The educational system in the DRC is similar to that of Belgium in that there are six years of primary followed by 6 years of secondary education. The education system has suffered from decades of conflict although recent years have shown an improvement.

In 2000, 65 percent of children ages 10 to 14 were attending school. As a result of the 6-year civil war, over 5.2 million children in the country receive no education. Official numbers for the school year 2009–10, report there were 35,915 primary schools serving 10,572,422 students; and 17,373 secondary schools serving 3,484,459 others.

Of the 10 provinces the hardest hit by a lack of education are the North and South Kivu. More than 42% of children in these provinces have never been to school.