By Walter Wilson Nana
A recent attempt by the Ministry of Secondary Education to introduce reforms in the country’s educational system continues to receive resistance from stakeholders.
After objections from the Cameroon Teachers’ Trade Union, CATTU, and the Teachers’ Association of Cameroon, TAC, the Southwest Regional Chapter of the Union of Parents Teachers Association, UPTA, has added its voice to say no to the reforms from the Ministry of Secondary Education.
Moses Ekeke Njuma, President, UPTA Southwest Regional Chapter
According to a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Philemon Yang, dated October 24, 2012, and by signed Moses Ekeke Njuma, President, UPTA Southwest Regional Chapter, while reforms in education are welcomed, the content of the present reforms are ill-timed, ill-prepared and in violation of Law No. 98/004 of April 14, 1998, which states in Articles 15 and 16 amongst others that “the educational system shall be organised into two sub-systems; the English-speaking sub-system and the French-speaking sub-system, thereby reaffirming Cameroon’s option for biculturalism.”
The UPTA executive noted, amongst other issues, that the reforms are proposing a general common core for the two sub-systems, proposing a package of three cycles, which are unable at this stage to present a total package to enable the stakeholders appreciate what awaits the learner after the first cycle.
The memorandum also notes that the reforms have not followed the procedure of sensitising all stakeholders, of evaluation and re-evaluation – pre-testing.
The UPTA executive says it is unacceptable that major subjects like Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology are undermined with the introduction of a collective subject called science, besides others like ancient languages.
“That is a system we are not aware of. Our children are supposed to compete in the aforementioned subjects and not have them grouped in a word called science. That’s how it operates in the French-sub-system in Cameroon. At UPTA, we say no,” Ekeke said.
UPTA found the Ministry of Secondary Education not adequately prepared for the reforms, noting that “the new curriculum was sent to the schools three weeks after re-opening of the 2012/2013 academic year.”
They wondered who the target students are, stating that the curriculum has been sent only to “some” Government colleges, leaving out the lay private and confessionary schools. “There is no pedagogic preparation as the relevant books, work books and teachers for the new subjects; Greek, National Languages, National Cultures are not available,” reads the memo.
The PTA Union executive expressed dismay that the Ministry of Secondary Education, recently, spent a lot of money for syllabus review via the Cameroon General Certificate of Education Board, GCE Board, only to introduce a new curriculum a few months later.
“Neither the teachers on the field nor those in training have been schooled on this new curriculum. Teachers had already drawn up their schemes of work based on the former curriculum before schools re-opened,” the memo notes.
Ekeke added that the reforms from the Ministry of Secondary Education give the impression that an imported curriculum is being imposed on the English-speaking sub-system.
He said UPTA is appealing to Government to postpone the implementation of the reforms to a time that proper studies have been pursued, while indicating that the terms of the guidelines for education in Cameroon be respected in any educational reforms.
