American School of Kinshasa American School of Kinshasa The American School of Kinshasa (TASOK) is an international, private, independent K-12 school in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, for students aged between 3 and 18 years. TASOK was founded in 1961 as "TASOL" for "The American School of Leopoldville", Leopoldville being the name of the capital of the newly independent Democratic Republic of the Congo. The "L" was amended to "K" when the name of the city was changed to Kinshasa in 1966. After independence in 1960, the Congolese schooling system entered into chaos, and many of the European schools that had catered to
Kimwenza Leopoldville. However, a site further north about in size on the crest called Mont Amba had the advantage of being even closer to the city, and in April 1952 the governor general Eugène Jungers ceded ownership of the site to the university. In July 1954 the university was placed under the direction of the Jesuits of the Catholic University of Louvain, and named Lovanium University. While the Jesuits aimed to educate an African elite, the Belgian colonial administration was hostile to this goal, and it was only in 1956 that they recognized the university. After independence it was to become