CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE 19^th EDITION OF THE NATIONAL WEEK OF BILINGUALISM

Official Bilingualism is the Core of the Cameroon’s Identity

To Cameroonians, official bilingualism is a building force, a unifying factor, a means of promoting civic and moral virtues.

These are some key statements made by students at the closing ceremony of the 19^th Edition of the National Week of Bilingualism chaired by Professor Nalova Lyonga, Minister of Secondary Education, on 6 February 2024 at the Conference Centre in Yaounde. Dr Asheri Kilo, the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Basic Education, Boniface Bayaola, the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Secondary Education in charge of Teachers’ Training and the Secretary-General of the Centre Region, personal representative of Naseri Paul Bea, Governor of the Centre Region, graced the event with their presence.

Organised under the theme, “Bilingualism: vector of digitalization of education and the promotion of civic and moral values for a peaceful and emergent Cameroon”, the 19^th Edition of the National Week of Bilingualism, as in previous editions, lived up to the expectations of the Government of Cameroon.

In a series of intellectual and recreational activities including, the debate for and against the theme of this edition, poems and sketches magnifying English and French official bilingualism, students from various schools in Yaounde and all over Cameroon, showcased a seamless mastery of English and French languages while emphasizing the role of digitalization in sowing the seeds of prosperity for a peaceful and emergent Cameroon.

This earned them not only rounds of applauses from the audience, but also prizes from the minister as a way of encouragement to keep up with this trend. As such, a special prize, made up of books and a comfortable amount of money, was granted to five schools for the Magazine production, with Government High School Bafoussam topping the chart.

In a protocol-free talk, the Minister of Secondary Education commended both the students and teachers for the time that they took to prepare for the various activities performed during the ceremony to demonstrate their mastery of both English and French languages.

Professor Nalova Lyonga reiterated the equal status of English and French as the two official languages of Cameroon and invited parents to send their children to do the Special Bilingual Education Programme which will open them up to limitless opportunities worldwide. The minister equally urged education officials to inform the entire education community, and mostly parents, of the options available in secondary schools as far as the promotion of bilingualism is concerned in Cameroon.

Secondary Education boss tasked the Inspectorate of Pedagogy in charge of the Teaching and Promotion of Bilingualism in the Ministry of Secondary Education to see into the training of trainers so that students should have models in the proper and accurate use of both English and French, and ultimately become specialists in these two official languages.

In this regard, Professor Nalova Lyonga sent a strong message to teachers, instructing them to commit to their job and hold the profession up and train first-class human resources that will be admired and sought for around the world and preserve Cameroon’s unique identity at the global stage.

By Aimé Ngidjol

ARO1-CELCOM

Assessing the Level of Pedagogical Progress in each region

The Minister of Secondary Education presides over the Coordination Meeting with Regional Delegates

 Professor Nalova Lyonga, Minister of Secondary Education, in her commitment to ensuring quality education across the national territory, presided over the coordination meeting with Regional Delegates of Secondary Education on Wednesday 31 January, 2024 at the premises of Distance Education Centre. In attendance were SEESEN, the Secretary General, officials of the central administration, Regional Delegates of MINESEC.

The primary objective of this meeting was to assess the level of pedagogical progress implemented in each region during the first term of the ongoing academic year. The progress was centered on statistics with regards to hours covered, syllable/ lesson covered (theoretical, practical and digitalized lessons), and evaluating students’ performance. From the statistics presented by the Regional Delegates, it was encouraging to notice that apart from digitalized lessons which had a low coverage rate, hours covered, theoretical and practical lessons and student’s success rate were all approximately above 45 percent. 

Next was the percentage of students across the country who received report cards at the end of the first term and the measures taken to see into it that all students receive their report cards. From the presentations of the Regional Delegates, more than 95 percent of students received their report cards at the end of the first term. However, as at the time of the meeting, the constraints which stopped most students not to receive their report cards had been resolved.

Besides these, emphasis was equally on the percentage rate of students who had registered for end of year certificate exams. It was noticed that the number of students who have registered for DECC exams this year have recorded a significant drop as compared to last year.

At the end of the working session, Professor Nalova Lyonga gave the following recommendations to the Regional Delegates:

Regional Delegates should send a monthly report of the progression rate registered in their respective regions, comparing it with previous year’s situation to the appropriate structure of the central administration;

They should also deplore RPIs on the field regularly in order to ensure lessons are effectively taught in their respective regions;

Again, Regional Delegates should immediately put in place catch up strategies in order to cover up for instructional time lost during the first term. The Minister should receive the remediation strategy from each Regional Delegate with immediate effect;

Regional Delegates should regularly send a list of names of teachers who are absent from their duty posts with justification documents;

In addition, Regional Delegates should send a list of vacant posts in their respective regions immediately to the Minster in order for the necessary measures to be taken to that effect;

Lastly, Regional Delegates should engage their respective sub educational communities in the fight against violence in the school milieu.

Promoting Entrepreneurship in Schools

MTN Foundation Hands over an Incubator to the Ministry of Secondary Education

In a collaboration aimed at fostering innovation, technical and vocational skills among students, the Ministry of Secondary Education joined forces with MTN Foundation to inaugurate and handover an incubator to Lycée Polyvalent Bonaberi, Douala. This incubator transforms plastic waste to pavement tiles.

The ceremonial handover and inauguration of the incubator took place on Friday, 26 January 2024, at the school premises, marking a landmark in the advancement in technical and vocational education in the Region. In attendance were the Minister of Secondary Education, Professor Nalova Lyonga, and top rank officials of her ministerial department, the representative of the Governor of Littoral Region, government officials, MTN Foundation’s representatives, traditional authorities, and school staff and students.

During the ceremony, the CEO of MTN Cameroon, Mitwa Kaemba Ngambi, affirmed that the incubator will be used to transform plastic waste to pave stones and is worth 71 million Francs CFA. The workshop lies on a surface area of 360 square meters and is made up of a classroom, an office, a storage area, lavatories and the incubator; with the incubator having five main machines.

The Minister of Secondary Education, Professor Nalova Lyonga, expressed her gratitude to MTN Foundation for their invaluable support in enhancing technical and vocational education; emphasizing the importance of equipping students with the necessary skills and resources to become self-employed and contribute to the economic growth of the nation.

The ceremonial speeches were followed by the official ribbon-cutting, symbolizing the formal handover of the incubator to Lycée Polyvalent Bonaberi.

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Professor Nalova Lyonga highlighted that “...school entrepreneurship can become a real way of getting into employment ... students of this school will be able to go out and set up their own workshops in the villages and make these pavements. Technical and Vocational Education is the life wire for the emergence of our country”.

In addition to the incubator, the Ministry of Secondary Education and the MTN Foundation have committed to providing ongoing awareness campaigns to sensitize the inhabitants of Douala to channel all plastic waste to Lycée Polyvalent Bonaberi for processing.

By JOSO Sophie

ARO2/CELCOM

Harmonizing Education: The Transformative Role Music Plays in Secondary School Students’ Learning

I Am Music - Curbing Violence in Secondary Schools through Music

The Minister of Secondary Education, Professor Nalova Lyonga, in the presence of the Second Representative of the Ambassador of Spain to Cameroon and UNICEF’s country representative to Cameroon, presided over a ceremony to inspire students to music, held at Government Bilingual Practicing High School Yaounde, on the 24 January 2024. This ceremony focused on the multifaceted benefits of incorporating music into the education of adolescents in secondary schools due to its transformative power and the various ways it deters violence and enhances their educational experience.

The Cooperation Programme between Cameroon, represented by the Ministry of Secondary Education and UNICEF for the period ranging from 2022-2026, was organized a ceremony which aims to inspire secondary school students to music as a deterrent of violence in the school milieu.

Music is recognized as a universal language that transcends cultural and social barriers. Its impact on individuals, particularly adolescents, extends far beyond entertainment and self-expression. It plays a vital role in fostering holistic development, cognitive skills, emotional intelligence, creating a conducive and protective learning environment, addresses social issues faced by children such as violence, drug abuse, early marriages etc. because it reduces aggression, enhances self-control, and provides a safe haven, and social cohesion among secondary school students.

In line with the contributions of the different participants during the event, attention was on the impact music has on the lives of adolescents as regards eliminating violence. Music leads to emotional expression and regulation in adolescence as it provides a safe outlet for adolescents to express and regulate their emotions and communicate their feelings, reducing stress, anxiety. Besides these, music enhances cultural appreciation and diversity acting as a bridge that connects students to various cultures, traditions, and historical contexts.

Diverse musical genres and styles cultivate cultural appreciation and understanding among adolescents which leads to the development of a global perspective, respect for diversity, and a sense of belonging within a broader human context. Music education promotes cultural sensitivity, breaking down barriers and nurturing a more inclusive society, thereby eliminating violence.

Besides inspiring students to discipline, perseverance, and goal setting, music brings students together, promote social integration and community building; encourages collaboration, cooperation, and mutual respect, an act which transcends social barriers, promotes inclusivity and forges meaningful connections among students from diverse backgrounds. This sense of belonging and camaraderie creates a positive school climate, enhancing the overall peaceful cohabitation.

To this, Professor Nalova Lyonga states that “… we are celebrating this day of music; music which we think is inborn in Cameroonians but which we have not been practising. Our children have not been practicing music and I wonder why, because we have music in the universities and yet in the lower educational institutions the children are not singing… and that is the thing that I observed when I came here as Minister of Secondary Education and I decided that they are going to learn how to sing because singing inspires noble values. We thought that in Cameroon where we have a lot of variety, a lot of problem with hate language and all of that, music should be one of the ways in which we inspire our children to live together peacefully”.

Joso Sophie,

ARO2/CELCOM