By Bless Zoshe
Buea, Cameroon
Despite the presence of fixed and mobile police patrol teams on the campus of the University of Buea, second semester examinations are going on with no major cause for alarm.
Spending the entire day of Monday February 25 at the UB campus, this reporter observed that contrary to some media reports insinuating a rather tense atmosphere on campus, the presence of the military did not have any bearing on the conduct of the examination.
Chief Andrew Ngeh, Head of Secretariat in charge of exams, Faculty of Arts
From the lecturers, invigilators to students, everyone was busy, either writing or preparing for the next course. Reacting to the situation some students affirmed they were not bothered by the militarization since it is for their own security.
Corroborating the students, the Head of Secretariat in charge of Examinations in the Faculty of Arts, and lecturer in the Department of English, Chief Andrew Ngeh said the militarization is not intended to shatter the psychology of the students.
“The military men are at the periphery, not at the centre. They are there to ensure maximum security. The students now write with some comfort and assurance that they will no longer be interrupted.”
Commenting on the recent unrests on the campus of UB, Ngeh argued that it is in the interest of the students to write their exams, get their degrees, and move on.
“The students should rather protest that we (lecturers) have refused to set exams, not that they are not going to write, because at the end of the day, they should leave here with their degrees. Else why are they coming to school?” Take the case of the recent recruitment of 25000 youths. If eventually another one is launched and you don’t have your papers, your degree, what becomes of you? May be those causing the unrest are misguided, and or teleguided.
I think they should refocus and have a clearer vision of their future, because their future is in their hands. When they stay here protesting, eventually they will be on the losing side. They end up complicating the lives and jeopardizing their future.”
Students revising notes ahead of exam in a few minutes
Talking about the continuation of the exam after the interruption of HIS 403 on Thursday February 21, the Head of Secretariat in charge of Examinations in the Faculty of Arts remarked that since then, everything has been moving on smoothly.
Ngeh said as head of secretariat, he is on campus as early as 6:30am and retires at 6:30pm each day, and so far there have not been any major incidents.
Minutes after exam at Amphitheatre 250
“So far, we haven’t registered any irregularity. We may have cases of one or two students writing without the correct identification documents, but we advice that the invigilators allow them write, and then the students are asked to bring the required documents, so that their scripts can be integrated with others.”
Authorities in the Department of History say the interrupted HIS 403 exam will be rescheduled in the days ahead. Meanwhile, first semester examinations at the University of Buea end in the first week of March.
Meantime, University authorities have refuted rumours of the kidnap and killing of the acting Student Union president, Minang Ronald. In a communiqué signed on February 22, 2013, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Nalova Lyonga condemned the dissemination of such information, adding that UB administration is not, and will not be desirous of anyone’s death.
