Wilfred Enow Agbor
Yaounde, Cameroon
The engagement to provide quality education to girls in Cameroon took place today in Djeuga Palace Hotel. The chairperson of the workshop was the representative of the Minister of Basic Education, Professor Ivo Leke Tambo, the Deputy Representative of the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to Cameroon, Zakari Adam. Participants from the civil society and Non-Governmental Organizations were also present.
The theme of the workshop was “Together let’s unite to guarantee quality education to Cameroonian girls.” The aim here is to make young girls as well as their parents to see what importance of education.
The North, Far North and Adamawa Region have been given preference to this initiative. It has been noticed that children especially those of the female sex living in the north of Cameroon do not see any reason for going to school. A series of reasons were advanced as to why they find little or no interest to go to school:
Firstly, the fact that their parent’s belief in sending them for early marriages. Once they get married, education becomes history;
Secondly, some of these children are involved in trade by their parents, who care much about money at the detriment of their future;
Furthermore, poverty is another obstacle. Parents do not have money to pay for their fees, thus making them to remain illiterates;
Finally some of these children who even manage to go to school are abused sexually putting a stop to their education.
To solve these problems, the Ministry of Basic Education with aid from UNICEF, has organized a series of campaigns to sensitize localities in the north to make parents understand the need of educating their female children.
This campaign started in Garoua in November 2006 creating the “RESEAU CAMEROUNAIS DES ASSOCIATION DES MERES D ELEVES POUR L EDUCATION DES FILLES (RECAMEF), ECOLE des Amies des Infants, Ecoles Amies des Files, with aim to sponsor the female education in such areas. This campaign was equally organized in Maroua on the 9th November 2007, Ngoundere on the 8th november2008, Bertoua on November 9th, 2009 and 2011.
Irrespective of the efforts from the Cameroon government and her partners like UNICEF to educate female children, the government still faces a major challenge. This has to do with the mentality and culture of the people against education, a situation which may prevent the government from attaining the millennium goal.
In an exclusive interview with Mr Zakari Adam, the UNICEF Representative in Cameroon, he told iCameroon that, poverty so far is the one of the main reason why parents to these children prefer to send them for early marriages. For this reason United Nations Girls International Initiative has decided to work in partnership with the government of Cameroon to better the situation. They will make sure that schools are built to encourage young girls to go to classes. Moreover teachers will be trained to advice children and their parents on the importance of education.
Finally as a response to why their banner carries the phrase “… education to Cameroonian girls,” yet their focus is in the North of Cameroon, Mr. Adam said that they have international and national programs as well. But their national program gives preference to areas where educational awareness is basically low.
Professor Ivo Leke Tambo, on his part, reiterated that, more than 70 percent of the job has been done. Once they are able to change the mentality of parents of young women in the North, they can be sure to attain the millennium goal in Cameroon.
He ended up saying that their plan of action is to allow partners to evaluate what has been done so far, so that these partners can bring more funds to support the government’s initiatives.
