Interview : “We Train, Equip For A Challenging Global Environment”

The Pan-African Institute for Development, West Africa, PAID-WA, on November 10, 2023 holds a special graduation ceremony that will see the passing out of three batches. What explains this unusual situation?
The Pan-African Institute for Development, West Africa, PAID-WA, is an international institution with students from across the globe, graduation ceremonies in PAID are not like other institutions. They require proper planning to bring together graduating students from around Africa. Also, our programming for graduation is intricately linked to the availability of official students’ transcripts that needed to be signed by our mentoring State university. We are happy today the transcripts are handy.

How many students from how many specialties and programmes are concerned with the graduation? Is there any other thing particular about this graduation ceremony?
Some 335 students will be graduating with various specialisations in MSc, MBA, BSc, Higher Technical Diploma in Development and Business Studies, and Specialised Development courses. Specialisations include Accounting and Finance, Banking and Microfinance, Supply Change Management, Agriculture and Environment, Peace and Conflict Studies, Gender, Migration and Refugee Studies, Transport and Logistics Management, Community and Public Health, and more. For us, it marks a new dawn, having satisfied the requirements of partnering with our mentoring State university.

What word do you have for the graduating students and the general public on this great occasion?
We are sending out three batches of well-trained students and are entrusting them to add value to whatever they get into after school. And prove beyond reasonable doubts that they are mentally prepared to serve society. On the other hand, we call on the general public to tap into our reservoir of programmes and give their wards education that equips them better for a challenging global environment.
 

Indeed, the tertiary and higher education sector in Cameroon has over the years become more and more competitive with new institutions sprouting every year. How has PAID-WA fitted into this competition? And with what edge?
You are correct, but it must be said like in the novel, Animal Farm that “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” After all, we remain the only institution with diplomatic status in the region. What has slowed us down is the socio-political crisis in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon which has cut off our stream of foreign students. But we are gradually repositioning ourselves in the internal and international market.
 

How do you see the future of the Pan-African Institute for Development, West Africa, say, in the next 30 years?
We have high hopes for the future because there are a lot of things we are shaping and reshaping to continue to keep us hopeful for the best.

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