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INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS

The Government of Cameroon advocates for a school milieu free of violence and conducive for the development of the best human capital.

“We don’t want violence in the school milieu; be it primary school, be it secondary school, be it higher education. We don’t want violence”.

This is the paramount statement Prof Nalova Lyonga, Minister of Secondary Education, made during the international symposium on violence in schools in Cameroon, held in Yaounde from 20^th to 21^st December 2022.

Initiated by the Minister of Secondary Education in accordance with the instructions from the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, the international symposium on violence in schools aimed at identifying the aspects, forms and causes of violence in the school milieu in Cameroon with a view to draft appropriate recommendations as to how to address this thorny issue.

The initiative which enjoyed the collaboration of the United Nations system in Cameroon brought together over 150 participants including, policy-makers, scholars, teachers, parents, students, security officials, members of civil society organizations and development partners. Through presentations and panel discussions, the stakeholders lauded the Minister’s actions towards reversing the trend of school violence, and then tabled their contributions, all of which provided a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon.

Beginning with the high level panel which saw the participation of Prof Jacques Fame Ndongo, Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education, Prof Marie-Thérèse Abena Ondoa, Minister of Women Empowerment and the Family, Pauline Irene Nguene, Minister of Social Affairs and Paul Tasong, Minister Delegate in the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, these Government officials strongly condemned violence in general and more specifically in the school milieu which they acknowledged as a sanctuary for the holistic development of the Cameroonian youth.

In the same light, the acting Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Cameroon, Dr Justin Koffi, underscored that “school violence spares no stakeholders, deprives children of their right to education and risks derailing the path of the Nation towards sustainable development.”

The school violence vulnerability and risk mapping presented by Bernadette Mbia Nsansi, Director of Guidance-counselling, School Life and Assistance in the Ministry of Secondary Education (MINESEC), confirmed this reality whereby boys (64%), girls (3%), school officials (1%) and people around the school environment (34%) are involved in school violence in Cameroon. She further indicated that 11 cases of aggravated violence were reported in secondary schools from 22 November 2018 to 13 April 2022, the most regretful one being the stabbing to death of a young Mathematics teacher by one of his students at Government High School Nkolbisson, on 14 January 2020.

Lastly, the issue of violence in the school milieu underwent in-depth examination in four other panels which offered detailed insights on aspects and types of school violence, new forms and challenges of school violence, causes of school violence as well as the state of affairs and assessment of Government’s response to the rise in school violence.

Taken altogether, the inputs from the contributors culminated in 21 recommendations of which 12 are to be applied directly within schools and 9 destined for the actors around the school environment. These include amongst others: promoting dialogue between the various members of the Education Community, education on peace, providing adequate psychosocial assistance to students in need, reinforcing collaboration between MINESEC and the specialised services of the Ministry of Women Empowerment and the Family, and the Ministry of Social Affairs.

In his concluding remarks at the end of the symposium on 21^st December 2022, Prof Jacques Fame Ndongo, Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education, commended Prof Nalova Lyonga, Minister of Secondary Education, for the successful organisation of this international symposium on violence in the school milieu in Cameroon. He saluted the recommendations formulated and committed all the parties concerned within and outside the school environment to take immediate and concrete actions in line with these resolutions so as to preserve the sanctity and purity of Education in Cameroon.

Aimé Ngidjol

Senior Staff/CELCOM

EASING ACCESS TO QUALITY AND SAFE EDUCATION IN CAMEROON

The USA pledge support to bolster Cameroon Secondary Education

This was during the audience Prof Nalova Lyonga, Cameroon Minister of Secondary Education, granted to His Excellency Christopher John Lamora, US Ambassador to Cameroon, on Tuesday, 13 December 2022 in Yaounde.

The US Ambassador who considers himself a change maker met with the Minister of Secondary Education to have a glimpse of the country’s vision for Secondary Education. Prof Nalova Lyonga who was assisted by the Secretary-General of the Ministry, Prof Fabien Nkot, told her guest that “Cameroon has a lot of opportunities, beginning with Education in order to get people well educated so to be able to take care of themselves.”

The Minister said she was happy to work with a change maker and used this opportunity to edify His Excellency Christopher John Lamora on some of the key areas of interest in which the Ministry of Secondary Education (MINESEC) needs strong support to modernise and bolster Cameroon Secondary Education. These include Distance Education, Digitalisation of Education through the whiteboard concept, promotion of Technical Education, amongst others.

The US diplomat was equally given an updated preview of the country’s policy towards keeping teenage girls and pregnant students in school, as a way to secure the right to education for all children.

The Head of the US diplomatic mission to Cameroon asserted his country’s commitment to “supporting the change led by the Government and the people of Cameroon.” He hailed the establishment of the Distance Education Centre as well as its assets of more than 8,000 digital lessons.

He further indicated that within the framework of the US AID, his country can assist MINESEC in reinforcing Distance Education through the Radio Curriculum, an educational initiative which was successfully implemented in Ghana during the Covid-19 period. The Minister fully consented to this proposal, giving that MINESEC has adopted an all-inclusive approach to enable learners located in all the corners of Cameroon get quality and safe education.

Aimé Ngidjol

Celcom/MINESEC

LEARNING GERMAN DIFFERENTLY, WITH THE NEW GERMAN TEXTBOOK SERIES “UND JETZT WIR”

In presence of Prof Nalova Lyonga, Minister of Secondary Education, Goethe-Institut (Bastos, Yaoundé) played host on 08th December 2022 to an international hybrid press conference presenting the revision of the German textbook series “Und jetzt wir” (former “Ihr und wir”, presently used in secondary schools)

Experts and participants from African countries and Germany gathered at Goethe-Institut, and online, to discuss the various innovations entailing the revision of “Ihr und wir”.  Hueber, the publishing house, is planning to replace the present book “Ihr und wir” with “Und jetzt wir.” This German textbook series is intended to be used in West, East, South and Central Africa, as the number of German learners is increasing in Africa (more than one million).

The Minister of Secondary Education, speaking at this press conference, highlighted the good cooperation ties between Cameroon and Germany in general, and the Ministry of Secondary Education and Goethe-Institut in particular. A cooperation strengthened by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on 07th June 2011 between MINESEC and Goethe-Institut. This cooperation has allowed Cameroonian teachers to benefit from many scholarships.

Expressing her wish to see German learners express themselves like native speakers of German, she praised the project as it fosters and reinforces the methodology MINESEC has adopted within its educational system, especially as it comes with the use of digitalization in the teaching-learning process of languages. She expressed her hope that teachers as well as learners will welcome the new book. Worth saying the authors and publisher of the book are working hand in hand with pedagogic inspectors from MINESEC.

Dr Nanga-Me-Abengmoni Leonel, Project Coordinator for the Goethe Institute (from Cameroon) alongside Malick Ndao, Co-author (from Senegal), presented the various aspects of this intercultural project. The project includes: A textbook, a workbook, a Trilingual XXL glossary, a teacher’s guide, interactive additional exercises (online). They presented this teaching material as being compatible with more than 15 study programmes in sub-Saharan Africa.

ABILAMEKOU BADJEL, SENIOR OFFICIAL/CELCOM

PROMOTION OF LOCAL MATERIALS USE IN MINESEC

Government Technical High School Bikok: A Testing Ground for Fired Clay Bricks Manufacture

MINESEC wants GTHS Bikok to lead the way in the production of fired clay bricks.

The Minister of Secondary Education, Prof Nalova Lyonga, undertook a working visit to Bikok on Friday, 2 December 2022 in the company of Boniface Bayaola, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Secondary Education in charge of Teacher’s Training (SEESEN) and Prof Fabien Nkot, the Secretary-General of the Ministry. This was to assess the pilot project for the manufacture of fired clay bricks developed at GTHS Bikok in the Mefou-and-Akono Divison, Centre Region.

After the welcome addresses by Mrs. Ndeki Frieda Aurélie, Principal of GTHS Bikok, and the Mayor of Bikok who thanked Prof Nalova Lyonga for choosing their school to implement the learning-by-doing approach through this pilot project, Prof Nalova Lyonga in her remarks called on the Education Community of Bikok as a whole, and on the Mayor and the Principal in particular, to work for the successful implementation of the project in their locality which is expected to show the way to all other secondary schools in the country.

As a matter of fact, Bikok is well-known for the successful popularization of fired clay bricks in architecture with beautifully designed buildings as promoted by a native, in the person of Augustin Mvondo.

At the project site in GTHS Bikok, the Minister and her entire delegation were given a thorough presentation of the fired clay bricks manufacture process. Prof Nalova Lyonga instructed all the parties involved in this project to guarantee environment sustainability while digging the soil for the clay needed to manufacture the bricks.

From every indication, the purchase of relevant equipment as well as capacity-building in the handling of the incubator are the major challenges to overcome in order to modernise the manufacture process and increase the productivity of fired clay bricks.

The mission Prof Nalova Lyonga assigned GTHS Bikok is to become the major supplier of fired clay bricks to secondary schools and the Community in the long run. This is why Secondary Education Minister called on the Education Community of Bikok to encourage children hone their skills in fired clay bricks manufacture through this pilot project so as to secure sustainable jobs in future while promoting community-based development in their respective localities.

Aimé Ngidjol

Senior Staff/CELCOM

The 20^th edition of the National Guidance and Counseling Day has been celebrated in Government Bilingual High School Nanga Eboko under the theme “The Digitalization of the Guidance and Counseling Service Offer: The Counseling Help Line” with Prof. Nalova Lyonga urging guidance counselors to move forward with the advent of E- Counseling.

Accompanied by the Governor of the Centre Region Naseri Paul Bea, Prof. Nalova Lyonga Minister of Secondary Education chaired the official celebration of the 2022 edition of the National Guidance and Counselling Day on Friday 21^st October 2022, within the premises of GBHS Nanga Eboko in the Upper Sanaga Division.

The local authorities took turns in welcoming their august guests, with speeches wherein they enumerated a litany of problems faced by the education community of the Upper Sanaga Division as a whole. The series of speeches began with that of the mayor of the locality, then, the principal of the host institution Joseph Ekanga, followed by Norbert Atala, Divisional Delegate of Secondary Education for the Upper Sanaga Division. It ended with an inaugural lesson on the theme delivered by Mendjongo Amia Sinclaire, Chief of Service in charge of School Mapping and Guidance and Counselling at the Divisional Delegation of Secondary Education for the Upper Sanaga Division.

In her keynote address to the education community gathered in Nanga Eboko, Prof. Nalova Lyonga recalled the complexity of the job of a guidance counselor. Reminding them of the importance of their role in grooming learners, she reiterated that guidance and counseling is indispensable in the academic parcour of students. She emphasized that; “If you think that you do not have work to do, let me tell you now that you have too much work to do.”

The Minister presented the Counseling Helpline which is a record-breaking innovation witnessed in Secondary Education this school year. This Help Line lodged within the Distance Education Centre she explained is access toll free and will ensure the psychosocial and pedagogical follow up of students, teachers and even parents.

She went further to explain the importance of digitalization in the teaching and learning process and presented it as a tool that will be used to solve the difficulties enumerated by the speakers that preceded her.

In an era plagued by so many vises including the rising wave of violence in schools, drug abuse in all its forms and the recent outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic, it has come in timely to facilitate the teaching/learning process. Digitalization through E-learning and now E-counseling have come to chat a way forward for Secondary Education in Cameroon.

To top it all, she revealed the existence of a publication containing the terms of reference of guidance counselors in Cameroon. It is however imperative for the book to be reviewed, updated and republished given the changes that have taken place in the education system in Cameroon. In this regard, she made the following recommendation: “what I am waiting to see from you counselors, I want to see a book that carries your conceptualization. What are you advising the children to be and for what? They are Cameroonians, yes, but what are they supposed to achieve?”

At the end of the ceremony, Prof. Nalova Lyonga and her entourage undertook a guided tour of the exhibition stands set up by professionals of both private and public institutions for this occasion. These professionals showcased various fields of studies attributed to each profession and institution and explained to students what fields of studies corresponded to which profession. They also showcased the job opportunities these specialties offered them in the job market.

K.T Lois NGEK, CEA2 CELCOM

Prof Nalova Lyonga receives a delegation from the Turkish Maarif Foundation

Prof Nalova Lyonga, Minister of Secondary Education, granted an audience this Thursday 20 October 2022, to a visiting delegation from Maarif, a Turkish Foundation active in over 50 countries worldwide. This four-man delegation led by IPEK COSKUM A., Board Member of Maarif Foundation, aimed at surveying the perception of Maarif Foundation by the Education Community in Cameroon.

This audience portraying the good relationship between Maarif and the Ministry of Secondary Education was an occasion given to this foundation to measure the impact of Maarif Foundation educational model in Cameroon; the intention of the Foundation being that of a potential revision and improvement of their educational model so as to better meet the needs of Cameroonians. Showing a good mastery of this Foundation educational model, activities and premises here in Cameroon, Prof Nalova Lyonga reassured her guests through satisfactory answers to their numerous questions and preoccupations. Among other aspects, she expressed her satisfaction with regard to the infrastructure of the Foundation’s schools she has visited, to the implementation of distance education and their planning for teachers’ training programmes.

The Minister reassured her guests of Cameroonians’ appraisal of their work that meets the ministry’s needs in terms of its adequacy. She expressed her readiness to strengthen the collaboration between MINESEC and the Foundation, as well as her availability to attend events they request her presence. Talking during this audience, the Minister expressed the need for more collaboration between Cameroonian teachers and those of the Foundation in terms of pedagogic instruments, experiences, cultures as well as the importance of always considering the two official languages in their various programmes.

Prof Nalova Lyonga encouraged the Foundation to carry out more events that show the blend between Cameroon and Turkey, as well as to work on promoting the image of their schools through visual support, better informing the population about their know-how especially in the domain of sciences.

The presence of Maarif in Cameroon is therefore seen as a ground to favour interaction and communication, protect and foster the existing healthy relationship between the two countries; a relationship that goes beyond the framework of diplomatic exchanges at the political level.

ABILAMEKOU BADJEL, Senior Official, CELCOM