Death of GCE Board Registrar huge loss to Cameroon education community

Many Cameroonians are in shock after the Registrar of the Cameroon General Certificate of Education (GCE) Board, Dominic Akuh Dang, was pronounced dead on Monday.

Like most bad news, information about his death disheartened many as it spread swiftly across social media platforms. He died at Mount Mary Hospital in Buea.

People have been reflecting on the huge legacy he left in the education sector of the country before quitting the stage.

During his five years at the helm of the GCE Board — the organ charged with organizing and publishing final exams for secondary and high school students in Cameroon — Dominic Akuh Dang left a legacy to be remembered.

His appointment to the Board in 2018 came when the institution was going through tough moments that were linked to the ongoing armed conflict in the two English-speaking.

The roots of the conflict were partly attributed to the “francophonization” of the English sub-system of education in Cameroon.

In the face of threats, burning of learning institutions, and school boycott campaigns championed by Separatists, Dominic Akuh Dang fought tooth and nail to uphold the standards of Anglo-Saxon education in Cameroon.

The late Registrar, an educationist par excellence was a disciplinarian. He is credited for sanctioning over 661 GCE Advanced Level candidates and 699 Ordinary Level candidates this year for exams malpractices.

During his mandate at the GCE Board, technical and vocational examinations underwent quality modifications.

Who Was Dominic Akuh Dang?

The astute educationist, whose parents hail from Befang, Menchum Division of the North West Region, was born in Muyuka, South West Region, in 1959.

He attended primary, secondary, and high school at his place of birth.

Upon completing high school, he enrolled at the then-University of Yaounde, where he graduated with a bilingual degree. He also attended the University of London in the United Kingdom.

Positions Held

Dominic Akuh Dang was assigned to the Ministry of Secondary Education in 1982, where he served as Chief of Service for Examinations and Evaluation.

He held the position until he was elevated to National Inspector of Pedagogy for English.

When the GCE board was created, he was appointed Chief of Service for Examinations at the institution.

Dang would later be promoted to Inspector General in Charge of Bilingualism.

He had his last civil service appointment in 2018, when a Prime Ministerial degree named him Registrar of the GCE board in replacement of Sir Humphrey Ekema Monono.

His death on Monday, September 25, made him the first GCE Board Registrar to die in service.

Creation of GCE Board

The Cameroon GCE Board was established in 1993 as a public examination body supervised by the Ministry of Secondary Education.

This was after English-speaking Cameroonians took to the streets, asking for the creation of the board. They doubted the integrity of GCE results that were being organized by the Ministry of Secondary Education.

The protest met a brutal response from state security forces, with orders from the government.

However, the government later gave in, creating the GCE Board to oversee Anglo-Saxon examinations and the Office du Bacc, or OBC, to oversee Francophone examinations.

Since its creation, the GCE Board has been served by four registrars: Azong Wara Andrew, who served (1994–1997); Dr. Omer Weyi Yembe (1997–2006); Dr. Humphrey Ekema Monono (2006–2018); and Dang Akuh Dominic (2018–2023).