Rehabilitation of School Facilities in the North West, South West Regions
The Government Emergency Humanitarian Assistance Plan has prioritized the rehabilitation of social amenities for an effective start of the 2018-2019 academic year.
Cynthia EFOPA
In addition to calls of hatred and violence on social media, the terrorists that ae causing untold damages to persons and properties in the South West and North West regions mostly against the educational and health sector. The education sector has remained one of their prime target. Schools are repeatedly attacked by armed terrorist groups, students and teachers are threatened, brutalized, mutilated and killed right in their classrooms and dormitories. Since the outbreak of the crises more than 120 schools have been burnt down in the two regions. In February armed and hooded terrorists broke into Seat of Wisdom College in Menji in the Lebialem Division and held up the boarding students and took hostage of three sisters teaching there. They planted a bomb in the premises of the Presbyterian Comprehensive Secondary School Aziri in Bamenda on 20th October 2017 but it was fortunately deactivated by the security forces and in April 2018, they assassinated Mr. Ashu Thomas Nkongho, a discipline master in Government Bilingual High School Kossala in Meme Division just to name these few. Because of these attacks which are part of an obscurantist and senseless strategy, thousands of students and teachers eager to continue their educational career or their professional activities in peace have migrated to other regions of Cameroon. This has caused the break-up of family units and has led to the degradation of one of the most reputed and efficient educational systems of the country. It is evident that the consequences of this degradation will be felt after a very long time even after the inevitable return to normalcy. Meanwhile the master minders of these terrorists ‘acts living abroad flood the social media with pictures of their children celebrating the awards of certificates. Amnesty International, the Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund and the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization Regional Office for Central Africa all condemned the acts perpetrated by the terrorists in the both regions and they urged the terrorists to immediately release all the educational staff kidnapped.
The government took some measures by facilitating the continuous enrollment of students and pupils from crises-prone areas into schools in the Littoral, West and Center Regions during the 2017-2018 school year and through the Emergency Plan, government has made it a priority to reconstruct and rehabilitate schools that were either destroyed or abandoned and measures will be taken to protect teachers and students. An additional support in terms of teaching staff and school supplies will be provided in view of a smooth start of the 2018-2019 academic year.