Walter Wilson Nana
Buea, Cameroon
Officials of the Catholic University Institute of Buea, CUIB say they have begun a revolution in the Cameroonian higher education sector. At the close of the 9th Council Session of CUIB, Tuesday, May 27 2014 in the Bishop’s House, Small Soppo, Buea, the President, Rev. Fr George Jingwa Nkeze told journalists that they have tailored the entrepreneurial university to change the mindset of Cameroonians and build capacity towards creativity.
CUIB Council members in a family pic after the 9th Council Session
According to Fr. Nkeze, the Council members have given the administration of CUIB a vote of confidence for the contribution they are making so far in the higher education sector in Cameroon. “Our proposal of a new paradigm shift for Cameroon’s higher education is on and we are on the success lane. Hence, we have to aggressively reach out to the public, the companies across the country and tell them what we are doing,” he noted.
Fr. Nkeze said there is reason to tell
Catholic University Institute of Buea
Cameroonians what an entrepreneurial university is, the motive for the revolution they are introducing in the higher education sector and how they are doing it. “We are supported by the Ministry of Higher Education and the capacity to carry on is available. We have the capacity to change the mindset of Cameroonians. That is the issue. We have designed programmes on excellence and we are set to help existing structures and companies re-orientate their focus, build the capacity of their staff and improve on their rate of excellence,” he added.
To the authorities of the municipalities of Buea and Tiko who were party to the CUIB Council, Fr. Nkeze indicated that some MOUs are in the pipeline, which will step up their relationship and create opportunities for growth and development in the respective municipalities. “We are reaching out beyond Buea and Tiko to the business community in Douala to better explain what we are up to and how we can be of good to their entrepreneurial development. They are now abreast that there is something special about CUIB and ready to support us. Some have already indicated their interest to send their children to CUIB in the next academic year. The revolution is extending to the commercial world in Douala,” he mentioned.
CUIB’s Chancellor, Mgr. Immanuel Bushu, Bishop of Buea Diocese will corroborate, asking Cameroonians to put their minds into good use. “Let’s allow our minds to work well and teach people what to do. All of us can change Cameroon to be like the big nations and cities in the world. We have most of the resources in Cameroon than anywhere else in the world,” he said.
Mayor of Buea Municipality, Patrick Ekema Esunge and the First Deputy Mayor of Tiko, Joseph Eloundou saw in CUIB a relationship that must be harnessed for their mutual benefits, indicating that there are areas of capacity building for Council staff, the need for the Councils to generate income thanks to CUIB’s entrepreneurial savvy and internship opportunities for the students of the university in the aforementioned Councils.
Besong Ogork Ntui, the Project Coordinator of Rumpi, a Southwest Regional development agency for poverty alleviation, said there are a lot CUIB and Rumpi can do for the betterment and the development of their community. “When we train people in the university, we build their capacities, bring in new skills and create other opportunities. We at Rumpi are out to fight poverty and put in a new face to our economy. So, we have opportunities at Rumpi for the students of CUIB to come and see hands-on experience, know why we are succeeding, where we are failing and the way forward,”
While we look forward to Rumpi Phase II, which we have designed already, we invite CUIB to come in with their spirit of changing mindsets in Cameroon and make training an entrepreneurial concept.
