Compiled By Azore Opio, Walter Wilson Nana & Chris Mbunwe
UB Has International Reputation
When we came in 1993, we had in our mind to build a university, which could rival the best in the world. But we have not succeeded a hundred percent because of some constraints. We are a developing country, with all the difficulties that go with it.
However, we have been doing our best and UB
has made its name internationally. We are a university to reckon with, our students are going places; they are in demand in most universities in the world for post-graduate trainings. It means we have succeeded in creating a university which is academically strong.
We are also making head way in research. We have many lecturers who have been promoted to the rank of professors, which is an indication that our research efforts are bearing fruits.
Our challenges include; coping with the student population. We need more classrooms, staff offices and more laboratory space.
Prof. Nzumbe Mesape Ntoko,Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Internal Control & Evaluation
Tremendous Progress In UB
When I came in 1993, the student population
was not up to a thousand; the infrastructure was taken over from the Advanced School of Translation and Interpretation, ASTI. We knew that we had an uphill task setting in motion the first university in the English-speaking part of Cameroon, modelled on the Anglo-Saxon tradition.
It was not easy, considering that it came at a period of financial crisis; the government did not have the necessary funds to really provide what was needed. Fortunately, the pioneer Vice Chancellor, Dr. Mrs. Dorothy Limunga Njeuma, with her wealth of experience, was able to put together measures to ensure that the pioneer Anglo-Saxon university took off smoothly.
She championed the University of Buea Development Fund, organised fund-raising activities in most parts of Cameroon, which were successful. That helped UB to put up some structures like the library, the U-Block buildings, which were funded from the fund-raisings.
The first administration also had to ensure that academic standards were maintained, thanks to seasoned administrators and academicians, which culminated in a huge success. UB has also progressed tremendously in terms of infrastructure; there are massive structures which did not exist 15 years ago. The challenges have been many too.
By ill-luck or by design, some students did not really understand what Anglo-Saxon University meant and we have had very sad incidents due principally to that fact that they failed to understand where their rights started and where it should end. I do recall the strikes of the mid 90s, 2005 and 2006.
As a pioneer, the way forward is that all the stakeholders should recognise that the paramount interest is to ensure that UB provides quality education in a peaceful, calm and conducive atmosphere. That means bringing together the financial, human, material resources and the ability to work as a team.
Prof. Victor Julius Ngoh, Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Research, Cooperation & Relations with the Business World
More Needs To Be Done
Coming from Yaounde, I think the University of
Buea is, in many ways, a big improvement even though the major problem seems to be the student/teacher relations. As far as infrastructure is concerned, one gets the feeling that government maybe is not quite ready to put it as much as it should; it seems to be spending money in other areas. That doesn’t take place in education.
Anyway, UB has grown a lot even in terms of infrastructure, yet whether we speak in terms of buildings or in terms of staff, the infrastructure is inadequate. Besides, the staff are overworked and the facilities like classrooms and office space for both students and teachers are not readily available.
All these shortcomings notwithstanding, I should say the Department of English has recorded some significant achievements. When we started, it was the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures which combined English and French. As you well know, Linguistics was eventually offered under the Department of English.
And theatre; performing arts, which started off as a degree programme, we are now offering it only as a minor because of the low demand for admission into the programme. Talking about achievements, the first PhD at the University of Buea was offered in Linguistics from the Department of English.
The Department had a lot of help from the administration, however. I remember that Prof. Beban Chumbow was readily available all the time to show some of us the way. I should also mention late Dr. Herbert Endeley who was very good in administration. Some programmes we started off with have grown.
Others, I suppose, we need to revamp. I am speaking particularly of the English Language programme which has sort of petered out especially considering the needs we have in the country for English language teachers. That is one area where I would have loved to see us put in much more effort.
Rosylne M. Jua, PhD, Vice Dean of Studies and Students’ Affairs
We Have Expanded!
I came here as associate professor in 1993 from
the University of Yaounde. I was then part of the Modern Languages and Literatures (MLL) Department, which gave way to the Department of English and the Department of French. I have been Head of Department of French here. The Department of French started as a programme of Modern Languages and Literature with 17 students most of whom where Francophones.
Today we have a whole programme with about 360 students who are equally Francophones and Anglophones. When we started this programme, we were afraid of one thing – the students who had the GCE were going to study in an Anglophone context with only a smattering of French.
But with time, we have discovered that our Anglophones students are performing better than we expected. Most of them succeed in entering ASTI or going to Ecole Normale Superiuere and most of them are performing well as workers especially in MTN, Orange where they need bilingualism; also overseas for those who hold a Masters degree in teaching French as a foreign language.
Some of them are in South Africa, some in the US, and most of them have something to do. I think that is one of our main satisfactions. Whereas some students coming out of a bilingual programme from other universities find difficulty in coping with the job market, our students have it easy.
This apparent benefit to our students notwithstanding, one of our challenges is to make Anglophone students like and speak French. Another challenge was creating a programme offering a degree course in French, which is still in line. Another satisfaction, which is rather personal, is that some of my students whom I taught have already defended their PhD theses and they are also teachers in the Department.
I didn’t expect this when I was coming here. All those teaching in the Department are students I taught!
Professor Albert Azeye, Dean, Faculty of Arts
UB Is Living To Its Mission
The University of Buea is living to its mission.
You can see this in the number of candidates being admitted or even applying to enter the University. In terms of its mission in teaching, the University is performing very well. In terms of research, the University is one of the leading universities in the country.
A lot of work is being done by the various research teams, especially in the Faculty of Science and the other faculties. In its mission of outreach and the development and its relationship with the community, the University is making its impact - there are research works linked with development of local languages; there is research on malaria and other things which the University scientists and lecturers are carrying out with the local community.
There is the Faculty of Health Sciences that has students working with the communities to help improve the health facilities. And many of our students who have left us and gone out have shown that what we are doing in UB is first class. We have got reports from the US, the UK and other countries.
Nonetheless, the University still faces many challenges; we are limited in terms of capacity to accommodate more students. But the government has come to our assistance; we have constructed a new pedagogic block with 900 seats; there are new office blocks. We have also extended the library; furnished. We also have the problem of the teaching staff; they are less than 300.
They are overstretched in the sense that there are classes and tutorials to be done but the numbers are relatively still very high for tutorial groups; then the laboratories, the numbers are still very high too. But again, some solutions are being found. Recently, we recruited about 85 academic staff.
There also are problems of students who want better meals and the like, but again a lot is being done to improve that. In spite of all the odds, what keeps the institution ticking is the nature of leadership – clear vision and collegial decisions; academic staff are involved in decision making, administrative staff, even support staff, they are all involved in this thing; dialogue. Then there is transparency in financial management.
Professor Samson Abangma, Registrar
Dream Rekindled
I was one of the proud members of the
pioneering team of 1993. We started virtually from scratch and, to make matters worse, the country was in deep economic recession. Nevertheless, the University of Buea started with 768 students enrolled in three faculties and ASTI.
The bulk of the academic staff came from the University of Yaoundé and the then Ministry of Scientific Research. The infrastructure inherited from the defunct Buea University Centre was, to say the least, modest. Funding which, for the most part came from the state, was inadequate and irregular.
Governance structures were non-existent and our internal managerial capacity was untested. In short, the odds were stacked against us and the challenges facing us were daunting. But our hopes were high and we were ebullient. Above all, we had team spirit and we were determined not to betray the trust which our people had in us.
That, in brief, explains why we made remarkable progress within the first five years of the existence of the University of Buea. And then the burble burst. Politics, tribalism, nepotism and ethno-chauvinism began to creep insidiously into the administration of the University. Before long, an institution that was the pride and hallmark of Cameroonians in general and Anglophones in particular became parochial.
What began as a dream was transformed into a nightmare. The rest is too well known to deserve further comments. Luckily things have changed for the better. The old dream of “the place to be” has been rekindled. There is a recent building boom on campus. More academic and support staff are being recruited.
The level of attrition among existing staff has dropped significantly. Research for national development has been reactivated and sustained. The campus community is more supportive and the environment is becoming more conducive. The past with all its imperfections is now history and the University has a clear road map.
The list is endless. Of course we cannot rest on our laurels as there still remains much to be done. But the future is bright and there is every reason to believe that UB will continue to be “the place to be”.
Prof Kashim Ibrahim Tala, Faculty of Arts, University of Buea
The Pioneer Spirit Lives On!
In 1993 I was called from the Ministry of
Information and Culture by the University of Buea to design a Journalism and Mass Communication programme with my friend George Ngwa. We did that and since then we have been on board, trying to put the programme together, where for about 13 years I was the Head of Department. We founded the programme on three pillars – academic excellence, resourcefulness and high moral values.
It has not only been difficult starting a new programme – from conception to implementation, but to also effect the three pillars on the students. In fact, one of the greatest challenges has to do with value and generation effect. However, I should say that there is now stability in the undergraduate programme in terms of content, the structure and the output in terms of students who have gone out since 1996.
If you put that together, you find many of them in a lot of media houses. If you take that big picture, we are happy to know that we have been able to put the kids on the media landscape of the nation – public relations, TV, radio or newspaper even in the corporate world, our students are doing wonderfully.
And when you put all the factors together, there is high-level commitment by both academic staff and non-academic staff; I mean people come here work and go back home, 6 – 7 pm, everyday against the meagre take-home package. We hold meetings up 8 – 9 pm. The spirit is there, but you know there is what we call the fatigue factor. There are some people here who are mentally battered!
Enoh Tanjong, Associate Professor, Journalism and Mass Communication
We Are Managing
I am one of the members of staff transferred from
the University of Yaounde to the University of Buea in 1993 to start a degree programme in Geology. The Department started with a Minor in Geology in March 1993, then in September same year, we started a BSc degree programme in Geology with 42 students.
Now the population of the Department is close to 480. I started this place alone. The second person to join me was Dr. Agingi, Dr. Oben and Dr. Emmanuel Suh. In 1996, we started a BSc programme in Environmental Science; that was really ambitious. It has even become more popular the Geology Department.
The graduates get employment very quickly or create employment for themselves. We have equally started an MSc degree programme in Environmental Science. So we have two MSc programmes and one PhD programme in addition to the two BSc programmes. It has, however, not been roses throughout.
There are lots of challenges, particularly in training the post-graduate students; we don’t have facilities. We really go out of our way to beg, to plead, to spend in order to enable them to complete their theses and defence. That is one of the worst challenges that we face.
In terms of staff, we don’t have the appropriate staff for Environmental Sciences, because even those who have gone abroad and done their PhDs don’t want to come back. Even those who have the MSc don’t want to come back and work as teaching assistants because the pay package is too small for them.
Despite all the odds, this institution has been held by the fact that it was created as an Anglo-Saxon university, different from the other universities in the country – the management; the teaching; the regulations – are different from what holds in the other universities. And, of course, there is the pioneering spirit. It is a big challenge. We live with it.
Samuel Ayongeh, Head of Department, Geology and Environmental Science
UB Needs A Master Plan
I was appointed by a Presidential decree as
Director of Development and posted to work in UB in 1993 when it was founded and I resigned from that post in 1997. My job was to plan and develop the University and that is what motivated me because I thought it was very professional and I wanted to be among the pace setters to plan and develop a university that reflected our own civilization.
I had prepared a strategic development plan for the University which provided a forward-looking vision. That is the greatest thing I thought I did for the University of Buea. But now, I am wondering whether the vision is being respected. But I am very much aware of the fact that my vision made a real contribution in orienting the future of UB, and if any change has come in, I think it is for the good of UB.
I will also tell you that there have been a lot of achievements. But the one thing I regret is that UB does not have a master plan. The danger in this haphazard construction is that land will be misused; space will become short. Even in terms of movement in the University, you will spend a lot more time and cost moving from one place to the other, whereas if it were properly arranged, things that ought to be together would be to together.
Other older universities have understood this. I will advise that UB has to do two things. First, look at the distant future not only in terms of academic programmes and so on, but in terms of how UB relates to the real needs of the country and how space and land is being utilized to satisfy that.
Then, I would like to see that the relation between students, staff and administration is cordial. The basic liberties of students in Cameroon, not only in UB, seem to be minimized, which is what makes a university.
Zachary Fru Nsutebu, Pioneer Director of Development at the University of Buea
A Lot Has Changed
I was employed at University of Buea in 1994
to see about the construction that was needed at the University. The pioneers were very dedicated and wanted this University to work, so they mounted a lot of pressure. But we overcame it. When we started in 1994, the University Investment Budget was not very regular that is why we started with the U-Block classrooms.
So you can see that the University developed through a lot of stress and sacrifice. The Investment Budget is now regular but other problems have come in like there are times when something needs to be done and the money is not available. Sometimes funds are removed form one end to take care of emergencies and reimbursed later.
This has caused problems once in a while, because at times the expenses are so much that we have not been able to cover up, so it causes the carrying over of debts and projects. And the other problem is that the Investment Budget for construction is not usually enough for the needs of the University, but we manage.
Recently though, the Ministry of Economy and Finance introduced a Special Investment Budget that has helped us to build a second block of classrooms and a block of 50 offices. With the construction of the library with a grant from the French Co-operation, we built one wing and two other wings have been completed.
We proceeded to build the Science Laboratory and since then we have built three office blocks – the Faculty of Social and Management Science; Faculty of Science and a block of 50 offices.
There is also the Health Centre, IT Centre, two classroom blocks; Amphi 750; we have the Cultural Village; we have a Sports Complex and there is also a satellite remote station to monitor volcanic activities; and there is also a laboratory that has been converted to an Influenza Monitoring Laboratory. If you ask me whether the University is fulfilling its original intent, I can tell you that it is on the right track.
Victor Sumbele, Head of Division of Maintenance
UB Is Waxing Strong
I have been here as a principal cashier since
1992. We started with 30 students at ASTI, unfortunately, one disappeared till today; we haven’t seen him. Generally, we were all enthusiastic; life was good; we used to have “high table” on Fridays with students and staff, enjoying. The students were eating very well. Nobody was complaining. But during 1996 we faced some financial difficulties.
The then Vice Chancellor, Dr. Dorothy Njeuma, however, did her best. Personally, I was under huge pressure since all the faculties and ASTI were being run by the Central Service and as Principal Cashier I had to work hand-in-hand with the Accounting Officer. However, a presidential decree of October 2006 decentralised everything, appointing cashiers to the different faculties.
Since then, the University has been functioning without difficulties. On the brighter side, I was overjoyed at the creation of the University. I remember very fondly the company of the then Director of Academic Affairs, Prof. Hansel Ndumbe Eyoh, the former Registrar, late Dr. Herbert Endeley and many others.
We were all enthusiastic and happy. Despite the difficult times that sometimes makes one want to bang the door, I think UB is doing its best; there is development taking place; construction, recruitment of staff; we are managing.
Robert Maralusu, Principal Cashier
We Have Laid a Veritable Foundation
I was recruited as a librarian with the
University Centre in 1992 and since then I have been working here. I happen to fall in the team of pioneers that started in May 1993. When I came in we had a small building which we now call an annex. I met five staff, among whom was one cleaner.
To be frank, there were books – pallets and packets of books of them kept in various rooms and some on shelves. We still didn’t have a professional to organise the resources at the time. The University, however, had contracted a librarian on a part-time basis. It didn’t work. It was decided then that a permanent employee be recruited to build the library. So the task was overwhelming for me.
I didn’t have a professional colleague to share ideas with or consult to get things done, so the closest friends I had were my professional books to remind myself about what should be. In most cases, I could write to my colleagues in well developed libraries to present some of the problems I was facing and advise me on the way forward. What we did was to pull down all the books and start sorting them according to their subject areas.
Those days were very exciting. I didn’t have a closing hour. I knew when to start, but did not know when to stop. For about a year, I came to work in shorts because the work required sitting on the floor, sorting out the books, cataloguing and classifying them. We didn’t have even a single secretary attached to the Documentation Centre. We had to source secretaries from other services; gave them book slips from which we were going to create catalogue cards.
After doing that for a while, I kept writing sending my requests and my action plans to the officials that I was happy they were giving me the support I needed and they could quickly recruit some secretaries and give me the materials I needed to work. Today, 15 years on, I can say that we have laid a foundation that a veritable university library can be built – we have expanded in space; collections, quality of staff and resources – financial and human.
Dr. Rosemary Shafack, Chief Librarian
We Started From The Ashes Of ASTI
I have been working at the University of Buea since
May 16, 1995. We started from the ashes of the University Centre with the University library taking off from the former ASTI Documentation Centre. We started off with about 3000 books and about 50 titles of journals basically in the Languages and Linguistics. From there, the University had to build up a collection of books, journals and other information resources.
15 years on, the library has made commendable steps – now we can boast of about 70,000 books on the selves, about 400-500 seatings at a go and an average readership of about 10,000 yearly. Our main sources of books have been through donations, basically through the British NGO, Book Aid, that has been sending us thousands of books in various areas; because they ask us to choose what we want.
This has been regular since 1994. We, however, still have a problem sourcing from local authors. Our main problem is acquiring the materials through the regulations in force. You need to send requests to vendors, who are basically based in Europe. But I also think that we need to stretch to our local academic authors, because information resources are there that they have published but we can hardly get them because of the text that regulates the acquisition of the resources.
We are thinking that with the evolution of the library, we are going to change the acquisition policy. But there are books already processed. With the two wings having been completed and furnished with stacks, shelves, reading tables and chairs, we are now set to do a general re-organisation of the library, which has been our main challenge – organising this library to attain the standards of a university library.
Another challenge is the lack of professional staff – there is only about a dozen of them among the 50 or so staff. It has been a great challenge, but we manage. We have had commendations from visitors that the University of Buea library stands out on the university landscape in the entire country.
We still have more challenges though, one of the worst is professionals being treated as support staff, meanwhile in other universities, librarians are considered as academic staff. This is worsened by the miserly pay package. There is also another disheartening thing; non-professional staff not willing to learn.
Charles Kiven, Head of Division, Serials
A Lot of Improvement
I started working here in 1986. It was still
a University Centre. We started off with less than 15 staff. Today, there are more than 20 staff on Category 8. Some contract officers now have degrees. There is a lot of improvement in the library section, because when the University was created, this building was the ASTI Documentation Unit.
Today, we have a library with three wings and the accompanying furniture. We still have a problem though of book acquisition. We depend sometimes on donations. But as a librarian, I usually feel satisfied when I help a client find what they want and I think the University hierarchy is also making things a lot easier by encouraging dialogue and transparency in solving the problems that keep popping up.
Richard Ekom, Chief of Service, Serials
UB Has Made Its Mark
Whether by faith or design, I was one of the
first batch in 1993 of close to 800 students who were offered admission into the University most of whom were transferred from the lone University of Yaoundé. The learning environment was serene probably because of the small size of the student population including students of ASTI.
Besides, the first batch of students many of whom had just gone through the ordeal of studying in a bilingual university with French as the dominant language of instruction, were eager to give the best account of themselves in the language they were comfortable with - English.
These factors together and with a committed staff, most of whom were also transferred from Yaoundé, made Buea a citadel of learning that has been admired by many including those of the French sub-system of education. Teaching, research and outreach are the hallmarks of UB. In all academic disciplines, team and individual research has been stressed and the results are telling of a young and vibrant institution.
The members of staff have, in spite of their paltry salary situation, committed themselves to teaching. Some of the staff are renowned in the field of research and others have attended conferences and published in peer reviewed journals at home and abroad. Some of the students who graduated from this institution are also making their mark in various spheres of influence within and out of the country.
UB has also grown in numbers and physical infrastructure. These advantages for so short a time notwithstanding, the institution has its own share of problems which need to be addressed for better results. There is need for more outreach activities like the Employment Forum recently organised to bridge the gap between UB and the job market.
Staff development at the present is more in theory than in practice and needs to be rationally undertaken. Improved working conditions for support and academic would greatly improve qualitative and quantitative output. In addition, regional cleavages and the politicization of the institution must be fought energetically because they are destructive.
The attitude of some lecturers towards female students has started casting doubt on the integrity of the institution and should be discouraged at all levels. All these challenges notwithstanding, I am proud to have attended this institution and today serving in it.
Henry Kam Kah, Alumni/Lecturer
Marvellous Development!
We came here on May 3, 1993 and
our matriculation was on May 10. We were over 800 students admitted; my Matricule No. was UB 00715 because I came late. I was admitted to read English, but I later transferred to read History as a major and a minor in Sociology. We had then Dr. Victor Julius Ngoh as Head of Department, Dr. Therese Ndongku as Vice Dean, Dr. Njeuma as our Dean.
Our lecturers were mostly civil servants recruited into the Department of History; we had Dr. George Atem, Mr. Fomin, Mr. Nicodemus Awasom Fru, then we had Dr. Fanso and Dr. Anthony Ndi. The experience was like senior high school because we were just few of us; we could know each other easily.
And we were doing only our undergraduate programmes. Today, it is different; a student in one faculty may not know another one in another faculty. And there are also PhD programmes now! In our days, we had few departments; there was no Journalism, no Education… Infrastructurally, there are more buildings now as compared to when we were here as first batch.
We came and met what was ASTI. We used to have to wait for a free class. We also had very few professors, but now there are several and I believe that the University is fulfilling its mission, in spite of problems that crop up from time to time.
George Bate Oben,Alumni/UB Employee
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