolled at Kimpanda school following

the 2013 door-to-door campaign. As a first-grader, she learned how to
read and write.
UNICEF / Benoit Almeras-Martino, 2014.
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considered as the main causes explaining

this phenomenon.
In order to respond to this issue, the
education authorities of Bandundu
province have set up the door-to-door
strategy to enroll children in age of
attending first grade, with the support of
UNICEF.
This strategy is implemented as a part of
the back-to-school campaign. It is a simple
and effective initiative that encourages
parents to enroll their children in school.

E N RO L L IN G CH IL DREN DOOR AFTE R DOOR Do o r to Do o r E n ro llme nt Ca m pa i gns i n B a ndundu Prov i nc e

DESIGN: HOW IT WORKS

Children of 6 and 7 years of age are
the main targets of the door-todoor campaign. In Bandundu only,
200,000 of these children were not
attending school according to the
OOSC survey.
Th e d oor - to - door c a m pa i gn c ove rs
t h e 5 2 e duc a t i ona l subdi v i si ons of
t h e en t i re p rov inc e of Ba ndundu.
Th e c a m pa i g n pl a nni ng ta ke s pl a c e in
Ju ly dur i n g a pre pa ra ti on workshop ,
p rio r to t h e s ta rt of t he sc hool ye ar.
Fo r t he 2 01 4 c ampa i gn, e a c h
ed u ca t i ona l s ubdi v i si on wa s di v i ded
in to s eve ra l s i t es (9-10 si t e s pe r
s u b d iv i s i on on ave ra ge ) w he re t he
act u a l c a m p a i g n wa s c onduc t e d
u n d er t he s u pe r v i si on of a me mber
of t h e Educ a t i ona l a dmi ni st ra t i on of
t h e p rov i nc e. On ave ra ge, e a c h si t e
covers f i f t e e n pri m a r y sc hool s.
Befo re t h e s ta r t of t he c a mpa i gn,
every s c h ool re c ords t he numbe r of
6 an d 7 ye a r ol ds w ho a re a l re a dy
en ro ll e d i n f i rs t gra de.
Th ree we e ks a ft e r the be gi nni ng of

USING IDENTIFICATION SHEETS

classes, a team of fo u r id en tifiers
is set u p in every p articip atin g
sch o o l 1 . Th e team h as th e
resp o n sib ility of id en tifyin g
ch ild ren wh o are n o t yet en ro lled.
With in a week, th e team visits
80 families ( o n averag e) livin g in
th e vicin ity of th e sch o o l, u sin g a
b asic d o o r- to - d o o r meth o d. In eve ry
family, th e team memb ers reco rd t he
to tal n u mb er of 6 an d 7 years o ld
ch ild ren ; th e n u mb er of ch ild ren w ho
are n o t yet en ro lled ; an d th e mai n
reaso n exp lain in g why th e latter have
n o t yet b een en ro lled.
Paren ts are en co u rag ed to en ro ll t he i r
ch ild ren 2 , b u t n o t fo rced to d o so .
At th e en d of th e camp aig n , every
sch o o l co n d u cts a cen su s amo n g t he
first g rad ers in o rd er to assess t he
n u mb er of ch ild ren wh o h ave b een
en ro lled as a resu lt of th e camp a i gn.

the members of the team are usually the schools principal, a

member of the Parents Committee, a teacher who is also a member
of the schools management committee and a person of authority
within the community.
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if they decide to enroll their children, parents can choose any
school within the supervision site.

During the campaign, the members of the

identification team fill in identification sheets
recording the number of 6 and 7 year old children
who are enrolled and not yet enrolled in first grade.

The identification sheets are sent to the site

supervisor, who compiles collected data in a
supervision form sent to the educational subdivision.

The Educational Subdivision synthesizes all the

supervision forms and produces a report sent to
Educational Division.

The Educational Division compiles data received and

forwards a report to the provincial ministry in charge
of the primary education.

This allows the province to track the number of

children who have been effectively enrolled at school
and, if necessary, adjust the management of the doorto-door campaign.

UN ITED N ATIONS C HILDRE N S FUND Demo cratic Re publ i c of t he Congo

IN DJUMA, OPEN DOORS DAY FOR THE IDENTIFICATION TEAM

It is 6:30 AM in Djuma. The day has just begun. Jacques Kudia, Ngweme
Schools principal, has been up for more than an hour already. While pupils
arrive at the schools plot, Jacques intends to visit the last remaining
neighborhood in order to complete his part of the door-to-door campaign.
His assistant, Henri Makwata, has joined to help him fill the identification
sheets, which serve to do an account of the children who are not yet
enrolled at Ngweme School.
We kept the easiest part for the end, warns Jacques. This area is close
from the schools premises. We shouldnt find any out-of-school children.
The door-to-door campaign lasts for six days. Each member of Ngweme
Schools identification team must visit 28 families. This can only be done
during the early morning or late afternoon hours.
This morning, Jacques and Henri only need to visit about ten houses. The
doors of the already visited houses were marked with chalk so they are not
visited twice.
Unsurprisingly, the children of the visited families are already enrolled
at Ngweme School. Yet Jacques and Henri take time to complete the
identification form while discussing with the parents.
It is now 7:30 AM, and Jacques and Henris tour is coming to an end. Last

year, the identification team found 22 children who were not yet enrolled in
first grade. Only five of them were eventually enrolled.
In 2013, we encountered more difficulties, says Jacques because the
schools classroom were in terrible shape. We sensitized the parents about
that issue.
I was very surprised by their commitment. Every pupils parents gave
1,000 francs to buy local bricks. Everyone worked hard to build new
classrooms. UNICEF helped us by providing metal sheets for the roofing.
Now all parents want to enroll their children at Ngweme School!
In 2014, 79 new students have already enrolled in first grade. The number
is expected to rise : at least 8 out-of-school children will enroll in first grade
at the end of the door-to-door campaign according to the identification
team.
I expect parents to come this afternoon to enroll them, explains Jacques
enthusiastically.
This campaign was easier than the previous one. Parents are used to see
us. We are better at convincing them to enroll their children at school. I
think we will have to open a second classroom for first-graders soon!

E N RO L L IN G CH IL DREN DOOR AFTE R DOOR Do o r to Do o r E n ro llme nt Ca m pa i gns i n B a ndundu Prov i nc e

DELIVER: WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED

GRADUAL ROLLOUT OF THE DOOR-TO-DOOR CAMPAIGN
This helped test its effectiveness and adjust the functioning of the
door-to-door campaigns throughout the Province (table below).

When Im at school, I like

having my uniform, notebooks
and pens. I like reading, writing
and learning.
- Franoise Malenge, 7, second-grader at Lusanga
Primary School. She was enrolled in first grade after the
2013 door-to-door campaign.

What made me proud was seeing

the kids enroll, complete the first
grade, and even see some had had
very good results!
- Mathilde Baba, member of Lusangas Mazal Primary
Schools identification team.

School Year

Subdivisions covered

Primary schools covered

2011/2012
2012/2013
2013/2014
2014/2015

4 subdivisions
21 subdivisions
50 subdivisions
52 subdivisions

94 primary schools
2000 primary schools
6081 primary schools
7123 primary schools

COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION
24,000 volunteers visited nearly 488,000 families during the 2013
door-to-door campaign. The 2014 campaign has mobilized over
28,000 volunteers and reached 600,000 families.
EFFECTIVE ENROLLMENT OF OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN
The 2013 campaign contributed to enrolling more than 100,000
children in first-grade. School enrollment rates increased by 42%
compared to 2012.
ADJUSTING 2014 DOOR-TO-DOOR CAMPAIGN
Following the evaluation of the 2013, the preparation workshop held
in July 2014 limited the number of schools per supervision sites, in
order to improve data collection and reporting.
EXTENDING 2014 CAMPAIGN
450 supervisors were mobilized in 2014, a 36% increase from the
2013 campaign. The campaign duration was increased by two days
(six instead of four) in order to facilitate identification work. This will
also help volunteers maintain their professional activity.
5

UN ITED N ATIONS C HILDRE N S FUND Demo cratic Re publ i c of t he Congo

DISCOVER: WHAT IS WORKING

THE AUTHORITIES INVOLVEMENT
The governor of B andundu, the provinces highest political authority,
personally launched the 2014 door-to-door campaign. He set clear
directions to the education authorities. A dozen members of the
provincial parliament set up a working group to promote universal
primary education. The education authorities have sensitized the
political and religious authorities in order to involve them in the
school enrollment campaigns.
IMPROVEMENT OF THE ORGANIZATIONA L CAPACITIES AT ALL
LEVELS
The door-to-door campaigns rely on constant reporting, through
the identification sheets, supervision reports and synthesis. These
tools facilitated the monitoring and evaluation of the door-to-door
campaigns.
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS
Just like immunization campaigns, comm unity members conduct
door-to-door campaigns. They have the confidence of the families
they visit.
INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
In the rural areas of Bandundu, few families have access to the
radio. Public meetings in places of worship, markets, and direct
visits to the families are the most effective methods to convince
parents to enroll their children at school. The impressive coverage of
the 2013 campaig n (480,000 visited families) is a real opportunity
to wor k across the province.

In Djuma, the 2014 door-to-door campaign was

launched with the support of the political authorities
of the province.
Honorable Augustine Bungu

Bandundus provincial Member of Parliament

When we hold public meetings, I try to

convince families to enroll their daughters,
because they are key to development. I want to
serve them as a role model and prove that we can
combine education, work and family life.

Honorable Rmi Kitiri

Bandundus provincial Member of Parliament

We are the voice of the population. We plead

to our authorities so that the education sector
has greater resources to support the education of
every child in Bandundu.

Wivine Musumari
Head of Bulungu 3 educational subdivision

MAINTAINING ENROLLED CHILDREN AT SCHOOL

82% of the first graders completed a full year, despite the dramatic
increase in enrollment rate. In a vast majority of cases, the first
graders who were enrolled after the door-to-door campaign obtained
the required avera ge in grades to move up to the second grade.

What struck me most was the vitality of

communities in the identification of Out-OfSchool Children. I am proud that we have
recovered these children and that we have also
rehabilitated 96 classrooms in 16 schools to
improve their educational environment.

E N RO L L IN G CH IL DREN DOOR AFTE R DOOR Do o r to Do o r E n ro llme nt Ca m pa i gns i n B a ndundu Prov i nc e

DREAM: VISION FOR THE FUTURE

In Bandundu, one of the stated goals is to recover all children in
age of entering primary school. This would enable the province to
symbolically achieve the second Millennium Development Goals,
which aims to provide quality primary education for all. Several
directions have been identified to complete the activities of the
door-to-door campaign.
DEVELOPING PARENTAL EDUCATION
only one out of two children in age of enrolling in first grade were
actually recovered. Many barriers persist in the minds of parents,
especially related to the enrollment of girls and the actual cost of
education. Parental education can serve as a critical tool to improve
girls education.
IMPROVING SCHOOL CAPACITIES
Following the 201 3 campaign, the number of pupils per teacher
in first grade increased significantly 1 . This increase was not
accompanied by a strengthening of the schools capacities. Many
school s are expected to double the number of first grade classes to
improve the educational environment of the pupils.
1

ESTABLISHING SOLIDARITY AND SOCIAL PROTECTION MECHANISMS

FOR VULNERABLE CHILDREN
In many cases, the construction of new classrooms begins with
community fundraising. These mechanisms could also help parents to
cope with the overall cost of education.
KEEPING CHILD REN IN SCHOOL USING ALTERNATIVE METHODS
In Djuma, UNICEF delivered recreational kits to some schools. For the
2014-2015 school year, school supplies were distributed to nearly
52,000 new first graders of Bandundu. UNICEF is considering the
provision of grants to nearly 1,700 primary schools to ensure the
retention of the most vulnerable children, which include children 6
and 7 years old who have been recovered thanks to the campaign.
EXTENDING THE DOOR-TO-DOOR CAMPAIGNS TO THE WHOLE
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO, based on the Bandundu
experience.

39 to 42 pupils per teachers in the case of Bulungu 3 educational subdivision

Parents who decided to enroll their children at school following the 2013 door-to-door campaign

The door-to-door campaigns are led in

partnership with the Ministry of Education of
the province of Bandundu.
This initiative is part of the Back to School
campaign, supported by the Educate A Child
foundation and the Global Partnership for
Education.

Pupils walk back to their homes after the end of the class.
UNICEF / Benoit Almeras-Martino, 2014.