29th EDITION OF WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY
MINESEC challenges teachers to exercise their high sense of responsibility to carry the country forward.
To Professor Nalova Lyonga, “teachers must understand what it is to be modern.”
The ceremony held at the Yaounde Sports Complex on Thursday, 5th October 2023 was yet another opportunity for Professor Nalova Lyonga, Minister of Secondary Education, to remind teachers of their pivotal role in shaping the country’s future.
Organised under the theme “The Teachers We Need for the Education We Want: The Global Imperative to Reverse the Teacher Shortage”, the 2023 edition of World Teachers’ Day advocates for a valued teaching profession, with an emphasis on stopping the decline in the number of teachers.
Fortunately, addressing this issue is a top priority in the Ministry’s agenda where the digitalisation of teaching/learning remains the order of the day, as performed in a play by the theatre group of Lycée Général Leclerc during the ceremony. The minister called on “the king of the chalk” to exercise their high sense of responsibility in fulfilling their obligation, with due consideration of constraints imposed by modernity.
Such an obligation requires teachers “to update their skills in order to fit in this era of fast changing times”, declared Paul Coustère, the Director of UNESCO Sub-regional Office for Central Africa, as he delivered the joint statement from UNESCO, ILO, UNICEF and Education International on teachers’ Day.
Regarding teachers’ concerns, some of which were highlighted by Mrs Mfouapon Zenabou, Vice-Principal at GHS Mballa 2, in her academic discourse on the theme, Professor Nalova Lyonga assured that “everybody listens to teachers” and that they “don’t need to strike because the Head of State is listening”. Rather, teachers should focus on providing first-class education to Cameroonian children.
To add to the international recognition of teachers’ mandate, some teachers in the Mfoundi Division were awarded Academic Honours in the ranks of Knight and Officer while others were promoted to various ranks of National Orders on October 5, 2023.
Aimé Ngidjol
Senior Staff/Celcom
BACK-TO-SCHOOL 2023
The 2023-2024 school year is well on course in MINESEC
This is following the assessment visit to some schools in the Mfoundi Division, on Monday 4th September 2023.
The 2023-2024 school year officially kicked off in Cameroon on Monday, 4th September 2023. It is to ascertain the effective resumption of classes that top officials in the Ministry of Secondary Education (MINESEC) undertook an appraisal visit to five schools in Yaounde. Boniface Bayaola, Secretary of State in MINESEC in charge or Teacher’s Training, led the delegation composed, among others, of Prof Fabien Nkot, Secretary-General, Akat Fidelis Etta, Inspector General of Services, Jean-Paul Marcelin Mebara, Inspector General of Education.
College Jean-Tabi, Government Bilingual Teacher’s Training College Nlongkak, Government Bilingual Technical High School Nkolbisson, Government High School Biyem-assi and Government Bilingual Technical and Commercial High School Yaounde were the five schools visited.
In line with the Ministry’s commitment to intensify the digitalisation of teaching practices, MINESEC officials inspected the computer laboratories in these schools. They inquired about the quantity and state of computers while insisting on the availability of permanent Internet connection. The turnout was equally another area of interest which was satisfied by most schools apart from Government Bilingual Teacher’s Training College Nlongkak where the students’ attendance was less satisfactory.
In the various Technical High Schools visited, Boniface Bayaola checked if workshops and their respective appliances were ready and fit to welcome learners.
At GBTHS Nkolbisson, the ministerial delegation inspected workshops for Woodwork, Automobile Mechanics, and observed a digitalised lesson in Electrical Engineering. At GBTCHS Yaounde, only the workshop for Clothing Industry was checked.
With its neat green spaces and a turnout of about 4,000 students on this very first day of school, GHS Biyem-assi provided the best example of effective class resumption. All of which enchanted the Secretary of State who spent not less than 15 minutes listening to Donovan Mbougnia Kuete, a science teacher, as he was presenting the course outlines and sharing tips for success to Terminale D students.
At the end of the tour, the Secretary of State commended the quality human resources and infrastructure available in the various schools. He wished full success to both students and teachers in their endeavour for this school year.
By Aimé Ngidjol
Senior Staff/CELCOM-MINESEC
BACK-TO-SCHOOL 2023
The 2023-2024 school year is well on course in MINESEC
This is following the assessment visit to some schools in the Mfoundi Division, on Monday 4th September 2023.
The 2023-2024 school year officially kicked off in Cameroon on Monday, 4th September 2023. It is to ascertain the effective resumption of classes that top officials in the Ministry of Secondary Education (MINESEC) undertook an appraisal visit to five schools in Yaounde. Boniface Bayaola, Secretary of State in MINESEC in charge or Teacher’s Training, led the delegation composed, among others, of Prof Fabien Nkot, Secretary-General, Akat Fidelis Etta, Inspector General of Services, Jean-Paul Marcelin Mebara, Inspector General of Education.
College Jean-Tabi, Government Bilingual Teacher’s Training College Nlongkak, Government Bilingual Technical High School Nkolbisson, Government High School Biyem-assi and Government Bilingual Technical and Commercial High School Yaounde were the five schools visited.
In line with the Ministry’s commitment to intensify the digitalisation of teaching practices, MINESEC officials inspected the computer laboratories in these schools. They inquired about the quantity and state of computers while insisting on the availability of permanent Internet connection. The turnout was equally another area of interest which was satisfied by most schools apart from Government Bilingual Teacher’s Training College Nlongkak where the students’ attendance was less satisfactory.
In the various Technical High Schools visited, Boniface Bayaola checked if workshops and their respective appliances were ready and fit to welcome learners.
At GBTHS Nkolbisson, the ministerial delegation inspected workshops for Woodwork, Automobile Mechanics, and observed a digitalised lesson in Electrical Engineering. At GBTCHS Yaounde, only the workshop for Clothing Industry was checked.
With its neat green spaces and a turnout of about 4,000 students on this very first day of school, GHS Biyem-assi provided the best example of effective class resumption. All of which enchanted the Secretary of State who spent not less than 15 minutes listening to Donovan Mbougnia Kuete, a science teacher, as he was presenting the course outlines and sharing tips for success to Terminale D students.
At the end of the tour, the Secretary of State commended the quality human resources and infrastructure available in the various schools. He wished full success to both students and teachers in their endeavour for this school year.
By Aimé Ngidjol
Senior Staff/CELCOM-MINESEC
CAMEROON – UNAIDS EDUCATION PLUS INITIATIVE
CAMEROON – UNAIDS EDUCATION PLUS INITIATIVE
EMPOWERING ADOLESCENT GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN AND ACHIEVING GENDER EQUALITY IN CAMEROON
Prof. NALOVA LYONGA, Minister of Secondary Education, granted an audience on Thursday 20 July 2023 to the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Madam Winnie BYANYIMA at the Distance Education Centre in Yaoundé.
This audience held in the Presence of Mr BAYAOLA Boniface (MINESEC Secretary of State) and Prof. NKOT Fabien (MINESEC Secretary General) was the ground to review the situation of AIDS in Cameroon, in relation to girls and women in particular. It was an opportunity to discuss the Education plus initiative, a high-profile, high-level political advocacy drive to accelerate actions and investments to prevent HIV, centred on the empowerment of adolescent girls and young women and the achievement of gender equality in sub-Saharan Africa—with secondary education as the strategic entry point.
This strategic entry point in Cameroon is under the supervision of Prof. NALOVA LYONGA who considers gender equality a priority. Her Clean School policy is a tool used to achieve this goal. She considers toilets (hygiene and sanitation) a key element motivating girls to go to school: they are more comfortable in a clean environment (with clean toilets…). Concerning the fight against HIV/AIDS, various actions have been carried out by the MINESEC.
Dr MAINDURYANG Épse WANYANG Madeleine, Head of the Sub-Department of Health and Extracurricular Activities at MINESEC, in her presentation during this working session, pinpointed the various aspects of the fight against HIV/AIDS and the activities carried out by MINESEC to curb the pandemic. She went on to present some challenges and the way to overcome them. Among the actions carried out by the MINESEC are the introduction of sensitization on HIV/AIDS into students’ curriculum and the activities carried out with various partners (UNICEF, UNESCO, CIRCB, CAMNAFAW...).
The Executive Director of UNAIDS Praised the efforts carried out by the Government of Cameroon and the Ministry of secondary Education in favour of the fight against HIV/AIDS: ‘Cameroon has been doing very well in fighting HIV/AIDS’. According to Madam Winnie BYANYIMA, since 2010, Cameroon has been reducing death linked to HIV/AIDS to more than 60%. Yet she underlined that more efforts need to be undertaken regarding young girls, who are more infected than young boys. In her opinion, the safest place for a girl to avoid HIV/AIDS and early pregnancy is school, hence their will to help develop curricula on sexuality education and more.
ABILAMEKOU BADJEL Théodore
SENIOR STAFF
VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS
The Ministry of Secondary Education examines some key tools presented by the NGOs, Fondation d’Education d’Esperance by Flomik (FEEF), Fédération Africaine du Sport Scolaire (FASS) and Trust Inside International
This was during a working session on reinforcing the culture and practice of confidence and trust within the school milieu, held on Wednesday, 21st June 2023 at the Distance Education Centre in Yaoundé.
Chaired by Prof. Nalova Lyonga, in the company of the Secretary of State in charge of Teachers’ Training in the Ministry of Secondary Education, Bayaola Boniface, the Secretary General Prof. Fabien Nkot, together with other top ranking officials and staff of her ministry, the NGOs: Fondation d’Education d’Esperance by Flomik (FEEF), Fédération Africaine du Sport Scolaire (FASS) and Trust Inside International presented some key tools to prevent violence in schools, amongst which are: trust building, development of confidence, mind education and school sports.
Speaking to participants, Madam Hond Marie Florence, President of Fondation d’Education d’Esperance by Flomik presented how her organization and Fédération Africaine du Sport Scolaire accompany the Ministry of Secondary Education in the fight against violence in schools and the use of hard drugs through sensitization campaigns and her desintoxication and social rehabilitation centres. These centres are already operational in the Far-North and Centre Regions respectively, and that others will be opened in other regions subsequently.
She went further to explain that, “Students admitted in these centres spend at least 6 to 12 months to ensure their complete rehabilitation”
On his part, Mr. Pierre WINICKI, President of Trust Inside International presented a succinct exposé on the culture of Confidence and Trust wherein he explained the role trust plays in the prevention of violence in schools and the society at large.
Through his Trust Tree theory, he demonstrated how the culture of trust has a very important impact on reducing violence in schools.
He explained that, “Trust is the very fundamental basis for peace, proper stability, economic growth, economic transition and human development. Without trust, none of these can be obtained. The millennium goals cannot be obtained or attained if there's no culture of trust widely diffused in the society.”
This exercise comes on the heels of an international symposium on violence in schools initiated and organised in Yaoundé by the Ministry of Secondary Education in collaboration with the United Nations system in Cameroon in December 2022.
Then followed a second meeting that dwelt on preparations towards the upcoming 2023 edition of the FENASSCO LEAGUE “A” games slated for Garoua and Gashiga from 28 July to 05 August 2023, at the end of which Prof. Nalova Lyonga announced that CAMTEL has attributed the number 1530 to MINESEC’s Helpline Centre. This number is toll free and it’s open to students, teachers and even parents faced with any psychosocial problem and need a counsellor to talk to.
K.T Lois NGEK
ARO No. 2
COOPERATION MINESEC-COMMONWEALTH
A COOPERATION TO BOOST SECONDARY EDUCATION IN CAMEROON.
The Minister of Secondary Education, Prof Nalova Lyonga, granted an audience to a delegation from the Commonwealth Secretariat, led by Evelyn Pedersen (Head of Strategy, Learning & Evaluation), on Thursday, 15 June 2023 at the Distance Education Centre. The working session aimed at assessing the state of cooperation between the Commonwealth and Cameroon in the sector of secondary education.
This working session was held in presence of Mr Bayaola Boniface (MINESEC Secretary of State), Prof Nkot Fabien (MINESEC Secretary General), Mrs Anne Oben, Commonwealth Director at the Ministry of External Relations, Head of MINREX delegation. The meeting was a cordial and fruitful exchange on aspects of collaboration between the Commonwealth Secretariat and Cameroon, and an opportunity to harmonize actions undertaken by MINESEC and MINREX in connection to this collaboration.
The encounter allowed the Commonwealth Secretariat to identify key aspects on which they could strengthen their cooperation with Cameroon in the domain of education, their main working method being to respond to the country’s articulated needs and strategies (in order to align with the country’s policy, legislation and education framework). The delegation was given an overview of Cameroon’s strategy in the education sector. As such, among others, the cooperation would focus on:
-Helping to palliate the lack of teachers in some fields;
-Putting more input in training trainers;
-Strengthening the capacity of students to become creators of jobs/entrepreneurs (technical and vocational schools);
-Supporting MINESEC in the digitalization of teaching;
-Facilitating exchanges between the Cameroonian education sector and other Commonwealth countries (with the help of MINREX).
The Commonwealth Secretariat appreciates and is ready to support the initiative undertaken by Cameroon to boost Gabon and Togo bilingualism, Cameroon having a long experience in French/English bilingualism. Gabon and Togo, two countries with no historic ties to Britain, became the 55th and 56th members of the Commonwealth on 25 June 2022.
The meeting of this day goes in the same line with the audience the Minister of Secondary Education granted to the visiting President of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, Lord Jonathan Peter Marland, on Wednesday, 11 October 2022, still at the Distance Education Centre. They brainstormed on ways to carry forward distance education in Cameroon.
May this cooperation with the Commonwealth Secretariat grow firmer and the result positively impact our education system.
ABILAMEKOU B. THEODORE
SENIOR OFFICIAL/CELCOM
2023 SESSION OF GCE EXAMINATIONS
2023 SESSION OF GCE EXAMINATIONS
The Minister of Secondary Education Assesses Examination Conditions in Three Accommodation Centres in Yaounde.
The written phase of examinations organised by the GCE-Board kick started on Tuesday, 30 May 2023 nationwide on a satisfactory note.
On this occasion, Secondary Education Minister, Prof Nalova Lyonga flanked by Boniface Bayaola, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Secondary Education in charge of Teachers’ Training, visited 3 centres accommodating candidates for the GCE-Advanced and Ordinary Levels for the 2023 session.
Government Bilingual Practising High School Yaounde (LBA), Government Bilingual High School Ekounou and Government Bilingual High School Nkol-Eton are the three centres visited by MINESEC officials.
The minister and her delegation were particularly interested in the provisions made to safely accommodate candidates with special needs. They checked hygiene and sanitation conditions in these centres, paying attention to examination halls to make sure they were conducive for all candidates. The main recommendations made were to preserve a healthy environment in all accommodation centres, improve the reception conditions for candidates with special needs and not allow candidates in full-term pregnancy to sit in for the exams.
“Overall, all the exams are going on well. So we are quite happy”, Prof Nalova Lyonga said at the end of the tour.
By A. Ngidjol
Senior Staff/CELCOM
