President Biya spells out rules governing teachers training colleges

President Paul Biya has said private education organizations and may be permitted to set up teachers training colleges (GTTCs) in compliance with new guidelines governing teachers training colleges in the country.

In a 14-page decree released yesterday, Biya spelled out how GTTCs must be organized and run.

He noted that teacher training will be “the exclusive responsibility of the State” but added that “private education organization may be authorized to set up a teacher training college” after obtaining approval from the government.

“Teacher training colleges shall be responsible for: the initial training of pre-school, nursery, primary, and post-primary, as well as technical and vocational secondary school teachers; the continuing training, including further training, retraining and specialization of trainers in these levels of education; pedagogic supervisors and school administration officials, in conjunction with partner ministries; applied pedagogical research,” President Biya wrote.

The new rules governing GTTCs in Cameroon comprise two sections stratified into eight chapters, under which are enlisted 56 different articles.

The chapters focused on the creation, upgrading, opening, and closing of teacher training colleges, administration, and admission into these colleges.

Like secondary schools, GTTCs will be headed by appointed principals, who will be in charge of the technical and financial management of the institution.

Meanwhile, the School Council will supervise, evaluate, control, and hold deliberations concerning the functioning of government teacher training colleges.

At the beginning of each term, the School Council’s Chairperson shall call an ordinary session. Members may be represented by proxies who must be members of the said council,” stated Article 21 of the Presidential Decree.

The Divisional Delegate in charge of teacher training will call an extraordinary School Council meeting to elect the said Council’s Chairman.

The Cameroon government operates several teacher training colleges scattered around the country. Entry into these schools has usually been through competitive public exams called concours, which result in the direct recruitment of trainees into the civil service.

President Paul Biya’s decree comes at a time when government teachers across the country are pouring out grievances over the non-payment of salaries and arrears.

On October 5, a day celebrated worldwide as Teachers Day, government teachers in the primary and secondary school sectors are not celebrating.

Rather, they are planning on engaging in a nationwide strike, which will last five days next week.

Some teachers, mostly those in the French-speaking parts of Cameroon, have not been teaching since the school year started on September 4.

Some have been asking why President Paul Biya has not made any statement about the plight of teachers in the country since the OTS teachers strike started last year.