Life

All is set for SOBA:UK 2017Annual Residential Convention

17/10/2017

With excitement building amongst Sobans in the UK around the 2017 Annual Residential Convention slated from the 10th to the 12th of November in Rugby, it seems the leadership team headed by Ayuk Akoh-Arrey and his executive and event management teams, have ticked all the boxes on the to do list, and is satisfied with the preparations.

The Association wants to continue to deliver on its theme of “Building A Stronger Community”. Festivities, which include the SOBA:UK’s AGM and ceremonies, will kick off formally at 11am on the 11th of November at Dunchurch Park Hotel and Conference Centre, Rugby Road, Dunchurch.

Pre-SOBA:UK events across the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland are in full swing. These include media networking sessions, Sobans interactions with sponsors and local communities and dry runs of programs for the big day. During their address on Saturday the 11th of November, the SOBA:UK leadership team will highlight what has been achieved by so far since their recent election in the 2017 executive elections. The AGM involves members discussing SOBA:UK priorities and programmes for the year ahead, amongst many topics this year, extensions to the existing welfare structure to further support Sobans in various challenging situations in the UK, as well as new new proposals to partner with SOBA America in 2018 in giving back to the alma mater and encouraging academic and extra-curricular achievement in Sasse College.

Cameroon Intelligence Report sought to discover how SOBA:UK has come to occupy the number one spot of Cameroon alumni associations in the UK. “It has taken a simple recipe – sustained effort and commitment by many Sobans. Ever since Ayuk Akoh-Arrey became president in 2014, with his background in financial services, he has sought to make the association financially strong. ” said Eko Ngwashi of the events management team.

In 2014 SOBA:UK set a vision
A number of volunteers organized themselves into six strategic teams to drive growth. “We were poised to set a long term plan to compete with the likes of the Eton college alumni at this meeting” says Secretary General John Bawak. “We believed the UK association deserved to boast of a big bank account and such a vibrant community that Sobans would feel comfortable talking about SOBA:UK at their places of work. That is the moment the SOBA:UK brand became crucial”.

What’s more, the potential for various members to take part in this growth by working in projects to drive the vision. This is how SOBA:UK gets people to participate in projects and activities that create the dynamic association that it is. The Charity and Welfare team establishes and reviews systems for Sobans in need. The events management team undertakes strategic leadership in planning and executing all their events. A Liaisons team is responsible for liasing with the executive team and Sobans and also with the wider Cameroonian community. A business and systems team manages offline and online coordination of the association, meanwhile a publicity and marketing team carries out the marketing. Newly elected Vice Secretary General Usamatu Babangida said “It is an easy association to join, it only requires to pay membership and there is so much work to keep you busy”.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands that a welfare scheme has paid over £16,000 to bereaved Sobans since 2006 when the first bereavement was issued. “Our bereavement scheme works not just because we pay out but because Sobans show up and see the families of those who are bereaved” says Financial Secretary, Batey Tako. SOBA:UK members have been known to make long road trips to be with the families of bereaved Sobans at their time of need. This extra-ordinary commitment towards each other is reciprocated in SOBA:UK events where hundreds of guests turn out in support of the association. The Welfare Team has also made over £17,500 in payouts to projects in Sasse over the last 10 years.

The Events management team boasts of three of the association’s most successful conventions in 2014, 2015 and 2016, which have seen sponsors of the likes of Lycamobile, Turkish Airways, SellamQuick.com, some other big businesses and media partners in Vox Africa, which won Channel of the Year at the African Pride Awards.

The SOBA:UK Residential Convention is the highlight of the summer for many Cameroonians in the UK. Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that due to levels of demand, preparations include tight security for the guests, the media and members of the public, both inside and outside Dunchurch Park Hotel. SOBA:UK’s Event Management team for 2017 has also authorized a “Book-Early And Get Up to £60 off” discount [www.sobaintheuk.org] to purchase a table for 10 people, with additional discounts for registered members.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands that the AGM is the forum where Sobans with any grievances or suggestions can attend and put their issues so that continuous structural improvements can be achieved within SOBA:UK. The president was quoted as saying that members who have genuine grievances are encouraged to attend the official AGM in 11 November, and put those to the General Assembly for deliberation. SOBA:UK we understand is financially very strong providing a good base to support its membership, which is at the heart of the Association.

Many other Sobans all over UK are also hard at work to ensure that people participate in activities and for the event to be a success as it was in 2016. As such, they have provided even greater public access to all SOBA proceedings. Sobans in other parts of the world and Cameroon who prefer to follow the event in the comfort of their homes can tune in to www.cameroonconcordnews.com for updates. The SOBA:UK convention will also be broadcast live on www.cameroonintelligencereport.com. The ceremony will also be covered by accredited journalists from various local and international media houses.

“We are confident that this greater access will allow more Sobans to hear directly from President Ayuk Akoh-Arrey about their association and about issues that concern them” noted Alfred Bate Bawak, a senior SOBA in the Midlands.

Culled from our sister publication: Cameroon Concord News

Israel says will withdraw from UNESCO, hours after US announces same decision

13/10/2017

Israel says it plans to pull out of the United Nations cultural and education agency, UNESCO, hours after the US announced its decision to do the same, accusing the body of “anti-Israel bias.”

According to a statement released by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Thursday, the premier “instructed the foreign ministry to prepare Israel’s withdrawal from the organization alongside the United States.”

Tel Aviv’s move came just a few hours after US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert announced that the White House would withdraw from the Paris-based agency, citing growing “arrears” at UNESCO, the need for “fundamental” reform in it and its “continuing anti-Israel bias.”

Nauert added that the US withdrawal would take effect on December 31 this year.

The Israeli premier’s office further said that Netanyahu welcomed “the decision by US President (Donald) Trump to withdraw from UNESCO.” It described the move as a “courageous and moral decision because UNESCO has become the theater of the absurd and because instead of preserving history it distorts it.”

UNESCO, which has 195 member states, is known for designating world heritage sites such as Syria’s Palmyra, the Grand Canyon in the US state of Arizona and twenty-two sites in Iran.

Meanwhile, the head of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, voiced “profound regret” over the US decision, calling it a “loss to multilateralism.”

The US also pulled out of the agency in 1984 during the administration of US president Ronald Regan, accusing it of being biased in favor of the former Soviet Union. Former US President George W. Bush rejoined UNESCO in 2003.

However, Washington stopped funding the body in 2011, after the organization recognized Palestine as a full member. The US and Israel at the time were among just 14 of 194 members that opposed the membership of Palestine in the international organization.

Source: Presstv

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Yaounde announces massive recruitment of English speaking lecturers at ENAM

13/10/2017

The Biya regime has recently announced a recruitment of English speaking lecturers to train Southern Cameroonians at ENAM. The Francophone government in Yaounde say the positions are reserved for Cameroonians or foreigners residing in Cameroon, and concern magistrates, lawyers, registrars, bailiffs, notaries, accountants, company lawyers, university category A officials wishing to integrate or be reinstated in the number of qualifying instructors at ENAM should make themselves available.

The lecturers will be required to provide courses in specialty subjects under the non-harmonized law, such as: Civil Court Pratice; Law of Evidence; Probate proceedings and specialty materials under harmonized law including materials to support professional techniques. Interested candidates have been advised to send in their applications no later than the 10^th of November 2017. A candidate may only apply for three subjects.

The opening of a Common Law section within the Division of Judges and Registries of ENAM is one of the so-called solutions from President Paul Biya to the demands made by Southern Cameroons lawyers. Like the integration of a section of the Common Law Section into the Supreme Court, the Biya government claims the enumeration of Southern Cameroons Magistrates is to increase the number of English-speaking Magistrates in the High Jurisdiction.

Acting under pressure in March 2017, the 85 year old French Cameroun dictator ordered the creation of a Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences at the University of Buéa. The Minister of Higher Education was instructed to prepare the texts relating to the creation of the Departments of English Law in the Universities of Douala, Maroua, Ngaoundéré and Dschang, similar to the one that already exists at the University of Yaoundé II at Soa and the curriculum of public law teaching in the Universities of Buéa and Bamenda, to take into account that the Common Law ignores the distinction between private law and public law.

By Fru James, CIR

Orbis puts spotlight on Cameroon on World Sight Day with Flying Eye Hospital Program

12/10/2017

Today on World Sight Day, Orbis, a leading non-profit in the prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness, is conducting a four-week training program on the Flying Eye Hospital—in Yaoundé, Cameroon, a country with one of the highest prevalences of blindness and visual impairment in the world.

Hosted by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), the aircraft arrived in the city last week for a hands-on training that supports Orbis’s ongoing work in the country: strengthening the capacity of clinical and operational eye care professionals at our partner hospitals, Yaoundé Central Hospital (YCH) and Magrabi ICO Cameroon Eye Institute (MICEI), Yaoundé.

Located in western Central Africa, Cameroon is home to 23.3 million people, of which 326,213 are moderately to severely visually impaired (MSVI) and 181,831 are blind.1 In fact, the prevalence of MSVI in Cameroon (2.98%) is one of the highest in the world, and over twice as high as the prevalence of MSVI in the U.S. (1.25%). Although the leading cause of visual impairment in the country is cataract, for which there are known, cost-effective treatments, many people in Cameroon don’t have access to affordable or quality eye health services.

One main issue is the uneven distribution of health care workers worldwide. There are 3 ophthalmologists per one million people in the country—that’s 73 ophthalmologists—compared to 60 per million in the United States. Even then, many of these ophthalmologists reside in the two main cities of Yaoundé and Doula and many have limited surgical experience.2

To meet the obstacles faced by local hospitals, the training is being customized to focus on five subspecialties, including cataract, and will include different workshops, covering a range of topics from refraction to equipment repair and maintenance. The project is also a continuing medical education opportunity for local nurses, anesthesiologists, biomedical engineers and technicians through lectures, case discussion, observation, symposia and hands-on training.

This skills-transfer work in Cameroon is timely, given the startling global inequalities in visual impairment revealed by the latest data published by the Vision Loss Expert Group (VLEG) in the Lancet Global Health and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) in the IAPB Vision Atlas released today.

The data shows that across the 253 million people in the world who are blind or moderately to severely visually impaired (MSVI), uncorrected refractive errors (eye conditions that can usually be treated with glasses) and cataract are the main causes.3 This new data comes on the heels of a previous VLEG paper4 published in August, which showed that while 90 million people were treated or prevented from becoming blind or visually impaired between 1990 and 2015, trends in an ageing and growing population subject to increases in myopia and diabetic retinopathy could lead to a threefold increase in blindness by 2050.

“The new data is encouraging as it shows that our efforts to reduce avoidable blindness in affected countries are working,” said Dr. Danny Haddad, Chief of Programs, Orbis. “However, it’s vital we continue this work in the face of a growing and ageing population and increasing chronic diseases like diabetes. We believe the best way to tackle this problem is to work in partnership to help strengthen countries’ healthcare systems.”

Visit the IAPB Vision Atlas for the latest global data surrounding vision. Visit the Orbis Facebook page to view a walk-through of the Flying Eye Hospital in action in Cameroon on World Sight Day.

About Orbis

Orbis is a leading global non-governmental organization that has been a pioneer in the prevention and treatment of blindness for over 30 years. Orbis transforms lives by delivering the skills, resources and knowledge needed to deliver accessible quality eye care. Working in collaboration with local partners including hospitals, universities, government agencies and ministries of health, Orbis provides hands-on ophthalmology training, strengthens healthcare infrastructure and advocates for the prioritization of eye health on public health agendas. Orbis operates the world’s only Flying Eye Hospital, a fully accredited ophthalmic teaching hospital on board an MD-10 aircraft. To learn more, please visit orbis.org.

Culled from Business Insider

Biya regime cracks down on, shuts Southern Cameroons universities

11/10/2017

The two main public universities in Anglophone Cameroon have been shut down by the country’s president. The indefinite closures – after months of partial closures – come amid allegations of unprecedented military force being used to suppress unrest by staff and students who are demanding greater independence for their English-speaking regions.

The order to close the universities of Bamenda in the northwest and Buea in the southwest was issued on 1 October by the country’s president, Paul Biya, who is also the Visitor of the universities, in response to a symbolic proclamation by students and lecturers of the Anglophone region as the ‘Republic of Ambazonia’.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that some students and teachers were killed by soldiers during crackdowns at both universities. A 2 October statement by Amnesty International said at least 17 people had been killed by security forces following protests in several towns of the Anglophone regions.

The university communities in the Anglophone region are seeking a return to the pre-1961 system of federalism, in terms of which the Anglophone and Francophone regions were two separate and sovereign legal entities under the tutelage of the United Nations.

Army raid

According to Mesang Rosine Noutsa, a student at the University of Bamenda, government soldiers descended on the hostels and the residential quarters of the campus in the early hours of 1 October and brutalised students, lecturers and their family members.

“It was a scene of horrors. I have never witnessed such an ugly incident in my entire life,” she said from her bed at the General Hospital, Bamenda, where many students and teachers were receiving treatment for wounds inflicted on them by the soldiers.

The following day, Professor Horace Ngomo Manga, vice-chancellor of the University of Buea, and Professor Theresa Akenji Nkuo, vice-chancellor the University of Bamenda, were summoned to a short meeting in the capital of Yaoundé with Higher Education Minister Jacques Fame Ndongo.

They were informed that the universities would remain shut until all secessionists were cleared from the campuses, according to a lecturer who was forced to flee Bamenda and take refuge in a Nigerian border town.

Role of intelligentsia

According to diplomatic sources, many of the ringleaders of the protest action, who led the attempts at the symbolic declaration of the ‘Republic of Ambazonia’, fled through the bush paths to neighbouring Nigeria to join an already large community of Cameroonian students and teachers seeking shelter in Nigerian university campuses.

In an interview with University World News, Professor Samuel Wara, head of the department of electrical engineering at Covenant University, Ota, Lagos, who is a native of Bamenda, said the Anglophone university community in Cameroon had consistently played a vital role in the “misfortunes and fortunes” of the English-speaking regions.

“It was the intellectuals who canvassed and supported the United Nation-sponsored referendum in 1961 in which our people massively accepted the idea that we [should] create a federation with Francophone Cameroon,” he said.

An internationally renowned scholar, Wara said the university community today continues to campaign for an end to what he called the “lopsided 1961 union” with Francophone Cameroon.

Wara said professors Bernard Nsokika Fonlon and Carlson Anyangwe as well as Fon Gorji Dinka, a renowned lawyer, produced a manifesto in 1984 called the New Social Order in which they argued that by reverting to the name ‘French Cameroon’, Biya as president had ‘seceded’ from the Union and so the English-speaking part of Cameroon also had the right to revert to its state of ‘independence’ before 1961.

Recognition of Ambazonia

“And in 2005, Anglophone Cameroon was registered and recognised as the Republic of Ambazonia with the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, an international organisation affiliated to the United Nations,” he said.

Wara described the university communities of Bamenda and Buea as being at the forefront of the struggle for emancipation of the people of Anglophone Cameroon. Among the instances of marginalisation of and discrimination against the Anglophones, against which the Anglophone intelligentsia are fighting, he listed the following:

The national entrance examination into schools is set by the French sub-system of education. This makes it difficult for Anglophones and Francophones to compete on an equal playing field. The examination board members are all Francophone. Important examinations into professional schools are set in French only, sometimes even in an English-speaking region.
There are five ministries in charge of education. None of them are Anglophone.
State institutions issue documents and public notices in French with no English translations.
Most of the heads of government offices only speak French, even in the English-speaking region.
Most senior administrators and members of the forces of law and order in the Anglophone region are French-speaking and there is a lack of effort on their part to demonstrate an understanding of Anglophone culture.
Members of inspection teams, missions and facilitators for seminars sent from the ministries in Yaoundé to Anglophone Cameroon are mostly French-speaking despite the fact that their audiences are English-speaking.
Out of 36 ministers who defended the budget for the ministries last month, only one was Anglophone.
Most of the military tribunals in Anglophone regions conduct their courts in French.
International treaties and documents to which the country is a signatory, such as the Central African Banking Commission code, Inter-African Conference on Insurance Markets code and the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa document are all in French.
Magistrates in Anglophone Cameroon are disproportionately Francophone. In addition, other government-appointed officers, such as the senior divisional officers, commissioners and commandants are disproportionately Francophone.
Francophones occupy most leadership positions in Anglophone schools, hospitals, banks and mobile telephone companies.

Professor Augustine Awasum, a veterinary surgeon based at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Northern Nigeria, who originally hails from Anglophone Cameroon, called for all universities to be reopened as soon as possible and for the establishment of “an enabling atmosphere for dialogue among all stakeholders”. He said all students, teachers and other members of society in prison [for political activism] should be released unconditionally.

“This inevitable dialogue should be supervised by the African Union and the United Nations, with a view to ensuring that mutual agreements are legally binding on all parties. The minimum condition to guarantee peace, progress and meaningful development is to reinstate the October 1961 Constitution which guarantees true federalism where Anglophone and Francophone Regions are equal partners,” he said.

Source: University World News

SOBA: UK alumni association: All roads lead to Rugby

10/10/2017

Cameroon Concord News sought to discover how SOBA:UK has come to occupy the number one spot of Cameroon alumni associations in the UK. “It has taken a simple recipe – sustained effort and commitment by many Sobans. Ever since Ayuk Akoh-Arrey became president in 2014, with his background in financial services, he has sought to make the association financially strong. ” said Eko Ngwashi of the events management team.

SOBA:UK Convention 2017 Sponsor

Call us now for property investment options in Cameroon. Quote reference SOBA014. http://optionsinternational.net/cameroon

In 2014 SOBA:UK set a vision

A number of volunteers organized themselves into six strategic teams to drive growth. “We were poised to set a long term plan to compete with the likes of the Eton college alumni at this meeting” says Secretary General John Bawak. “We believed the UK association deserved to boast of a big bank account and such a vibrant community that Sobans would feel comfortable talking about SOBA:UK at their places of work. That is the moment the SOBA:UK brand became crucial”.

SOBA:UK at a long term vision meeting in 2014 to identify a model for their community of volunteers

Photographer: Alex Quest

What’s more, the potential for various members to take part in this growth by working in projects to drive the vision. This is how SOBA:UK gets people to participate in projects and activities that create the dynamic association that it is. The Charity and Welfare team establishes and reviews systems for Sobans in need. The events management team undertakes strategic leadership in planning and executing all their events. A Liasons team is responsible for liasing with the executive team and Sobans and also with the wider Cameroonian community. A business and systems team manages offline and online coordination of the association, meanwhile a publicity and marketing team carries out the marketing. Newly elected Vice Secretary General Usamatu Babangida said “It is an easy association to join, it only requires to pay membership and there is so much work to keep you busy”.

The Welfare Team on road trip to Scotland in 2017 in support of a bereaved Soban family in Nov 2015

Cameroon Concord News understands that a welfare scheme has paid over £16,000 to bereaved Sobans since 2006 when the first bereavement was issued. “Our bereavement scheme works not just because we pay out but because Sobans show up and see the families of those who are bereaved” says Financial Secretary, Batey Tako. SOBA:UK members have been known to make long road trips to be with the families of bereaved Sobans at their time of need. This extra-ordinary commitment towards each other is reciprocated in SOBA:UK events where hundreds of guests turn out in support of the association. The Welfare Team has also made over £17,500 in payouts to projects in Sasse over the last 10 years.

SOBA:UK Convention 2017 Sponsor

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The SOBA:UK Residential Convention is the highlight of the summerfor many Cameroonians in the UK. Cameroon Concord News gathered that due to levels of demand, preparations include tight security for the guests, the media and members of the public, both inside and outside Dunchurch Park Hotel. SOBA:UK’s Event Management team for 2017 has also authorized a “Book-Early And Get Up to £60 off” discount [www.sobaintheuk.org] to purchase a table for 10 people, with additional discounts for registered members.

Cameroon Concord News understands that the AGM is the forum where Sobans with any grievances or suggestions can attend and put their issues so that continuous structural improvements can be achieved within SOBA:UK. The president was quoted as saying that members who have genuine grievances are encouraged to attend the official AGM in 11 November, and put those to the General Assembly for deliberation. SOBA:UK we understand is financially very strong providing a good base to support its membership, which is at the heart of the Association.

Many other Sobans all over UK are also hard at work to ensure that people participate in activities and for the event to be a success as it was in 2016. As such, they have provided even greater public access to all SOBA proceedings. Sobans in other parts of the world and Cameroon who prefer to follow the event in the comfort of their homes can tune in towww.cameroonconcordnews.com for updates. The SOBA:UK convention will also be broadcast live on www.cameroonintelligencereport.com. The ceremony will also be covered by accredited journalists from various local and international media houses.

SOBA:UK Convention 2017 Sponsor

Culled from Cameroon Concord News

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Re-opening of universities postponed to November 9

27/09/2017

The Yaounde regime has announced a postponement of the 2017-2018 academic year in Southern Cameroons for all higher education establishments. The anti Anglophone Minister for Higher Education, Jacques Fame Ndongo said in a statement that the all activities to be hosted during such ceremonies have been carried forward to to a later date.

While schools have already started in the 8 regions that make up French Cameroun, the Francophone government now say higher education institutions will reopen their doors in Southern Cameroons on the 9th of November 2017.

To justify this delay, the Francophone Minister Jacques Fame Ndongo, explained that the Biya government wanted to give itself the chances of ensuring a successful academic year, 2017/2018 unlike last year when it was disrupted by the demands of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium.

By Sama Ernest, CIR

WHO completes cholera vaccination in Nigeria

26/09/2017

The World Health Organization said Tuesday it has completed a massive cholera vaccination campaign in restive northeastern Nigeria, where the disease has already killed 54 people.

The week-long campaign allowed 844,000 people to receive one dose of the vaccine, which offers protection against the deadly disease for six months, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told reporters in Geneva.

Northeastern Nigeria is in the grip of a humanitarian crisis caused by the Boko Haram insurgency, which has killed at least 20,000 people and displaced more than 2.6 million.

As of Monday, nearly 4,000 suspected cases of cholera had been detected in the region in just over a month, according to WHO numbers.

Cholera is transmitted through contaminated drinking water and causes acute diarrhoea, with children facing a particularly high risk of infection.

With 54 related deaths so far, the case fatality rate, which measures the severity of an epidemic by defining the proportion of fatal cases within a specific time frame, is currently at 1.4 percent — well above the emergency threshold of one percent.

The first cholera case was identified in Borno State on August 16 and has since spread, mainly in camps for those displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Two doses of the vaccine are needed to offer full protection, but in emergency situations, the WHO allows for a single dose to be given to speed up the coverage.

In addition to the vaccination campaign, WHO and other aid organizations are helping the Nigerian government to respond to the outbreak by establishing cholera treatment centers, “increasing outreach to communities with information on cholera and on prevention”, Jasarevic said.

About 8.5 million people in Nigeria’s northeast, out of 17 million in the wider Lake Chad region encompassing Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, need humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations.

Chadian women carry carpets and few other belongings as they travel back on Midikouta Island on Lake Chad on July 22, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Widespread malnutrition and the severe hygiene crisis in northeastern Nigeria, aggravated by the current rainy season and the limited access to clean water, especially in remote areas and in the overcrowded camps, have sparked growing fears that the cholera epidemic could spread across the region.

(Source: AFP)

Sacred Heart College Fire: Three in police dragnet

21/09/2017

Three people have been arrested in the Bamenda County after the fire incident that rocked the dormitory of the renowned Sacred Heart College. The three arrested are suspected of having set fire to the dormitory on September 18, shortly after 8 pm.

The Francophone dominated police service had opened an investigation which resulted in the arrest of the three suspected arsonists. French Cameroun government officials say the fire is attributed to secessionists whose calls for a boycott of the school year are currently being respected in Southern Cameroons. Last Tuesday, the Francophone Minister of Secondary Education reported that the school attendance rate was up three weeks after the actual resumption of courses.

The Biya Francophone regime has been releasing fake figures putting school attendance rate at 15% for the Bamenda County and 30% for Buea. The ruling CPDM crime syndicate recently revealed that school attendance in the Buea Province of Southern Cameroons increased from 9 to 30 per cent whereas in the Bamenda Province the rate increased from 6% to 15% over the same period.

By Eyong Johnson, CIR

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Yaounde regime announces delay to higher education plans

19/09/2017

The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime has announced that there shall be a delay in the opening of the 2017-2018 academic year in Southern Cameroons. The Francophone Minister of Higher Education, Jacques Fame Ndongo said in a statement that the delays have been granted due to the socio-political crisis in Southern Cameroons.

The anti Anglophone Minister of Higher Education observed that the universities in Buea and Bamenda will open their doors but in November 2017. According to his controversial explanation, “the academic year 2016-2017 ended in generally satisfactory conditions in both public and private academic institutions, with the exception of the universities of Buea and Bamenda who were allowed to extend their academic year “in order to respect the rate of coverage of educational programs following the strike movements that had severely disrupted academic activities in Southern Cameroons.

In order to ensure the harmonious development of academic activities in Southern Cameroons, Fame Ndongo further pointed out that “arrangements have been made by the relevant departments to allow the smooth running of the academic year.”

Vice Chancellors of the Universities of Buea and Bamenda together with other components of the university community have been told to carry out salutary actions to reassure parents and students. Fame Ndongo added that the Yaounde regime was counting on the churches to stifle the Southern Cameroons revolution and get children back to school.

By Rita Akana
Cameroon Intelligence Report

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