MENTAL HEALTH IN CONGOLESE SCHOOLS: FROM LEGAL FICTION TO STAKEHOLDER IMPROVISATION, INSTITUTIONALIZATION IN SEARCH OF MEANING

This article examines the systemic divide between the legislative ambitions of Congolese schools and conditions on the ground marked by structural precarity. Although the 1995 Education Act and the 2022-2026 National Health Development Plan(PNDS) position psychological well-being as a driver of educational success, the study shows that this institutionalization amounts to a legal fiction. Drawing on the neo-institutionalist framework of J. Meyer and B. Rowan (1977), the research identifies substantial decoupling: the institution adopts international standards through superficial isomorphism to secure external legitimacy without transforming actual practices. A qualitative investigation involving 18 key stakeholders reveals that this decoupling is reflected in a complete absence of budgetary provision and intermediary support structures.This vacuum forces teachers to engage in informal “bricolage,” an ethic of compensatory care reported in 81% of cases, which generates professional burnout and compassion fatigue. Without an official clinical framework, institutional silence gives way to mystical and religious interpretations of psychological disorders (72%), perpetuating student stigmatization. To address this anomie, the study recommends transforming Pedagogical Coordination Units into Spaces for Collaborative Development and Psychosocial Support.