Walter Wilson Nana
Buea, Cameroon
In 20 years of existence and having organised 18 convocation ceremonies, including that of Saturday, March 22 2014, the University of Buea, UB has churned out approximately 45,000 graduates. Over the years, the students have gone through various university reforms, with the intention to acquire up-to-date and quality education. In recent years, the new varsity reform in Cameroon has been the introduction of the Bachelor-Masters-PhD, BMP system, whose ultimate goal is to professionalise higher education in Cameroon, UB not left out.
Best UB graduate for 2013-2014 academic year, Ursulla Njachen and other graduates at the 18th convocation ceremony
However, while that process is ongoing and lauded by the administration, teaching staff and students of UB, there is need to accompany the BMP system with adequate infrastructural development.
At the 18thUB Convocation ceremony, the best student, Ursulla Dulvine Njachen of the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, with a record-breaking Grade Point Average, GPA of 3.93 in the 20 years of UB said the professionalisation of Cameroon’s higher education is ongoing but there is an urgent need for infrastructural development.
Dr. Enoh Tanjong(L), wears the Doctoral Academic Robe to UB pioneer Mass Communication PhD graduate, Kingsley Ngange
According to Njachen, the BMP system, which is 60 percent work from the lecturers and 40 percent from the students cannot be complete if the necessary infrastructures are not there to corroborate their efforts. She expressed happiness in the way she was trained in UB, noting that as a Masters Degree student now in the National Advanced School of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Sciences in the University of Ngaoundere, her future is bright. “In the Biochemistry, we have a job market but you need to further your education from the Masters to the PhD Levels. That way, you have bigger opportunities,” she said.
Prof. Maurice Tchuente(R), UB Pro-Chancellor, confers Doctoral Degrees to Clement Nkwemoh and Kingsley Ngange
Dr. Fidelis Cho Ngwa, Head of Department, Biochemistry and Biotechnology Unit said though UB is young, they are on a good footing but the challenge of infrastructure must be fought. “We must develop the will to promote the sciences. Science is the foundation for medicine and engineering. If we do not have a solid foundation, then the house will crumble,” Cho Ngwa noted.
UB VC, Dr Nalova(R) and Pro-Chancellor, Prof. Tchuente sitted in positions to confer doctoral degrees to graduates from UB at 18th convocation ceremony
To him, the coming of the BMP system changed mindsets but the required investments did not follow. “We have to invest in infrastructure. At the undergraduate level, we revised the syllabi to go professional but the necessary laboratories we needed did not come. Our professional environment for internships are not also upgrading as expected. So, we have to look at the problem from the system approach and as a package. We have made our request and looking forward to investment in infrastructure, especially laboratories to follow research findings,” he said.
Patrick Ekema, Mayor of Buea(1st on front row) graduated with a Masters Degree in History at the 18th Convocation Ceremony
The Associate Professor indicated that the training of the students is necessary, but there is relevance for them to be exposed to other training opportunities. “The exposure has to do more with acquiring the skills. Our students have the knowledge, when they go abroad, they excel but when it comes to practical training, acquiring hands-on, we are not there yet. We are not getting at the required rate because of the absence of
Pioneer graduates of the College of Technology, UB
adequate investments in laboratories and other necessities. If we give proper training to our students back home, they will be competitive in the global market of job creation, job acquisition and more,” he explained.
Cho Ngwa said the varsity lecturers have largely gone professional and so the government must follow them with the required support. “The government should come in with the requirement investment. That is what we are waiting for.”
Ecobank Cameroon via its Buea Branch Manager, Alphonse Shang offered cash prizes to some of the best graduates at the convocation
He will add that investments come with patience, especially in the sciences, debunking views that the higher education sector in Cameroon is not making progress. “As we embark on our investment drives, we should hope positively that things will happen. We should engage on proper investments, especially on infrastructural development. Our development motives should be collegial, getting other sectors involved. The private sector should be given a leeway. We should streamline the system and engage the result-centred approach. We should think of the outcomes of what we do and not to get individuals satisfied. That way, we will move faster,” he said.
Besides the wish for infrastructural investment, Dr. Enoh Tanjong, Vice Dean, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences and pioneer Head of Department, Journalism and Mass Communication, JMC, UB indicated that there must also be a vision on how to move forward. He will add that his vision for UB after twenty years of service is successful, with the JMC Department. “Our resources and mindsets are all over the world, beginning from CRTV, Cameroon Tribune, the private media and sector. So, our expectation is that there must be continuity in our values, vision and struggles. The JMC Department should not die, the spirit must move forward,” he mentioned.
According to Tanjong, the award of the first Mass Communication PhD in UB and across the higher education landscape in Cameroon, to a trained journalist, Kingsley Ngange, has come to reinforce the need for a vision in an institution.
Though the Director of the College of Technology, UB, Dr. Ndeh Ningo was satisfied that the first batch of graduates have been churned out, he will indicate that some amount of guidance is still needed. “They need some hand-holding to take off. We admitted a hundred and thirty but only thirty left the campus on graduation day, so, we are meticulous in our training strategy. The rest who are still behind, will be properly formed to face the competitive market,” he said.
To catch up with infrastructural development, Ningo said it is the key to professionalisation and training, adding that they are gradually putting a place the necessary structures for hands on training. “We have no option than to go state-of-the-art equipment. The ICT world is moving fast, we cannot afford to be left behind. We are introducing our students to life in the industries. Our laboratories are designed to take care of the options we have in the two departments of the college and promote professionalism,” Ningo noted.
Reactions
On how much UB has achieved with the BMP system, the Vice Chancellor, Dr. Nalova Lyonga noted that they have taken a professional drive in their curriculum. “We are measuring up to what the job market requirements are. Education is not an end to itself. It is a bridge to something else and we must make ourselves sellable and buyable.”
Kingsley Ngange, pioneer UB PhD in Mass Communication said so much quacks are infiltrating the profession of journalism, hence there is need to build capacity, get new experiences in order to better train those interested to join the profession. “There is scarcity of qualified man-power and so journalists should be trained by journalists and not others who have strayed into the profession.”
Retired UN staff and Agricultural Scientist, Dr. Amos George Namanga Ngongi, who delivered the discourse, encouraged the 3,500 graduates of UB to engage into volunteerism as a methodology to enrich their capacity and build their curriculum vitae for job opportunities and creation. He told the graduates to not only dream big but they should make their dreams come true.
