Challenges in Higher Education Distance Learning in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Open and distance learning has created opportunities for all sorts of people in all walks of life to access education (Badza the complete list is very long.The first problem is the limited technologies. The Democratic Republic of Congo depends on its ICT through imported goods; all hardware and software are made outside of Democratic Republic of Congo.The second problem is the exorbitant costs for such technologies; because all the equipment is imported, it is subject to taxes, shipment fees, and so on.The third problem is that many higher education institutions are located in rural areas that stable electricity—or lack electricity entirely, creating a major obstacle to the effective use of ICT for distance learning.The fourth problem is that in some corners of my country, old technologies such as tape recorders and video are still a novelty; how can we even think to talk about new technologies in those areas?The fifth is a lack of trained instructors. Technologies can be readily available at any place, but it will be very complicated to use it effectively because of the lack of trained people.The Democratic Republic of Congo, with 49 years of independence from Belgium, has never entered such a huge problem of reconstruction and development as today. The program of reconstruction of the country is divided into five sectors: education, electricity, water, health, and infrastructure. In light of this huge program, the country is in great need of skilled people to contribute to and participate in the Congolese work market.Because the country has a high rate of illiteracy, a new condensed and functional version of the content of learning is needed so the population can learn in their spare time. Many workers are highly interested and motivated to learn in their spare time, because they can be working and learning at convenient times, improving their skills to match the evolution of their jobs. People are working under stress created by new jobs, social need, and economic situation; self-training is needed for many people to update their skills and knowledge.It is easy to talk about distance learning and its needs in the Democratic Republic of Congo but is very hard to talk about the challenges because they are so numerous.The first challenge is connected to the quality of materials. Here the big question is how much the people trying to develop these materials are qualified for this job, abiding by national requirement and policy.The second challenge is related to a lack of financial resources. In the last few years of war, the financial area is facing many problems. It is unclear if the Democratic Republic of Congo is ready to provide adequate financial resources to distance learning.The third challenge concerns the attitude of Congolese society to distance learning. From the colonial educational system, psychology, and the attitude of the Congolese people, they were and still are prepared to respect and accept conventional education and not really to consider distance learning. They argue that the face-to-face educational system is the best.The fourth challenge is the lack of distance learning management skills. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, distance learning is hesitantly being accepted step-by-step by few people. However, the management of the distance learning system is still a huge challenge.The last challenge is technophobia.Distance learning is a very complex and complicated system. To find solutions to all challenges facing the Democratic Republic of Congo in the establishment of distance learning in the higher education sector, I put forward some suggestions:Effective use of distance learning in higher education in the Democratic Republic of Congo is still a long way from realization. I do believe that a huge campaign on the impact and benefit of distance learning in the Democratic Republic of Congo will contribute to development of appropriate solutions to the many challenges facing distance learning in my country. Then this developing country can enjoy the benefits of new information and communication technologies.A portrait of a man above text identifying Banza Nsomwe-a-nfunikwa, Associate Professor at the University of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with his email shown inside a bordered rectangle. Associate Professor, University of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.