Students sit future-defining national exams despite gunfire in eastern Congo
Students sit for a State examination following a logistical feat requiring rare cooperation between the government and M23 rebels at the Alfajiri college within Ibanda Commune, in Bukavu, South Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, June 2, 2025.
In a dimly lit classroom of the Goma Technical Industrial Institute, 19-year-old Plamedie Byamungu leans over her desk, pen in hand, determined not to let the rat-a-tat of gunfire silence her future.
This week, more than 31,000 students, including over 14,000 girls, are sitting for these national exams in parts of North Kivu Province seized by the March 23 Movement (M23), a rebel force that has tightened its grip on eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since late 2022.
