On November 13, 2024, during a ceremony where Senator Nkodo Laurent distributed benches to the Government High School Otélé in Cameroon’s Centre Region, Ngoumou Mayor Amvouna Atemengue Jean-Baptiste Martin painted a bleak picture of secondary education management.
“Secondary education is dying,” declared the mayor, citing a significant budget discrepancy. While the Ministry of Secondary Education operates on an annual budget of 550 billion FCFA, each region reportedly receives less than 30 billion FCFA for educational investments. The mayor also described the deteriorating state of schools, calling them “garbage dumps” due to poor maintenance, with the Government High School Otélé surrounded by “mud and dust.” He pointed to the zero percent pass rate in the recent Baccalauréat exam as evidence of systemic failure requiring immediate attention.
Minister Fires Back, Links Criticism to Election Politics
In a November 14, 2024, letter to Mayor Amvouna, Secondary Education Minister Nalova Lyonga dismissed the criticisms as “erroneous information” that could incite rebellion against the government, especially on the eve of elections. She highlighted the limitations of the ministry’s budget, showing that 87% of the 2024 allocation of 539.142 billion FCFA goes to personnel expenses, which leaves only 2.6 billion FCFA for regional investments.
The minister announced that authorities allocated additional emergency funds exceeding 1 billion FCFA for school infrastructure repairs. However, she also shifted some responsibility to local leaders and parents, asserting that maintaining school cleanliness is not the ministry’s sole duty.
Regarding the poor Baccalauréat results, Minister Nalova attributed the failures to local governance issues, suggesting that regional authorities should play a more active role in fostering discipline and supporting exam success.
Criticism of the Minister’s Response
The minister’s tone and timing sparked widespread criticism. Honourable Cabral Libii, an opposition lawmaker, expressed support for Mayor Amvouna’s bold stance and criticized the government’s decentralization efforts. “The decentralization process is one of the greatest failures of the regime,” he stated on Facebook, adding that the minister’s response sought to “stifle freedom of speech” inspired by the mayor’s remarks.
Critics argue that Minister Nalova’s preoccupation with framing the mayor’s statements as a threat to political stability distracts from the urgent educational challenges facing the nation. By focusing on election dynamics instead of addressing systemic failures, the minister appears more concerned with political optics than the deteriorating state of secondary education.
A Larger Debate on Decentralisation
However, local leaders like Mayor Amvouna are increasingly vocal about the government’s failure to empower regions to address pressing issues, including education. Observers say this friction highlights the need for systemic reforms to ensure that the significant budget allocated to secondary education translates into tangible improvements for schools, teachers, and students.
