Varied Soothing Gov’t Measures For IDPs

The popular saying that “home is home even away from home” holds true for children from the North West and South West Regions pushed out of their villages by the raging upheavals therein. Forced to accept the status of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), the youngsters have found comfort in the arms of their hosts and government in its statutory role has been redoubling efforts to make their teaching and learning conditions as conducive as possible. 
As a matter of fact, items 17 and 18 of the Preamble of the Constitution of Cameroon stipulates that, “The State shall ensure the child’s right to education” coupled with the fact that the organisation and control of education at all levels is an imperative duty of the State. Even Universal Treaties exists on the human rights of children, one of which is the inalienable right to education, which could not be allowed to be forfeited on the altar of political claims.
In effect, on the eve of the resumption for the 2019/2020 academic year; with regards to the unyielding attacks on students, pupils and teachers, government rolled out special actions for children from the restive regions seeking to study in other schools nationwide. 
For instance, five government Ministers, in a press conference in Yaounde on August 26, 2019, detailed out what government had done, was doing or planned to do in course of the academic year to ease teaching and learning for all and sundry and especially in favour of youngsters caught in the web of the upheavals. As one would expect, the flow of pupils and students from the two English-speaking regions into other regions or from the villages to safer areas mostly in the divisional or regional headquarters deemed safe for teaching and learning had been unprecedented. Knowing how difficult it would have been containing them, some of whom lost vital academic documents in the crisis, government gave special instructions for school authorities to soften procedures for students and pupils intake.  
Some of them were admitted without prior payment of fees while others were allowed into the classrooms without uniforms. They have all found almost safe havens in the schools from North to South and East to West. They are fast adapting to the new environments and the second term to rumble off next ...