Of the millions of things wrong with a country like Cameroon, its education system and the monkeys in charge of it in my book have been the second most dangerous on that list since the country’s independence. They are second in magnitude, of holding the society back and condemning millions to a life of hopelessness and eternal poverty as they die a slow and painful death, only to the leadership of the country. Please read on ONLY if you can handle the truth.
Fact: If you were convicted for committing violent murder in Chicago (USA) and went to prison for life, you’d be exposed to an astonishing wealth of knowledge in terms of library and access to information that Cameroon with six state Universities for 17 million people simply has failed to provide its students; and that’s just the prison system in Chicago being compared to a country.
Fact: North Korea, South Korea and Cameroon all gained independence roughly around the same time. Because South Korea built its Human Capital through education, it is now light years ahead of Cameroon and North Korea in terms of development and other economic indicators.
Every developed country in this world, or one aspiring to be, has to have a good education system that drives development by building HUMAN CAPITAL. A good education system works hand-in-hand with business to provide labor that is best prepared to handle growth and economic changes. Because the relationship between education and human capital is so important and has been well researched, I’ll advice all those interested to read ‘Human Capital: A theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education’ by Gary Becker, and other literature by Robert Barro, Milton Freeman and others.
On the front page of USA TODAY newspaper for Feb 29-March 2, 2008 there is statistics listing the breakdown of foreign students in the United States by continent. While slightly more than one out of every two foreign students you see in American Universities is Asian, far less than one of every 11 or so is African….This is absolutely mind numbing! Why should this matter to you, you ask? Everything I’d say.
It is unquestionable that there is a direct correlation between education and development, law, freedom, human rights, reduced mortality, reduced incidents of disease and so on. China, in its five year development plan (available online) spends a great deal of time emphasizing the fact that not only will it make every effort toward building globally recognized, educationally renowned institutions and faculty within 10 years, but would also support its students by helping the brightest attend some of the best Universities in the most developed parts of the world. Its leaders recognize that unless you have this type of leadership, any talk of sustainable development is insanity at best. Of the less than 1 in 11 students from Africa studying in America, Cameroon might just be the least represented of all African countries.
In Cameroon you have Universities and professors that are actively standing in the way of students gaining the knowledge and exposure to make something out of such a failed society. Cameroon Universities have a grading system so bad that it should be criminal. A system with NO accountability designed to ensure the brightest Cameroonians are regarded as mediocre when compared to people from other parts of the world. Rarely will you ever meet a Cameroonian whose honest grades and educational experience in a Cameroon University were instrumental in getting them admitted in a top University anywhere in the world. The system is unfair, overly punitive, inadequate, incompetent, and criminal. How do I know this? Well, many people who couldn’t muster the bribes for grades in Cameroon do quite well at many GOOD Universities around the globe. Those that did pay the bribes and or slept with teachers for grades as well as unfairly get available scholarships, often perform quite poorly when trusted into more honest systems.
We should all be critically concerned about this unfairness because we discourage and potentially lose talent, as well as all but guarantee that Cameroon remains a state that well into the future will still be referenced by the likes of transparency international and World bank as an example of failure, corruption and extreme poverty, that is if we don't get extinct from our very own stupidity and lack of change. Case in point; a good Education system would have produced professionals that would constantly look at inflation and make adjustments to commodity prices like food and fuel, trade agreements and others that protect economic activity and reduce poverty. Obviously, Cameroon’s education system is dangerously inadequate and thus incapable to offer opinions on such critical issues; one reason for the recent bloodshed, and lack of respect for the law by leadership. That's also why a president will sit abroad and unilaterally change the price of commodities because of a strike, bypassing the so-called intellectuals without understanding the economic implications.
So what needs to happen then? Well at this point I’m not even sure leadership (government and academic) understand the gravity and urgency of the situation. If they claim ( and they do) that they’re admitting the best students in their Universities, no one should then be failing without the institutions, Professors and other leadership being held accountable, and Cameroonian students should be given the tools to compete with anyone from around the world. Teachers SHOULD stop sleeping with students for grades; Universities need better libraries with modern books; and smart students who wish to study abroad should be supported throughout the process, not just students who are related to people in power. Most importantly, the education system in Cameroon needs to be completely overhauled almost IMMEDIATELY.
There are just too many unqualified professors not armed with what it takes to prepare students to tackle Cameroon’s problems. This is so important that if somehow I became president of Cameroon, I’ll make this happen in my first 50 days in office to save lives and build dreams among millions of young people. If you had the stomach to have gotten this far reading my peace, please tell me what you think by reacting to this post. Please make sure you understand the issues addressed before reacting, and of course I'm open to FACTUAL counter arguments.
Hinsley Njila
Contributor
Email: hinsley@realfocus.org
6 comments:
By Victor Waingeh
With all due respect to the author of this article (Mr. Njila), the article falls short in its attempt to paint the Education system in Cameroon as "Dangerous for Cameroonians" . It reveals the the frustrations of a Good Education System handicapped by insufficient funding, may be shortage of staff and, of course, occasional corruption at many levels.
But to broadcast the system as dangerous to Cameroonians as if to suggest that Cameroonian- Educated students have no place in the world is completely false, unless facts and statistics can be provided to back that claim.
To compare the success of Cameroonian students by matching the number of students in the US to the number of Asian students is misleading because the entire Cameroonian population does not come close to that of Asia.
To label the whole group of hardworking professors as "Monkeys" ; People striving under hard conditions to provide the best they can to our students, is disrespectful and short of humility.
I do believe that the Cameroon Education System, even with its flaws, is great. It produces excellent, great and hard working students who can compete and succeed in any arena, even when they get a late start due to less exposure to some of the resources that Mr. Njila is talking about in his article.
So while we decry some of the shortcomings of our system and lament at some of the bribery and corruption that sometimes permeate the system, I hope that we still believe that our system is inherently good and that our teachers and professors are doing the best they can under the prevailing circumstances to help us grow and succeed. We can continue to support them and we should continue to press the system to strip it of all forms of corruption that may undermine the efforts of hardworking and deserving students.
I do recognize how the worsening situation of the Country in general is resulting in slow growth in the Education section, but the Education system and those working to give it just a breadth of life should have been respected and credited in that article.
Sincerely,
Victor Waingeh, Ph.d
It's a shame a Cameroonian of your calbre writes things like this online, using your myopic opinion as facts. You are certainly an angry fellow. You are responsible for your anger and for that which you cannot correct. You measure Cameroon based on the information of the failures that you know. You forget about the millions of simple honest Cameroonians who toil and succeed in a system that has beaten you. This same persons achieve in Cameroon, what you can not acheive both within and outside Cameroon. Keep you anger to your self, or perhaps if you are so angry write a book for your great grandchildern to read.
James
If you are a Cameroonian, and a learned bloke as you purport, then I think you are psychologically flawed and your. This article is garbage and beggars believe that you are a journalist. Population wise, Africa is no match to Asia. The University of Pretoria and Cape in South Africa are among the best 500 in the world, better than most universities in Britain and Europe. It is not only universities in America that deliver. Studying abroad is a decision that rests with any prospective student, provided the finance is there. In a nutshell the system of education has produced great scientists and leaders.
I don't think you live in Cameroon or have been there anytime during the past 15 years, i.e. since you probably ran to Chicago to seek asylum. If you want to write an article, I advise you to get the facts from people on the ground. I am not in any way a supporter of the government of my country, but I am completely embarassed at the extent of lies telling some people will go to discredit the credentials of their fellow country men. By the way, is Cameroon a developed country? And since you know so much, why not return to your country and contribute in changing anything you don't like. You think UB for example created a grading system from space? Only empty vessels like you make the loudest noice!
Cameroon education system is GREAT? wow, what planet do you live on? Are we talking about the same education system where students and professors are seldom involved in research, schools have no bathrooms, lack of technology, teachers sleep with students for grades, there's lack of free speech on University campuses and so on? I don't see where the word GREAT could be inserted in that. No one is comparing absolute numbers with Asia, I know better; let's deal with proportions here, and you justify your use of the word GREAT. If I was a good professor in Cameroon, I'd denounce the corrupt University system that if you listen to the students studying there now would tell you is not working for them (who we should all be fighting for).
I must say that I enjoy your reactions to my article, please keep them coming.
Kudos to the one reader who pointed to the Universities in South Africa. I'm so glad he/she didn't point out Universities in Cameroon, and I hope he/she realizes Cameroon and South Africa are decades apart in terms of development, so he/she actually helped me make my point. Thanks no name reader. If you're not sure where to begin, then you have nowhere to begin. The points I make in this article are a little complex for anyone to react without thinking. I'm not at all angry, why should I be? EVERY Cameroonian should be concerned about NOT being competitive in the world. Building HUMAN CAPITAL through education is not a new idea, it's been around for centuries so i'm surprised and delighted a few people are just learning about it. I want to see Cameroon strong and be the best country in the world, but it will never happen unless we have a good education system that produces the scientists and leaders that the other reader was dreaming about. Thanks, and keep those comments pouring in. Fyi, Cameroonian elites have ALWAYS sent their children abroad to study, and I want that same access to everyone else. Make this a system that works for us all.
Also check out www.becker-posner-blog.com. But if you can't stomach my article....
Thanks to the author of this article for attempting to point out some of the shortcomings with the education system in Cameroon.If you really want the public to understand your point, then write something more than just highlighting without adequate explanation, sufficient statistics and their sources.
However, you have raised some pertinent points like corruption,sex for grades, and some unqualified professors, which I think any Cameroonian with a good sense of morality will easily identify and denounce. It is rampant and stinking all over university campuses in the country.I am surprised by the comment of Mr.Waingeh (with a Ph.d) laying claim that "It reveals the the frustrations of a Good Education System handicapped by insufficient funding, may be shortage of staff and, of course, occasional corruption at many levels." Any Cameroonian with dignity and love for his/her country with some sense of morality will immediately understand where you are coming from. It is a pity for someone of your status to talk of corruption in Cameroon as "occasional corruption." Maybe you should look up the definition of occasional, write it in your jotter so you wouldn't forget, then pick a university of your choice and investigate the enrollment process,class attendance, magic grades,brown envelops exchanging hands between lecturers and students, then come back here and tell the world if it is occasional corruption or constant. Harden not your heart if you are one of them. You will be doing some good to your soul, family and the nation if you repent. You call corruption in Cameroon's educational system as occasional? Oh my God! You must be a......? If you fill in the right word in the blank, then may God forgive you.
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