Minister Nalova urges youths to acquire skills, shun wasting their lives

Secondary Education Minister, Prof Nalova Lyonga, has called on Cameroonian youths to acquire skills and innovation and to shun wasting their lives.

Speaking at the launch of the 2024 Open Business Days for technical and vocational schools in Cameroon on March 14, Prof. Nalova emphasised that youths should use the early years of their lives productively.

She urged youths not to squander the first quarter of their lives but rather to seize the opportunity to learn and develop practical skills.

“I would like to repeat to the youths, please don’t waste the first quarter of your life. The first 25 years of your life are there for you to learn to do something,” she said.

“Do something, don’t waste your life. We hope that when we are gone – we of the older generation – when we are gone, you will be there To do important things for your community. So let us not waste the first 25 years, which are meant for you to get in more skills, to produce, whatever we are producing in our societies.”

Minister Nalova emphasised the transformation of secondary schools in Cameroon towards skill-based education that teaches students how to solve local problems.

Speaking on the rapidly evolving digital landscape, she urged Cameroonian youths to embrace digitalization, distance learning, and artificial intelligence, recognising these as fundamental elements of survival today.

She cautioned that people risked being left behind if they did not adapt and acquire the necessary skills.

The Open Business Days event in Buea showcased the ingenuity and innovation of students from various technical and vocational schools across Cameroon.

Students demonstrated their ability to address local challenges through innovative solutions.

Projects exhibited spanned fields such as electricity, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, welding, computer science, and building and construction.

The Cameroon government has, for the past few years, been preaching import substitution, a policy that intends to make Cameroonians to produce what they consume and consume what is locally made.

To achieve this, the government has been bolstering technical and vocational education in Cameroon and has introduced new syllabi in schools.

Notably, these include the introduction of new syllabi for renewable energy and digital technologies; the integration of entrepreneurship courses in secondary schools; and the establishment of mini-incubators in technical and vocational institutions.

©Mimi Mefo Info