Education

13, February 2017

Biya Francophone Politics: One year after, Still No Laptops ⁰

Laptops were not promised only to Anglophone students!! It was a gift from the Head of State Paul Biya to all university students in Cameroon. The Biya gesture was made public on the 10^th of February 2016 following his address to the youths of the nation last year. Students now say they are disappointed that they are not yet in possession of these machines.

On the 10^th of February 2017 and in the presence of 5 members of government, students from the University of Yaoundé 1 asked for the computers that the Head of State promised to offer them. The students had assembled at the Amphi 700 to listen to the Youth Day address of the Head of State and they expressed their disappointment and disapproval of the 84 year-old leader.

In front of the cabinet ministers, the predominantly Francophone student audience shouted immediately the broadcast of the speech came to an end “What about the computers he promised on this same day last year? No no ! He still forgot about our computers. We are disappointed; all students were waiting for these computers.”

The Minister of Communication made matters worse when he noted to the angry student community that “I want to reassure you that you will be in possession of the computers. It is a question of preparing them. The Government was not obliged to make this offer to you. It’s because you’re an android generation, you’ll have them. “

Yves Emvudu Wono, head of the IT department of the Ministry of Higher Education, recently said that the computers would be distributed during the academic year. A leading opposition figure in Yaounde was quoted as saying that even a small business center in Douala is capable of supplying Cameroon will a million laptop computers.

However, Speaking of the state of progress of this project, Mr Emvudu Wono said: “the first part including all the administrative procedures has been finalized. Cameroon has already fulfilled all its specifications. All those involved, namely the Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, the Caisse Autonome d’Amortissement and the Prime Minister’s office have already fulfilled their part in this long procedure. The other stage concerns universities. It was necessary for the Ministry of Higher Education to develop the modus operandi and discuss it with the heads of these academic institutions. Now these institutions are working to produce the list of beneficiary students. As for our third step, the Chinese designer started manufacturing these machines. We must speed up the preparation of the lists. We should not be late when the computers are available. “

As a reminder, it was during his speech on the 10^th of February 2016 that the Head of State made the announcement of the donation of computers to students of state universities. Jacques Fame Ndongo, the Minister of Higher Education, added that the objective of the project was to provide 500,000 Cameroonian students with computer tools to link them to the digital university economy.

By Chi Prudence Asong

3, February 2017

Open Letter to so-called South West Elites ²

Dear Elites,

It was with great displeasure that I watched pictures of the meeting that was called and chaired by former Prime Minister, Peter Mafany Musonge, in the Southwest regional capital of Buea. I acknowledge that as a region we have to work together and be vigilant so as to preserve whatever little assets we have. However, yesterday’s meeting was baseless and it clearly demonstrated that those who claim to represent us are out of touch with reality. The current situation in West Cameroon has nothing to do with the famous southwest-northwest divide that you, the so-called southwest elites, have been promoting for years for your own parochial and personal interest.

The people of West Cameroon have been victims of marginalization for many decades and they are expressing their disappointment with a system that has reduced them to sorry spectators of events in a country that is supposed to be theirs. I hold that instead of seeking to fan the embers of division – which is your favorite sport – it will be smart of you to carry the people’s complaints to the appropriate quarters for a speedy resolution. The people of the southwest region are not on the same wavelength with you the so-called elites. You have been living an alternative reality that is at variance with what the people have been experiencing. While you have access to the state treasury which has given you and your children a beautiful and privileged life, the overwhelming majority of South-westerners have been languishing in abject poverty which has robbed them of their dignity and happiness. If you think you represent these people, you should be listening to them with a view to understanding the challenges blighting their lives. On the contrary, you seem to have lodged yourselves in an imaginary ivory tower wherein you require these same people to come and bow to you just like angels do to God. The people are sick and tired of this unpalatable drama which clearly belongs to another epoch and they want to put an end to a political and an economic dispensation that has turned out to be an earthly paradise for a few.

The contemptuous indifference and deafening silence of the hard-working and intelligent people of the southwest region should clearly inform you that the resolutions of your hastily organized meeting do not cut any ice with them. They don’t reflect their thoughts and they will never identify with such a comedy of helplessness. They need new and innovative ideas that can create wealth and opportunities for them and their children. They need leaders with sterling qualities; leaders who understand their pain; leaders who are capable of skillfully articulating their ideas in the corridors of power; indeed leaders who will make their problems and the development of their region key priorities. You don’t seem to understand this and that is why the people are walking away from you.

The people of the Southwest region are an educated people. Many are soundly schooled. Isn’t it preposterous to always think that they can be easily manipulated by you for your selfish interest? Why would you always give the impression that these people cannot figure out things for themselves. Why do you think North-westerners are always to blame any time south-westerners want to express their frustrations? Have you ever sought to have alternative ideas when you sit in those your meetings? Claiming that North-westerners are the prime suspects in this matter sounds like all of us, regardless of our sound education, are good for nothing. If you stop laying claim to the monopoly of wisdom, you will be able to find sound and sustainable solutions to some of the issues facing our region.

One of the many things shocking many south-westerners is your indifference to the arrests of some of our children during the peaceful strikes that took place in the University of Buea. Today, you want the university to resume while many of those kids are still in jail for peacefully asking for dialogue with the vice chancellor of the university. In which world are you living in? That our daughters get raped and all what is important to you is your political career? I guess you have seen the videos which clearly portray how our children were made to sleep and roll in raw sewage. Some were even made to drink this dirty water. You have never condemned this irresponsible behavior and no commission of inquiry has been set up to investigate such an important case of power abuse. These are the issues you should be dealing with and not seeking to deceive the people into thinking that they are being manipulated by external forces. If you show your people respect, they will reciprocate, but when you treat them with disdain and contempt, they will seek to find alternatives that can address their problems.

If the southwest has to seek its own way, then there must be unity and clear objectives. You cannot only talk about unity when it suits you. There are many cases that could have enabled us display our unity of purpose, but when such moments come, you sink into indifference and behave as if nothing is happening. What have you folks done so far to secure the release of Ayah Paul, a Supreme Court judge and an eminent son of the south-west region, who was arrested in a manner that was far from being fair and democratic? We can only work together if you stop thinking of manipulating others and giving the impression that your personal interests are above the interest of the region. You should be using your positions – if they are even respected by the government – to solve real problems instead of chasing shadows. Your people have rejected you. You must acknowledge that and then seek ways to rebuild that relationship. This is not a tough job. It can be done if only you change your mindset. We all want our kids to go back to school, but not in circumstances that will perpetuate their status as second-class citizens.

Our people are suffering. They are unemployed. They need jobs so as to put food on the table. They want to raise their children in dignity. You folks have never really been there for them. You have fallen short of their glory. Even when there are opportunities in the southwest, you prefer to let other people take those opportunities. What happened to SONARA? While being a national asset, this oil refinery has not really served the south-westerner and this is one issue that is bothering our people. If Cameroon is one and indivisible, how come we do not have a fair share of the benefits SONARA is spinning? Most of the jobs are given to people from other regions, especially to Francophones while our people watch helplessly from a distance. Are North-westerners to blame for all of this? Are North-westerners to blame for Ndian Division, where our oil deposits are located, not having tarred roads? Is securing jobs for our people not what a so-called elite should be doing? I think you people are fighting the wrong fight. You have to be strategic when fighting. Our people need lucrative opportunities like those offered by SONARA. That should be one area you should be focusing on.

I look forward to a change in mentality so that we can work together as a strong and united people. Consider this letter as wake up call. You have been sleeping on your brains for too long. We don’t have to wash our dirty linen in public, but if you fail to create the right forum for us to talk and understand each other, then we will have to bring that dirty linen to the public. Your effort to divide the people by pitting south-westerners against north-westerners will not work this time around. It’s time to change strategy. The people are sadder but wiser now.

Sincerely,

Joachim Arrey.

About the Author: The author of this letter has served as a translator, technical writer, journalist and editor for several international organizations and corporations across the globe. He studied communication at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom and technical writing in George Brown College in Toronto, Canada. He is also a trained translator and holds a Ph.D.

28, January 2017

Francophone Government plans to use community groups to celebrate 11 February ²

Schools have been deserted, benches parked, classes grounded since November 21, 2017 but government has not given up on it fight to see school resume and subsequent celebration of 11th February this year.

The Secretary General at the South West Governor’s office, Clement Fon Ndikum has insisted that the National Youth Day celebrated every February 11 will take place in the two English speaking regions despite the present deadlock.

He made the declarations in a preparatory meeting for Youth Day held recently in Buea. During the meeting, the SG urged parents to shun fear and send their children to school so that classes can resume in the two English speaking regions.

The government is hoping to use Youth Associations and groups should students and pupils fail to show up on Youth Day. According to Clement Fon Ndikum, “Students only form part of Youth population expected to celebrate the Youth day, there are other youth groups like social groups, like bike riders, political groups that are expected to honor the event.”

To him, Youth day is not just a formality but a patriotic event. Governments scheme to see students march on Youth Day comes on the wake of a counter scheme by social media activists calling for total ghost town on 11th February.

Cameroun Info.Net

21, January 2017

Southern Cameroons Problem: Anglophone University Lecturers are for the deprived and marginalized ¹

THE POSITION OF THE NATIONAL UNION OF TEACHERS OF HIGHER EDUCATION (SYNES) UNIVERSITY OF BUEA

Dear Anglophone University Teachers,

It is typically Anglophone for intellectuals to stand up or speak for the deprived or marginalized. Their role as torch bearer is even more urgent when we witness the scale of injustice that has pervaded our society and pushed Anglophones to the fringes of our society. How can we sit quiet when the students who go through our educational system have no place in a country they rightly think is theirs too. They are not fit to enter even the professional schools they think were created to serve their interest because everything requires that they know someone or have money. The fact that students who go through our system with 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 or even 25 points in the GCE A/L cannot enter Medical School in UB or UBa is inexcusable. This, and a long list of other grievances pushed ALL Anglophone teachers to go on strike after they had been ignored for 10 months.

I will like to thank ALL Anglophone teachers and parents for saying “ENOUGH” to a system which insults us and our children and makes us to feel like strangers in our own home. We would also like to thank our Francophone counterparts who have stood by us and believed in the need for justice for children who go through our system of education. May I also thank our students for understanding that our goal is no less than to give them equal chances in a bi-cultural, bilingual and bi-jural Cameroon. They have well behaved so far; they stayed at home and have not yielded to any provocation.

It is, however, shameful that some intellectuals, at this critical moment in history, some of them retired professors, can still afford the shameful option of thinking that they can continue to protect their “garri” at the expense of the people’s aspirations. The press is not surprising, but it is a needless distraction and shameless expression of their appetite for impunity.

May I reiterate that the strike continues until we are given a definite solution to this beggarly life that has been imposed on us and our children. We are working in synergy with other Anglophone teacher unions and will stop at nothing to obtain fair treatment for Anglophones in Cameroon. The teachers are still on strike and we will inform students when the issues have been resolved satisfactorily.

Once again, we salute your massive support and determination to make a date with history.

PROF. JAMES ARREY ABANGMA

PRESIDENT, SYNES-UB

19, January 2017

Anglophone Problem: Government backtracking on Ad Hoc Committee decision ⁰

The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government is backtracking on its decision that dissolved the Ad Hoc Committee and eventually led to the arrest of the leaders of the Consortium. It is now even hard to say who is really in charge in Cameroon. The Minister of Higher Education, Jacques Fame Ndongo made public a press release stating that the government will resume dialogue with the teachers on the 31st of January 2017.

The Fame Ndongo communiqué also stated that the fourth round of talks shall be held at the conference hall of his department. A lot of tongues have been waging ever since the Biya acolyte published the press release yesterday January the 18^th 2017. We understand the Director of Cabinet at the Prime Minister’s Office; one Mr Ghogumu Paul Mingo had announced that discussion with the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium was over.

Ghogumu Paul Mingo’s pronouncement prompted the banning of the Consortium by another inexperienced Francophone Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Rene Emmanuel Sadi. The MINAT order led to the arrest of the leaders of the Consortium. Cameroon Concord News sources say Wilfred Tassang is currently at the US embassy in Yaounde.

One of the interesting features of the Minister Fama Ndongo press release is that the CPDM operates many governing councils within the crime syndicate. At present, we do not know if Minister Fame Ndongo intends to appoint teachers representatives who will brave the bad roads and come to Yaoundé to dialogue with him. “This is highly unsatisfactory from a government that has many cabinet ministers with PhDs attached to their names” noted a retired Anglophone Head Master contacted by CAMCORDNEWS.

But something very unusual has just happened. The Minister of Higher Education observed in his press release that he was by his action informing “national and international public opinion” of the 31^st of January meeting. The inclusion of international public opinion not by the government spokesman is a major backdown.

Nigeria has had numerous armed struggles: Boko Haram, Niger Delta Avengers and Biafra. It has never disconnected internet services in any of its region. The decision to cutoff internet and telephone services in British Southern Cameroons tells us how they (Francophones) see us and tells us that we are not part of them. It is sad to see the powerful Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime backtracking on this.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Editor-in-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

10, January 2017

Southern Cameroons Civil Disobedience: THIS IS WHAT OUR CHILDREN SHOULD LEARN ⁰

Let’s teach the children that today’s act of civil disobedience is the ultimate expression of their power over the dictator Biya and his coterie of corrupt ministers.

Let’s tell our children, that this act of civic education- of boycotting school, to demand accountability from an insensitive government is what developed countries have done to become developed.

Let’s teach our children that true education is an outgrowth of the needs of society, and that even the best education in a society where one is treated as a second-class citizen only diminishes one’s self-esteem.

Let’s teach our children that the ultimate purpose of education is to mould a free individual, who can think critically, and that having the best education and remaining under bondage is a negation of that education.

Let’s teach our children that the best education is the attainment of self-government where we can decide how far we want to go, and not forced to live in a system where we can only aspire to play second fiddle.

Let’s give our children historical examples where students stayed away from school for a year, and gained the right to earn a substantively richer education, through the use of cutting edge technology that is available in more open societies.

Let’s take advantage of this teachable moment empower our children to aspire to a genuine education that no despotism can enslave.

By Larry Eyong

9, January 2017

Francophone Minister of Secondary Education jeered and booed at Ndop ²

The people of Ndop in Ngoketunjia Division, North West region have reportedly jeered at the Minister of Secondary Education, Jean Ernest Massena Ngale Bibehe yesterday Sunday January 8, 2017 during a working visit to the region as part of measures to lure teachers, students and pupils get back to school this Monday.

In a crisis meeting held in Ndop, the people threatened to walk out of the gathering as soon as the minister started delivering his speech in French. The Secondary education boss was compelled to speak in English for close to thirty minutes after the people pressed on him to do so. After addressing the people in English Jean Ernest Bibehe begged for permission and read his speech in French which was interpreted in English by the Regional Delegate for secondary Education Mombakuet Victor.

The minister who has a one week mission to the North West region has been moving from one town to the other trying to lure stakeholders to give go ahead with school resumption activities today Monday. The minister met with leaders of trade unions in Bamenda in which he is said to have been on bended knees for them to call off the strike action. The Bamenda meeting did not yield fruits.

Cameroun Info Net

8, January 2017

Open letter to H.E. Okala Bilaï, colonial governor of the South West region ³

Your Excellency, it is with regrets that I write to your office at this crucial moment of your colonial occupational rule. Sir, after listening to you this evening (Friday 6th January 2017) over CRTV, I heard you saying “Teachers who will not return to school will have their salaries suspended.” Most of these teachers you are talking about don’t even have a service number yet. And those who got the service number are not different from the thousands of job seekers parading our streets on a daily basis.

These teachers work for close to four years or more before the said salary is made available. moreover, the machinery put in place by your hierarchy in “La République” has made it difficult for teachers to earn what you call salary. How on earth do you create a system that warrants a teacher to give away 20% or more of his or her pay package to an agent before he or she can seemingly boast of having his or her name on the list of those programmed to collect their salaries? Should you take it back, it makes no difference. I wonder whether that salary is the raison d’être of your behavior towards us.

If you are paying us so as to deal with us the way you have been doing in the past and even up-to-date, then you had better done what you have promised. By the way, which salary are you talking about? Is it commensurate to the job teachers do every day? How much is the salary and what is the work load of the teachers you are threatening? Our Fons and Chiefs rejected 50 million from your hierarchy. Our university students waved at the meager 50 thousand francs you people wanted to buy their consciences with. Gone are those days! Money is not our interest! FEDERALISM OR INDEPENDENCE is what we stand for. No amount of money can purchase our freedom!

We have suffered a lot under your colonial administration. No degree of threats can repel us from our target. It is time we stand for what we believe in and hope for. “He who refuses to fight today, will live to fight for ever.” ALUTA CONTINUA.

28, November 2016

Academic activities paralyzed as Buea University students begin strike ⁰

Buea University students have started a massive strike action today morning within the campus of the university. The students inter alia have demanded that all French-speaking lecturers who teach only in French be told to leave the university. To contain the peaceful demonstration, police forces have been deployed on campus and shots were reportedly fired to disperse the crowd. The police have also strengthened their anti-riot system around the student residential area in Molyko.

The Francophone governor of the South West region, Okalia Bilai said in a press release that an unidentified group was behind the strike to intimidate parents and students from going about their normal educational activity.

Some SDF parliamentarians decided to march peacefully in Buea to show their solidarity with the Anglophone community in Cameroon. Lawyers and teachers had staged similar demos which were repressed by the police and resulted in the demand for federalism. Biya dispatched his Prime Minister to negotiate a peaceful settlement. But the Yang Philemon mission ended in fiasco. The lawyers and teachers have extended their unlimited strike action.

By Rita Akana

14, November 2016

Cameroon army reopens schools in the Far North, soldiers serving as teachers ¹

The weakening of the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram by the Cameroonian military made it possible to reopen some of the schools in the Far North Region for the 2016/2017 academic year. A sister publication, Cameroun-info.net has reported that many teachers who fled the war zone have refused to return.

In order to ensure the education of the abandoned pupils, some soldiers have decided to take the chalk. The army recently reopened the Madina Public School (10 km from Fotokol) which currently has 150 pupils and Cameroonian men and women in uniform are now serving as teachers.

It is good news in the avalanche of sadness that for three years has rocked the Far North Region. Last year, the departments in charge of national, primary and secondary education reported that more than five hundred teachers had dropped out of classrooms to escape the war.

By Sama Ernest