English Sub-system of Education: Government Considers Concerns Raised By Teachers

The following is a press release signed by the Chair of the Ad hoc Inter-ministerial Committee:

Professor GHOGOMU Paul MINGO, Director of Cabinet of the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chair of the Ad Hoc Inter-Ministerial Committee responsible for examining and proposing solutions to the concerns raised by Anglophone Teachers’ trade unions, wishes to announce to the national and international public opinion that the Committee’s second session was held in Bamenda on 12 and 13 January 2017.

During the session, the 20 points raised by the teachers’ unions of the Anglophone sub-system of education were given serious, thorough and objective consideration by all participants in a friendly and brotherly atmosphere.

The conclusions of these technical proceedings have already been submitted to the Prime Minister, Head of Government for onward transmission to the high attention of His Excellency the President of the Republic, Head of State.

Nevertheless, on the proposal of the unionists and despite the methodical, strict and comprehensive analysis of the agenda items, the communiqué to lift the strike action was not signed. The insistent and strong appeals made during the meeting by the representatives of parents and school proprietors for schools to resume went unheeded. This highly damaging situation is attributable to some hardliners who demanded that subjects altogether unrelated to the problems of the Anglophone sub-system of education should first be examined.

In fact, the trade unions requested the unconditional release of all persons arrested during the recent events in the North-West and South-West Regions and expressed their option for a two-State federation in the management of public affairs.

Regarding the federation, the Committee Chair pointed out that the President of the Republic had underlined in his message to the Nation on 31 December 2016, that the form of our State is not negotiable.

The Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee reiterated that the Government has already taken into consideration the recent demands of trade unions of Cameroon’s educational system. This can be seen in the following firm decisions: the imminent special recruitment of 1,000 bilingual teachers (Mathematics, Science, Technology, French); the absorption of the first contingent of Grade I contract teachers and secondary school teachers ; the grant of an additional allocation of CFAF two billion to private primary and secondary schools as subsidies for the 2016/ 2017 academic year; the organization in 2017 of the National Forum on Education being prepared within the Inter-Ministerial Committee tasked with considering and proposing solutions to the problems of the entire educational system in Cameroon.

The recommendations made on all these technical issues have been submitted to the high attention of the Prime Minister, Head of Government.

The Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee thanks all Committee members who were sincere, patient and objective in their work of fully examining all the points on th...