CONGO

Preparations for Congolese students to study in Côte d’Ivoire
The higher education minister of Congo, Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua, hosted in Brazzaville a delegation from the Félix Houphouët-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute of Côte d’Ivoire, to discuss arrangements for Congolese students to study at the university.More than 30,000 young Congolese who have passed the baccalauréat, the end-of-school exam, are eligible to enter a competitive examination organised by Congo’s higher education ministry, giving them the chance to be selected to Félix Houphouët-Boigny and other higher education institutions, reported the Agence d’Information d’Afrique Centrale (ADIAC).
Itoua was busy working out cooperation grants and financial arrangements between other states and the University Marien Ngouabi, Congo’s only state-funded university, reported the agency.
Itoua said his ministry was reminding suitable students there were “prospects for them locally or abroad, because for three years, in collaboration with all our partners, we have been organising information campaigns and advice on courses”.
“Each year, educational monitoring is very thorough for Congolese students abroad. For example, we have 82 students in Yamoussoukro (Côte d’Ivoire) who are getting on very well.”
Félix Houphouët-Boigny specialises in disciplines including agronomy, industry, public works, business, mining and geology, reported ADIAC.
Adama Koné, who led the Félix Houphouët-Boigny delegation in Brazzaville, said his university would recruit students depending on their academic records, the competitive exam results and other criteria, but it was not yet decided how many students would be offered places.
ADIAC reported that the 2020-21 academic year at the University Marien-Ngouabi was scheduled to start in February 2021, and the higher education ministry was currently working on organising grants and the inter-state examinations. – Compiled by Jane Marshall.
This article is drawn from local media. University World News cannot vouch for the accuracy of the original reports.