On February 12, 2025, the Collectif des docteurs/PhD, chômeurs indignés du Cameroun (CDPCIC), a group of unemployed PhD holders, sent a letter to the senior divisional officer for the Mfoundi division, Emmanuel Mariel Djikdent, announcing their intention to stage a peaceful march in Yaoundé on February 20. The protest follows the publication of results from the second phase of a special recruitment program for university lecturers in the country’s newly established public universities in Bertoua (East), Ebolowa (South), and Garoua (North).

The collective, which represents doctorate holders struggling to find employment across Cameroon, voiced strong dissatisfaction over what they describe as “inconsistencies” and “injustices” in the selection process. According to their letter, the march aims to demand an additional recruitment round to include PhD holders who were unfairly excluded from the final selection process.

Allegations of Favoritism and Unfair Selection

In their correspondence, the group raises several concerns regarding recruitment criteria and candidate eligibility. Their primary grievance is the alleged mismatch between some selected candidates’ profiles and the advertised positions, a situation they claim has opened the door to favoritism and a disregard for meritocracy.

They further denounce the inclusion of already-employed civil servants in the recruitment process, which they argue contradicts the initiative’s original intent—to provide opportunities specifically for unemployed PhD holders, as instructed by the President of the Republic.

Another major point of contention is what they see as a blatant injustice: some newly minted PhD holders, who defended their theses only days before the results were announced, were hired, while more experienced doctorate holders with years of teaching and research experience were left out. “These are the pioneers of our public and private universities, some of whom are already advanced in age, and they should have been prioritized for recruitment,” the collective stated.

Adding to their frustration, some advertised positions reportedly disappeared from the final list of recruitments, despite having qualified applicants. For the unemployed PhD holders, this further deepens their disappointment and sense of exclusion after years of academic pursuit. These grievances have compelled the CDPCIC to take action, organizing what they insist will be a “peaceful march” in the capital.

Protests Extend to the Great North

The discontent is not limited to Yaoundé. Another group, the Collectif des titulaires du doctorat/PhD du Grand-Nord, has also announced a peaceful demonstration in Ngaoundéré, the capital of the Adamaoua region, scheduled for February 21, 2025.

Like their counterparts in Mfoundi, these doctorate holders say they are expressing their “profound indignation” over what they view as social injustice and geographical discrimination in the recruitment results. According to them, the selection process failed to implement the “affirmative action” principle meant to favor candidates from underrepresented regions, particularly in Cameroon’s northern regions, where access to opportunities is perceived to be more limited.

On February 4, Séraphin Magloire Fouda, Secretary General of the Prime Minister’s Office and Chairman of the Central Supervision Commission for the special recruitment program, announced the results of its second phase.

This initiative aims to recruit 150 lecturers for the three newly established public universities, created by presidential decree in January 2022, for the 2024–2025 academic year. Eligible candidates had to be under 45 years old as of October 1, 2024, hold a doctorate or PhD, and reside either in Cameroon or abroad.

Launched in 2023 and set to conclude in 2025, the recruitment process seeks to strengthen the teaching workforce at these universities, which admitted their first students in the 2022–2023 academic year but continue to face a significant faculty shortage.

Source: Business in Cameroon