CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
|
Cameroon |
UNIVERSITY
Everyone’s talking about «sharing costs»
Yaounde 1 University has experienced many a student demonstration over the years. On 25 January 2001, hundreds of students, with raised fists, invaded a lecture hall there. Instead of the usual slogans hostile to the government, the leaders of this particular student complaint shouted: «Keep up with the funding!» The crowds repeated in chorus: «Invest in education!» Then they paraded on foot and by car in the streets of Yaounde, to claim greater governmental support for the «Fund for Higher Education.»
This Fund, presently being discussed by Parliament, is a new solution to the financial pressure which Cameroon’s six state universities are now undergoing. A number of Cameroonians are increasingly becoming aware that the government, despite other important budgetary allocations, can no longer carry the increasing costs of education. The funding of education has become a rather sensitive political issue in Cameroon, especially in the universities where the students are well organised. At the beginning of 1993, when the university authorities imposed «university levies», to the tune of 50,000 CFA francs per student, this provoked the famous «ghost town» operation. At the end of 1999, the students briefly came out on strike to denounce the «levies» i.e. fees imposed on the students by the Minister for Higher Education, to cover lodging, meals and the use of laboratories and libraries.
The University of Yaounde 1, also called the «Mother of Universities», nestling on one of Yaounde’s seven hills, is a cause for national pride. Founded about thirty years ago, it has produced numerous exceptional leaders and academics. While it is true that Yaounde 1 is treated slightly better than the other universities of Cameroon, it is also now experiencing hard times. Lecture halls and dormitories are overflowing. It’s rare to find new books in the library. Laboratories lack even the basic materials. Lecturers are paid a pittance.
The government has to face some hard choices. Since September 2000, a presidential decree has made basic education free and obligatory for all. Since 30% of Cameroon’s children still don’t attend primary school, it means that a big slice of the education budget has to be allocated to these first classes, so as to get children into school. Result: «There’s not much left for other aspects of education», says the Minister for Higher Education. The Minister for National Education puts it this way: «There is now a burning moral problem. Must we limit funding for higher education, and concentrate on educating the 30% of pupils who would be otherwise condemned to remain illiterate? We know that higher education is extremely important both for the individual and for the nation at large, and we must not minimise its importance. The ministerial secretary at the Ministry of Higher Education (MINESUP) insists: «Higher education is essential for Cameroon to solve its problems concerning food and health security, good government and other development priorities».
Universities under pressure
According to statistics from the National Centre for Education, added to universities’ financial constraints, is the sudden increase in the number of students during the past ten years. The dean of the faculty of sciences at the University of Yaounde describes it as: «A massive unloading». This increase is partly due to the growing number of those finishing high school, many of whom want to go on for higher education. During the academic year 1993-1994, the six Cameroonian universities had a total of 47,985 students inscribed. In 1999-2000, this number had risen to 61,373. Given this increase, MINESUP‘s general secretary says that the universities can only admit between 25% and 30% of those who have qualified, even using the strictest admission criteria.
Apart from superficial improvements, there’s not been much by way of ameliorating conditions within the universities during this same period. This has resulted in a deterioration in the quality of studies, with too few amenities and teachers to cater for the ever-increasing student body. In order to help pay for basic maintenance costs and leaving aside any future developments, the universities have been forced to increase the levies on students. Many students recognise the need for such costs but are against this increase. They point out that those who come from not so well-off families have great difficulty in making ends meet. All the while accepting that somehow costs must be shared, they insist that the government and other sources take on board the greater part.
The president of the National Union of Cameroonian Students (UNEC) thinks that part of the problem lies with the economic policies laid down by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He says: «The government has not managed to finance education successfully enough, and certainly not enough to satisfy the conditions of the World Bank and the IMF which restricts public spending. Higher education is a public “trump card” for the common good, and education is not a commercial product but a social service which should never depend on the principles and assumptions of big business».
The Fund
For years, UNEC has advocated a new form of funding for education in the form of a Special Fund. President Paul Biya took this into consideration in his 10 February speech during the National Youth Festival. Since then, an interministerial consultative committee has been outlining the main points. Members of Parliament are presently negotiating the details of this «Fund for Education in Cameroon», aimed at raising 6 billion CFA francs each year as supplementary funding for education. The way these funding resources will be mobilised and allocated, has not yet been finalised and some aspects remain controversial. Some have suggested an increase of 1.3% in the Value Added Tax (VAT) which actually runs at 18.7%, giving half of the supplementary receipts to the fund. An increase in VAT, however, risks being very unpopular with the public at large. UNEC, while generally supporting the fund, does not agree with this suggestion, preferring that 1% of the existing VAT be set aside for education.
Among the less contested propositions, there are the new taxes on alcohol and tobacco, levies on company profits, a special «lottery in aid of education», and voluntary contributions from individuals, associations and public groups. Important people from the three southern provinces where education is rather weak, are also organising a support fund similar to that for students and pupils in the far north.
Only part of the Fund will be allocated to the universities. Experts from Cameroon’s overall National Development Plan (PNG) and the United Nations Programme for Development (PNUD), have proposed that 40% of the fund’s resources go for basic education, and the rest be divided equally among the secondary and higher education institutions. Furthermore, the government wants to use the Fund to refloat the system of grants for deserving students; these have amassed huge debts from loans not repaid (partly because those with university degrees have great difficulty in picking up well-paid posts). But there are many teachers in higher education, grouped together in the National Union of Higher Education Teachers (SYNES), who would prefer to see a major part of the fund used to improve infrastructures, to upgrade teachers’ salaries and to recruit new and better qualified teachers.
Mixed reactions from donors
Since 1987, financial backers have poured just over 87 million dollars into higher education in Cameroon; 30 million dollars of this has come from the French bilateral co-operation service in the context of the project for higher education 1993-1998.
The French Development Agency, which at the moment has no projects for higher education in Cameroon, qualifies the initial project as «marginally satisfactory.» In its opinion, university inscriptions increased too rapidly, without paying enough attention to funding mechanisms or to a coherent global programme beyond primary education. Some Cameroonian experts share this criticism. Mr Eric Kamgang, president of the Centre for Democracy and Development, a non-governmental reflection group, points out that «Cameroon needs an overall “master plan”, integrating different components». Robert Lacey is the World Bank’s resident representative. He says: «Once a credible programme to provide good quality higher education at a reasonable price is in place, donors will be more than happy to come and support this important effort.»
The PNG‘s co-ordinator maintains that Cameroonians ought to be able to develop their talents at the highest level. He also asks: «Why is it that in football we can hold our own with the best in the world, while in other areas we don’t seem to be able to make the grade? Do donor countries wish to see Cameroon remain dependent on foreign technical aid simply to provide jobs for their own citizens?». Addressing donors who give preference to primary education alone, the director of the National Centre For Education also asks: «Do you want Cameroonians to be satisfied with cutting wood and drawing water, or to make progress?» Given the development needs of Cameroon and the rapid evolution of the world economy, higher education must be present in Cameroon at the start of the new era.
ENGLISH CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 2001 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement