Buea Linguistic Centre is a Tool For South-South Cooperation – Governor
Walter Wilson Nana
Buea, Cameroon
Southwest Regional Governor, Bernard Okalia Bilai has said the Buea Linguistic Centre has gone beyond its traditional mission of promoting Cameroon’s bilingualism to fostering cooperation across the African continent. The Regional boss was speaking at the graduation ceremony of students from Ecole Africaine de la Météorologie et de l’Aviation Civile, EAMAC, Niamey, Niger, who have been on an English Language Immersion Programme at the centre since November 23 2013.
African School of Meteorology and Civil Aviation graduating students process into the ceremonial grounds at Buea Linguistic Centre
Okalia Bilai said the Buea Linguistic Centre was created in 1990 to foster national unity, integration via the backing of Cameroon’s bilingualism. “And now it has gone ahead to promote cooperation between Cameroon and the African countries whose nationals are coming to study English in the centre in Buea,” he added.
He will not only express glee that the Buea Linguistic Centre is now operational to the international scene, but he entreated the stakeholders of the
Bernard Okalia Bilai, Southwest Governor, makes his address at the graduation ceremony
institution to support its endeavours and move ahead to break new grounds in exporting Cameroon’s bilingualism.
Okalia Bilai prayed that the cooperation between EAMAC and Buea Linguistic Centre should go on and on.
According to the Director of the Buea Linguistic Centre, Sammy Akombi, the twenty-one students from nine African countries; Mali, Niger, Sao Tome & Principe, Chad, Cameroon, Equatorial
Serge Evoda from Togo speaks on behalf of the graduates
Guinea, Mauritania, Togo and Benin are final year students of EAMAC, who have come to Buea to fulfil the requirement of English Language immersion in order to write the final examination for the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, Level four English, which is the operational level for a qualified Air Traffic Controller.
Akombi mentioned that the students were entrusted to Buea Lingusitic Centre on November 23 2013 and on January 13
Sammy Akombi(in bow tie), Director, Buea Linguistic Centre looks ahead to greater cooperation with EAMAC
2014, they have been found worthy to speak the English Language. “We have graduated them and will be sending them back to Niamey as finished products. We ensured and supervised their on-the-job-training at the Douala International Airport,” he said.
Akombi expressed satisfaction that the MOU his centre signed with EAMAC on May 16 2013, to provide English Language Immersion for 70 of the latter’s students is yielding the expected fruits and not the initial leap in the dark they
The graduates of EAMAC look forward to brighter days
thought they were taking. “We have successfully graduated the last set of the 70 students. The first two batches had gone back and they did well in their level four English exam. The 22 of the first batch passed their level four and 9 of them went beyond level four, bagging level five. The 25 of the second batch did same with 7 of them going beyond. We are positive that the just graduated batch will be better than the previous ones,” he noted.
A representative of the partner organisation to EAMAC, the Agency for Air Navigation in Africa and Madagascar, known in the French acronym as ASECNA, Richard Were Besi, from the Area and Airways Control Department, ASECNA, Douala, found the training from the Buea Linguistic Centre to be effective, promising that ASECNA will lobby for more training opportunities to hold in Buea.
Earlier, the Deputy Mayor of Buea, Comfort Ojongpot wished the best to the students as they move on in their career, while thanking the authorities of ASECNA and EAMAC for acquiring and learning the English language and culture, which is one of the features of the people of Buea.
Serge Evoda from Togo on behalf of the graduating students extended their gratitude to the staff and Director of the Buea Linguistic Centre for a job well done, saying “they took the training seriously and put us through.”
He said they came to fulfil the ICAO requirement of obtaining the level 4 of English language that will enable them successfully do their work as Air Traffic Controllers.
