Technical Education West of the Mungo

By Nsom Joseph

 

A CRTV Senior journalist after covering an event in the Government Technical High School Bamenda made this declaration in one of the crtv programmes “The Anglophone parents are not interested in technical education”. This journalist might have been pushed to this conclusion simply by the fact that he observed that there were more francophone children in this institution than Anglophones or that the French language was more commonly used in this institution than the English language. But if he pushed his observation further, he could have seen that there were more Francophone instructors than Anglophones and this could likely explain why there were more francophone students. The Anglophone parents value technical education even more than they do value general education. But they have a problem with the type of technical education that is available for their children.  

 The problems affecting technical education west of the mungo abound. Most of these problems have been identified and solutions proposed in several forums of communication. But no action at all has been taken. The problems are so serious that most parents have completely turned their backs away from technical education. Some see it as a means by government to frustrate or retard the progress of Anglophones in this direction. The SCNC activists see it as a logical normal behaviour of the government of “La Republique”. But what are these problems? When and how did they begin? What have been the consequences of these problems to date? In what follow, we shall provide answers to  these questions beginning with the situation that existed in West Cameroon before the Referendum of May 1972 which created a marriage between East and West Cameroons, considered today by most persons as “What God has put Asunder”   

 

1) Situation before the 1972 Referendum

Before this year, Cameroon was a Federal State, composed of East Cameroon and West Cameroon. There was a President for the Federal Republic of Cameroon and a Prime Minister for each of the Federated States. Primary education at this period in West Cameroon was practically in the hands of the missionaries (Baptist, Catholic and Presbyterian). There were no government schools. With respect to secondary education, we had grammar schools, commercial colleges and technical colleges. More than 85% of these colleges were run by missions or lay persons. We had Government colleges such as: Federal Bilingual Grammar School Buea, Government Secondary School Mamfe, Government Technical College (GTC) Ombe and Cameroon College of Arts, Science and Technology (CCAST Bambili). The best pupils leaving primary schools were admitted into these colleges through an entrance examination. According to the then Authorities of West Cameroon, CCAST Bambili was to emerge as a University while GTC Ombe, a Polytechnique. There were teachers training colleges all run by the Missions such as: Kom Baptist teachers training college (KBTTC), St Francis teachers training college Fiango-Kumba, ST Peters Teachers Training College Bambui (today Major Seminary) etc.

 

During this period, there were several technical colleges run by lay persons such as KTC NKwen, VOCAST Muyuka, ATC Nkwen etc. All these colleges were not equipped and the instructors were not qualified. Consequently most of the graduates were not apt for the industry. The missionaries were completely absent in this area of education. The Government Technical College Ombe was the only true technical institution at that time. It was one of the most equipped in Cameroon and had a staff that could take care of secondary and tertiary education. After four years of studies, students were eligible to sit for the City and Guilds of London Institute examinations. Graduates of Ombe were prominent in most of the important industries in Cameroon, and they were actually technical Masters in most of these industries. Students from technical colleges in Douala (1^st and 2^nd cycles) used to get their industrial experiences from GTC Ombe. GTC Ombe produced very competent technicians in almost all areas (building, carpentry, electricity, machinists, sheet metalists, painting etc). They had well equipped modern workshops as well as a very competent staff. The only thing GTC Ombe lacked was an institution of higher learning.

2) Situation After the 1972 Referendum

When the Referendum of May 1972 transformed the Federal Republic of Cameroon into the United Republic of Cameroon, some fundamental changes occurred in the sector of education in West Cameroon. It was the beginning of the creation of government primary and secondary schools in West Cameroon. It was also the beginning of the transfer of Anglophone government workers to East Cameroon and francophones to West Cameroon. All the mission teachers’ training colleges were closed down by September 1972, and the role of the missionaries particularly in primary education started to diminish significantly. Most of the mission primary schools were transformed into government schools. All the 1972 graduates of the Bambui teachers training college (today Major seminary) were recruited by government.

 

The management of GTC Ombe which was the only technical institution worth the name was given to a francophone from September 1974 and most of the English speaking lecturers were replaced by francophones. Some of these English speaking lecturers were sent to teach in some of the technical institutions of higher learning in Yaoundé (polytechnique, School of P&T, school of public works etc). Neither the principal nor the staff could express themselves in English. They spoke either pigin or French. The pigin they spoke could be compared to what Lapiro de Mbanga uses in his music. They taught in pigin, a pigin that was not easily understood. The machines and other technical equipment that existed in workshops were stolen by lecturers and taken to private businesses. Thus students could benefit neither from theory nor practice. At the level of theory, communication was difficult, and at the level of practicals, tools and equipment that existed had been taken away by the instructors.

 

That situation embarrassed and shocked so many students and most of them completely resigned from the mess and started preparing instead for the GCE examination. In fact, I was one of them. Mr. Charlie Ndichia, the Editor in chief of the post newspaper was one of them. Several other things fell apart and the centre could no longer hold as far as technical education was concerned. That marked the beginning of the end of technical education West of the Mungo.

 

3)  Situation Today, 36 years after

Since then, generations have come and passed but the virus acquired from GTC Ombe has actually been fortifying. Government continues to create more technical colleges west of the Mungo, but the creation of all these colleges goes alongside with the virus that originated from GTC Ombe. These institutions are dominated by francophones who tend to behave as was the case in GTC Ombe 34 years ago. They teach in pigin or in French. Enough Anglophones technical teachers have not been trained, and even the few who exist are not rationally used as they may be employed in offices or sent to teach in francophone technical colleges. The City and Guilds Examinations have been replaced by French technical examinations (CAP, Probatoire, Bac), but no steps have been taken by the educational authorities to integrate these exams into the English technical system of education. No appropriate text books exist for these examinations. Examination questions are poorly translated from French into English year in and out. It is alleged that the technical certificate offered by the GCE board has not yet been recognized by the government. The problems surrounding technical education west of the Mungo today are many and really disturbing, but the authorities that be have remained completely insensitive to them.  

 

Children who find themselves in these institutions today tend to experience the same frustrations that their parents experienced in GTC Ombe 34 years ago. At a certain stage some of them actually abandon the technical education and switch to general education. As this situation persists, most parents have come to the conclusion that it may not be necessary to send children to technical colleges as they often do not go through. Even those who obtain excellent results in the GCE and have interest pursuing courses in engineering and technology are confronted with the same problems as those in secondary technical education. No technical institution of higher learning exists for the Anglophones to pursue courses in engineering and technology.

 

 All the State Universities in Cameroon except the University of Buea have at least one of the following technical institutions: Polytechnique, Institute of technology (IUT), industrial engineering, Technical teachers training college etc. All these institutions function purely in French and sometimes it is extremely difficult for Anglophones to cope. Entrance examinations into these institutions tend to favour only those who possess a French background. Consequently, Anglophones are virtually absent in most of the technically skilled jobs available in Cameroon. It appears like a well calculated scene, though it could still be a random occurrence. Whatever the case, it looks like this saga has attained its elastic limit, and any further delay to seeking a lasting solution may only result in situations that all of us may regret.

 

4)  Way Forward

The problems affecting technical education west of the mungo are known, and have been made known to all the powers that be through all the available media. These problems stem from the first cycle of technical education to tertiary education. Cameroonians, west of the mungo have been denied appropriate technical education at all levels. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1946) states: Every one has right to education, technical and professional education shall be made available and parents shall have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Cameroonians, west of the Mungo have been forfeited this basic human right, and it is now time to correct the injustice. The Government, religious denominations and individuals are all called upon to act:

 

• Government should make a rational deployment of the available English speaking technical instructors by ensuring that they are sent to teach in the English speaking technical colleges;
• Government should create a teachers’ training institution for the training of teachers for the technical colleges in the English sub-system of education;
• Government should create schools of engineering for the English speaking community;
• Government should open technical colleges in Yaoundé and Douala for the English speaking community;
• Religious denominations should pay some attention to technical education by creating technical institutions at all levels. One of the factors that has aggravated the situation of technical education west of the mungo is the complete absence of these bodies;
• Government should stop creating worthless technical colleges all over the country. It is better to have few which are equipped;
• There is actually too much investment in general education by lay persons. We could start diverting some of these resources to technical education, especially the industrial technical;  

Conclusion

The Saga of technical education west of the Mungo has been long and disgusting and we are wondering and pondering whether it requires that children go to the streets before the authorities can act. Frustration, stress and strain are all present and permanent in the entire spectrum of technical education for Anglophones. Individuals and groups have made great sacrifices to get this problem solved, but no action has occurred. The Secretary General of the Cameroon Teachers Union, Mr. Nkwent Simon has exhausted all the means at his level to get this problem solved to no avail. Crtv journalists through morning Safari and other programmes in interaction with the public have talked lengthily and widely on this issue, with concrete solutions put forward. The powers that be have not yet reacted in any way to this problem.

 

Government officials often recommend that all problems be solved through negotiation and dialogue. But in the absence of such dialogue, how do we go about? 

Comments

[Kumbaboy]

To claim that that the government was not involved in primary education before 1972 is untrue. I went to a Native Authority school run by Kumba Urban Council. It was owned by the local government and financed by the then West Cameroon Government.

[Mbo]

There used to be a great technical college on that site, called GTC Ombe. Now it has been taken over by francophones. They did the same thing to the West Cameroon Police College in Mutengene. They are doing the same thing to institutions like Sasse, Saker, Sacred Heart and the like. When shall we develop some sense and spit these assholes away? Francophones like to put on airs, but they are just that, gas.

[Che Sunday]

Yes, there were a few Local Authority Schools that dotted the landscape. There was one up station in Mendakwe. They were few and far apart.
One thing I find disturbing is our attitude to over glorify our position prior to French demolition. Ombe, as great as we may think it was, was more of a craft school than a technical school capable of preparing students for careers in Engineering. Even with Anglophone teachers at the helm, it could not accomplish that mission.
1. Ombe did not teach the physical sceince that are germain to engineering careers. No Pysics, Chemistry nor mathematics. It taught you the skills of technical drawing that limited ones abilities to draftsmanship or fitter machinists.
2. It taught no life sciences such as biology which be crucial in such ares as soil mechanics, hydrology and other related fields.
Over the years, I have come across ex-Ombe students in polytechnics in Nigeria who had a heck of difficult times completing their pre-diploma requirements in the area of scence and mathematics. I came to the United States and the story has been the same. So, asumming that we want to build a high school for technical students, what will the curriculum cover? Take a look at the bronchure of a technical university from Germany or Canada and see how many ex-Ombe students will survive the rigid science orientation in these schools. Why don't we go back to the tertiary level and say, o.k. our francophone brothers have taken over Ombe, lets start by building private technical schools and not fashioning after Ombe, but doing it like the Fon of Bafut has. He has a private technical school that allows the students to learn a skill, and at the same time pursue the GCE curiculum. If should to pursue an engineering career, nothing should stand in their way. Leave Ombe to the francophones. Let them bring in their kids and set them up for failure. It will not be long for them to find out that the mess they have created is stinking all the way past the Wouri river and beyound.

[Mbo]

You know what? Che Sunday you are right. We do cry about our glory days in the past a lot, and those good things were few and far between. But I know one thing, and that is they were constantly improving and they were ours. Perhaps Ombe would have changed its orientation by now to improve its academic curriculum. For its time, Ombe did a good turn by producing the well trained craftsmen that we required. I have visited a lot of great universities and corporations and hospitals in a lot of countries. One of my passions is to find out how they started. All of them started small. They all showed me a single small building or even a place where a shed used to stand. Great institutions start like that. We cannot start institutions and a jealous somebody moves in all the time. Are you kidding me? We have a serious political problem.

You are missing the main point we are making here. There is a pattern that when we have a good institution, the francophones have moved in and muck it up. It has happened even to private institutions. I praise the Fon of Bafut for doing something thoughtful do not get me wrong, but we need to stand on our own two feet politically in order to protect our institutions.

[Bob Bristol]

Mbo, you've made a very good point. Let it not sound as if the peoples of the then West Cameroon had achieved a perfect state of affairs. We knew where we were, we knew where we were heading. Progress was the key word.

The Frenchification of Southern Cameroonians is not something which we ( as Southern Cameroonians) are supposed to make some compromises about. We have to denounce it categorically.

As far as the facts of the article are concerned, let me also side with Kumbaboy that we equally had the Native Authority School in Bali Nyonga that was created as early as 1921. However, the paper x-rays a major setback that has made the union with East Cameroon a much regrettable one.

[Ma Mary]

No sir. There are some Southern Cameroonians in denial. No no no. Nothing valuable was taken. I will just make another one, they say. Hello! The thief-bully is watching. He will steal it or smash it in the mud once you make another one. The elementary school yard should have taught you how to deal with a bully. Just break his stinking nose and feed him poto poto. Do not let the frogs get away with stuff.

[DANGO TUMMA]

how do they get the power to come in,
take control of our colleges, government, close
down city and guilds, that they know nothing about, disrespectfully, and then destroy the whole system we have built. before they came, since every thing is connected, is because, the orders came from above, high up there, first from their french -cameroun president, ahijo, then the homosexual french cameroun president biya, then they move the orders down their french cameroun channels through their military and police and gerdames and gouverneurs and sous prefets and delegues.
their main goal destroy the west cameroonians
and their institutions and make them french as possible, as well as impoverish them, that way they will fear and respect you, you will look greta before thie eyes, they have weapons and their government and they know wehave none, soo, they are empowered to do just that, politics of ( slash and burn)
deceiveing the local and well as the international community, that .cameroun is one country, bilingual and democratic, and was one under gernany, as a colony not french nor english, that its re-unification, not unification, thats were the brain washing
bribery, rapeing, ngolle ngolle. achidi achu
yang philemon, inoni, njeumas, all french cameroun agents of destruction came to play.
and thats why we find ourselves, a people without a nation, without an international airport to fly out to any country in the world. without a seaport to import any thing , with a university or hospital of international statndard, without any thing we can call ours, but beggars on our own lan.
beggars of ragged french equatorial negroes, who wear expensive suits , eat cheese and speak a foreignlanguage to out daighters i n search
for attention and domination, soo call it as it it is its called

COLONIZATION, JUST AS HITLER COLONIZED FRANCE, WHETHER BLACK ON BLACK OR WHITE ON BLACK ITS COLONIZATION, IF YOU ARE RULED BY A FOREIGN PEOPLE AGAINST YOUR WILL.