Online Internship at the World Bank, Western and Central Africa Region (Mubin Khan Afridi)

From 5^th February to 8^th March 2024, I conducted an online internship at the World Bank, Western and Central Africa Region under the supervision of education economist Dr Bernard Yungu Loleka, an Ogawa Zemi alumnus. During my internship, I focused on Service Delivery Indicators (SDI) of secondary schools of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Throughout the internship, I analyzed the World Bank dataset of SDI in DRC using STATA to assess secondary school teachers’ knowledge of DRC. Through data cleaning and analyzing, I identified performance discrepancies of teachers of the Democratic Republic of Congo in three key subjects: mathematics, French language and earth and life sciences. I also assisted in determining the minimum and average scores attained by secondary school teachers in these subjects, revealing that a majority did not meet the minimum score threshold of 80%, with overall average scores being notably low. Furthermore, the analysis highlighted a deficiency in mathematics proficiency among teachers in both urban and rural regions of DRC, with rural areas exhibiting comparatively lower levels of knowledge. Notably, female teachers demonstrated lower mathematics scores compared to their male counterparts, and a noticeable gap in mathematics proficiency was observed between public and private school teachers in the DRC.

Moreover, I contributed to the drafting of the SDI report concerning secondary schools in the DRC. My responsibilities included authoring module six of the report, titled “Teachers’ Knowledge,” which encompassed data analysis interpretation, result formulation, and policy recommendation.

In conclusion, my internship at the World Bank provided me valuable opportunities to delve into critical education issues particularly, teachers’ knowledge. I gained practical insights into the challenges and potential of the teacher’s knowledge in the education system of the DRC

I also want to express my appreciation to my supervisor Professor Keiichi Ogawa, and my internship supervisor Dr. Bernard for their mentorship and support. Their guidance significantly contributed to my professional growth. Their encouragement has been instrumental in shaping my experience and fostering my research skills.

Authored by: Mubin Khan Afridi (Master’s Student)