Financing for equity in higher education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students
4. Support for students' living costs
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
Between 2006 and 2020, the gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo remained low, fluctuating around a narrow range from 4.21% to 6.38% over the years. In 2013, which is the only year for which data are available, initial government funding per tertiary student amounted to 77.46% of GDP per capita, while data on initial household funding were not available.
Tuition-free status
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, public higher education is not guaranteed to be tuition-free. Students at public universities and institutes are required by law and regulation to pay academic charges. The 1981 Ordinance Law on the General Organisation of Higher and University Education recognises institutional financial autonomy under the Ministry of Higher, University Education, Scientific Research and Innovation (MESURSI), providing the legal basis for institutions to levy student fees. This is operationalised through annual MESURSI “academic instructions/circulars” that list fee categories and ceilings, including the explicit statement that “Higher and university studies are payable” and that academic and related fees at public higher institutions are fixed.
Governance
As stipulated in the 1981 Ordinance Law on the General Organisation of Higher and University Education, the Ministry of Higher, University Education, Scientific Research and Innovation (Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur, Universitaire, Recherche Scientifique et Innovation, MESURSI) is the current authority for the higher education sector. The same ordinance lists the sector’s governing organs (including the supervisory ministry, university boards, and institutions) and imposes the authority with powers of authorisation, approval, and opposition over institutional acts. In addition, the 2017 Ordinance Law on Fixing the Powers of the Ministries further specifies that MESURSI is responsible for establishing and supervising public universities, accrediting private institutions, recognising diplomas, managing scholarships and research policy, and overseeing the use of public assets within the higher education system.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
Article 38 of the Ordinance-Law No. 81/025 of October 3, 1981, requires each public higher education institution to prepare an annual budget that is reviewed by the supervising ministry and approved by the Board of Administration, while its day-to-day execution is delegated to the Management Committee under ministerial oversight. Article 44 reaffirms that institutions enjoy financial management autonomy but only within the framework defined and monitored by the ministry. In practice, this means that public universities and higher institutes receive funds directly from the central government, not through subnational or provincial administrations, and operate under a centrally approved budgetary framework.
2. Education resources to institutions
Funding for private universities in the absence of public institutions
Private universities are not publicly funded. The Ordinance-Law No. 81/025 of October 3, 1981 defines public higher education institutions as entities of public law financed and supervised by the state, while private institutions operate independently under ministerial authorisation and accreditation according to the 2017 Ordinance Law on Fixing the Powers of the Ministries. However, they do not receive operational subsidies or recurrent state transfers, and their financing relies almost entirely on tuition and other private revenues.
Allocation and equity
Budgeting for public higher education institutions follows a centralised system where universities draft their own budgets. Each institution must prepare an annual budget detailing revenues and expenditures, subject to ministerial review and approval as stipulated in the Ordinance-Law No. 81/025 of October 3, 1981. However, there is no official formula or allocation mechanism publicly defined.
3. Education resources to students
Admission for vulnerable groups
Admission to public higher education institutions is primarily merit-based, assessed through the national secondary examination, with no formal affirmative admission criteria or quota systems for vulnerable groups.
Scholarships, grants and loans for vulnerable groups
In 2025, MESURSI introduced a policy granting a 50 percent reduction in tuition and accommodation for students with disabilities, aiming to promote accessibility and inclusion in public universities. The Arrêté Interministériel N°022 establishes that students with disabilities enrolled in public higher education institutions are entitled to a 50 percent reduction in tuition fees. This measure was issued jointly by the Ministry of Higher, University Education, Scientific Research and Innovation and the Ministry of Social Affairs and it aims to promote inclusion and ensure equal access to higher education for learners with physical, sensory, or intellectual disabilities.
Government-led financial aid programmes remain limited, but several universities have adopted tuition instalment systems to ease the burden on students, while NGOs and church organisations provide tuition or living cost support for vulnerable learners.
4. Support for students’ living costs
Transportation
In 2022, the government launched the Trans-Academia programme by placing 100 buses at the disposal of university students to facilitate their mobility and offer discounted fares (half-price) and monthly subscription options across campuses in Kinshasa and beyond. The service was formalised through Decree No. 22/12 of 25 March 2022, which established Trans-Academia as a public company under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Higher, University Education, Scientific Research and Innovation. According to the decree, the company’s primary mission is to organise and operate a public bus service offering preferential tariffs for students enrolled in higher and university institutions. To achieve this goal, Trans-Academia is mandated to ensure student mobility in accordance with academic timetables by providing transport between designated university stops, to conduct studies and propose policies to address long-term challenges in student transportation and to implement or recommend all necessary measures to improve accessibility and mobility conditions for students.
Accommodation
Accommodation support in higher education is limited to a government programme granting a 50 percent reduction in housing fees for students with disabilities under the Arrêté Interministériel N°022. Beyond this measure, no other government-led accommodation support is currently available for university students.
Textbooks
No evidence was found of any government subsidies or support for textbooks in higher education.
This profile was reviewed by Isidore Murhi Mihigo, Researcher at the Université Catholique de Bukavu.
