Frustration is mounting among a group of recent graduates from the Higher Technical Teachers’ Training College (HTTTC) affiliated with the University of Buea, who claim they have been denied integration into the public service due to an administrative dispute between ministries.
The graduates, who completed their training in 2023, alleged the Ministry of Public Service is refusing to recognise their attestation certificates issued by the Ministry of Higher Education. This bureaucratic hurdle has left them in limbo, posted to teaching positions at secondary schools yet ineligible for salaries.
“It’s outrageous,” said one graduate, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The Ministry of Higher Education trained us and sent a list of our names to the Ministry of Secondary Education, who then posted us to schools. But now, Public Service won’t integrate us because they don’t recognise the attestation from our own state university!”
The situation is further complicated by a lack of official certificates, which graduates typically require for full integration into the civil service.
“We’ve been waiting almost a year for our certificates,” another graduate explained. “Despite that, both the Ministry of Secondary Education and Public Service are demanding we work – without pay – and threaten us with punishment if we don’t show up for class.”
This isn’t an isolated incident. Graduates from the ENSET teacher training school in Kumba report a similar plight. They too are working unpaid, with neither attestation nor certificate issued by the institution, which falls under the same Ministry of Higher Education.
“The director and vice chancellor haven’t addressed this for years, despite our pleas,” a disgruntled Kumba graduate said. “They haven’t issued the necessary documents, and their sister ministry won’t recognise them anyway.”
The graduates warn that such bureaucratic hurdles can have serious consequences.
“This is exactly the kind of situation that can lead to frustration and even radicalization,” one graduate cautioned. “It’s happening within our own Anglophone institutions!”
They question the lack of cooperation between ministries. “If there’s a delay in issuing certificates, why can’t the two ministries work together to find a solution?” one graduate asked.
The graduates’ plight highlights a wider issue within Cameroon’s education system. The withheld salaries and lack of official documentation leave them in a precarious position, unable to support themselves while fulfilling their mandated teaching duties.
“We’re at the end of our rope,” one graduate admitted. “Pretty soon, some of us may have no choice but to leave the country entirely.”
Efforts to reach the Ministries of Public Service and Higher Education for comment were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
Mimi Mefo Info – HTTTC Graduates
