Education in Cameroon

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Schoolhouse in Bankim, Cameroon

Education in Cameroon is among the best
in Africa.[citation
needed]

Contents

1 Primary and secondary
school

2 Higher
education

3 References

4 External
links

[edit]
Primary and secondary
school

Education is compulsory through the age of 14 years.[1]
Primary school education has been free since 2000; however, families must pay
for uniforms and book fees.[1]
Tuition and fees at the secondary school level remain unaffordable for many
families.[1]

In 2002, the gross primary enrollment rate was 108 percent.[1]
Gross enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered
in primary school and do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance.[1]
In 2001, 84.6 percent of children ages 10 to 14 years were attending school.[1]
As of 2001, 64 percent of children who started primary school were likely to
reach grade 5.[1]

Fewer girls enroll in primary school in Cameroon than boys.[1]
In 2001, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child identified a number of
problems with the educational system in Cameroon, including rural/urban and
regional disparities in school attendance; limited access to formal and
vocational education for children with disabilities; children falling behind in
their primary education; a high dropout rate; lack of primary school teachers;
and violence and sexual abuse against children in schools.[1]
Early marriage, unwanted pregnancy, domestic chores and certain socio-cultural
biases also contribute to low education rates.[1]
Domestic workers are generally not permitted by their employers to attend
school.[1]

The adult literacy rate is 67.9%.[2]
In the southern areas of the country almost all children of primary-school age
are enrolled in classes. However, in the north, which has always been the most
isolated part of Cameroon, registration is low. Most students in Cameroon do not
go beyond the primary grades. There has been an increasing trend of the smartest
students leaving the country in recent years to study abroad and end up settling
there, the so-called "brain drain".

Two separate systems of education were used in Cameroon after independence.
East Cameroon's system was based on the French model, West Cameroon's on the
British model. The two systems were merged by 1976. Christian mission schools
have been an important part of the educational system. The country has
institutions for teacher training and technical education. At the top of the
educational structure is the University of Yaoundé. There is, however, a growing
trend for the wealthiest and best-educated students to leave the country in
order to study and live abroad, creating a brain drain.

The academic year in Cameroon runs from September to June, at which time, end
of year examinations are always written. The General Certificate of
Education(GCE)both Ordinary and Advanced levels are the two most qualifying
exams in the Anglophone part of Cameroon.[3]
Students who graduate from a five year secondary school program have to sit for
the General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level, and those who graduate from
a two year high school program have to sit for the General Certificate of
Education Advanced Level.[3]
So far, the GCE advanced level and the Baccalaureate ( the French Equivalent of
academic attainment) are the two main entrance qualifications into Cameroon's
institutions of higher learning.[3]

[edit]
Higher education

Although Cameroon boast of a sprawling cache of junior academic institutions
of excellence, higher institutions however are rather insufficient. There are
seven state run universities. These are located in (Buea, Douala,Yaounde I &
II,Dschang, Maroua and Ngaoundere). There is a handful of thriving private
universities such as the Bamenda University of Science and Technology (BUST),
International University,Bamenda and the Fotso Victor University in the west
province.[4]

The University of Buea is the only Anglo-Saxon style university in Cameroon,
and the rest of Cameroon's six state managed universities are run on the
francophonie model, although in principle, they are considered to be bilingual
institutions.[5]
Cameroon's universities are strictly managed by the central government, with the
Pro-chancellors and Rectors of these universities adamantly appointed by
presidential decree. The minister of higher Education is the Chancellor of all
Cameroon's state universities. Compared with neighbouring countries however,
Cameroon generally enjoy stable academic calendars. In all, Cameroon's higher
education has been a success since independence, with thousands of its graduates
mostly consumed by the public service in Cameroon. Since the 1990s, with
economic crises, a new trend has been for hundreds of university graduates
leaving the country for greener pastures in Western countries. The government is
doing little or nothing to curb this brain draining.

Nonetheless, an emerging number of private higher technical institutions of
learnng like the Nacho university, Fonab Polythenic, and many others are
beginning to reshape the predominantly general education style of education that
for over three decades has been the turf of most anglophone students in
Cameroon

Universities in Cameroon include:

Bamenda
University of Science & Technology

International
University, Bamenda

University of
Buea

University of
Douala

University of
Dschang

University of
Ngaoundere

University of Maroua

University of
Yaounde (two campuses)

Catholic
University of Central Africa (Yaounde)

The
International Relations Institute of Cameroon - IRIC (yaounde)

St.
Thomas Aquinas Regional Major Seminary (Bambui)

Siantou and Ndi Samba Schools of Higher Learning (Yaounde)

Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda (Bamenda)

Highlands University (P)

[edit]
References

^ a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
"Cameroon". 2005 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. Bureau
of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department
of Labor (2006). This article incorporates text from this source, which
is in the public domain.

^
UN human development indicators.

^ a
b
c
minesup.gov.cm

^
INHEA | Cameroon Higher Education Profile

^
http:www.cm.refer.org/edu/ram3/univers/ubuea/ubuea.htm

[edit]
External links

Cameroon Universities List

(French) Les
Universities du Cameroun at CamerounContact

International Network for Higher Education in Africa's Cameroon
profile page

v • d • e

Education in Africa

Sovereign
states

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Cameroon · Cape
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States
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Dependencies,
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1 Transcontinental
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Cameroon"

Categories: Education in
Cameroon

Hidden categories: All
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This page was last modified on 22 October 2010 at
19:36.

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