Online School & Homeschool in Lubumbashi

Online school and international curriculum in Lubumbashi

For Lubumbashi families — the mining capital, closer to our teaching clock than Kinshasa is, and far thinner on international schooling.

Live online Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge A-Level, Pearson Edexcel International, IB Diploma Programme, and American Curriculum with Advanced Placement (AP) for Lubumbashi families. Lubumbashi is the DRC's second city and the commercial capital of the copper and cobalt industry — the mining houses' regional offices, the smelters and processing plants, the logistics chains running south to Zambia and on to the Indian Ocean and west along the Lobito Corridor, and a substantial university and medical-faculty community. International schooling here is far thinner than in Kinshasa, and the capital is a long flight away. One useful detail: Haut-Katanga runs CAT, only one hour behind our Nairobi teaching base, which makes scheduling easier here than in the capital.

Challenges Lubumbashi families face

International schooling far thinner than Kinshasa's, with the capital a long flight away.
The mining sector recruits internationally while local provision has not kept pace.
French is the language of instruction, with Swahili widely spoken in the southeast.
Private establishments operate under an agrément regime — and Smartious is not an agréé Congolese establishment.
Time zone: Haut-Katanga runs CAT (UTC+2), just one hour behind Nairobi EAT, fixed all year.

Why Lubumbashi families choose Smartious

Better aligned with us than the capital: Haut-Katanga runs CAT, one hour behind Nairobi rather than two — so classes land in the ordinary Lubumbashi afternoon rather than the evening.
Metallurgy, chemistry and physics taught properly: Cambridge A-Level Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, and Geography — led by a founder with a BEd in Mathematics and Physics — suit a copper and cobalt capital precisely.
The complete option a flight from the tier: Identical live delivery in Lubumbashi and Kinshasa, without relocation.
Regional continuity across the copper belt: Lubumbashi, the Zambian Copperbelt, or the next operation — one curriculum and one examination board across the whole region.
What we are, stated plainly: Not an agréé Congolese establishment; we work alongside your school.

The national framework applies in Haut-Katanga: the loi-cadre of 2014 guarantees the parental liberties described on our hub page, none of which we read as establishing a home-education route, and private establishments require agrément following prior authorisation to open. We are not aware of an established parental home-education route and would point families to the ministry responsible for national education. Smartious is not an agréé Congolese establishment; we work alongside your school. For mining families the supplementary configuration is the natural one, and it travels — the curriculum and examination board continue unchanged across the copper belt into Zambia or onward to the next operation.

Smartious delivers to Lubumbashi families online; the live programme is complete without in-person supplementation.

Live online via Smartious LMS on a one-hour offset, landing in the ordinary Lubumbashi afternoon every week of the year, with every session recorded.

Lubumbashi is the DRC's second city and the commercial capital of the copper and cobalt industry — mining-house offices, smelters and processing plants, the corridors south to Zambia and west to Lobito, and a large university and medical faculty — with international schooling far thinner than Kinshasa's. Haut-Katanga runs CAT (UTC+2), one hour behind Nairobi EAT.

Family situations we work with

Mining-house regional office, engineering, and metallurgy families.
Smelting, processing, and industrial-sector professional families.
University of Lubumbashi academic and medical-faculty families.
Logistics and trading families on the Zambian and Lobito corridors.
Congolese professional families with no local international option.

Lubumbashi communities and nearby areas

Lubumbashi · Kipushi · Likasi · Kambove · Kasumbalesa and the Zambian border · Sakania · the Haut-Katanga belt

Common questions from Lubumbashi families

Why are class times easier here than in Kinshasa?

Because the DRC spans two time zones. Haut-Katanga runs CAT, one hour behind Nairobi, while Kinshasa runs WAT, two hours behind. Classes land in the ordinary Lubumbashi afternoon rather than the evening.

Is there international schooling in Lubumbashi?

Far thinner than in Kinshasa, which is a long flight away. Live online delivery is the complete option for Haut-Katanga, run alongside your school enrolment.

We move between the DRC and the Zambian Copperbelt — does the schooling follow?

Yes: the same curriculum, teachers, and examination board continue across the border, with examinations sat at authorised centres wherever the family is.

Guides for families in DR Congo

What parents say

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“I have peace of mind as a Smartious Homeschool parent. No more traffic and early morning rush to school. Smartious are the most organized homeschool providers.” — Google reviewer, Google review