The President of the Cameroon Rennaisance Movement (CRM) Party, Professor Maurice Kamto, has blamed the country’s method of teaching as the main contributing factor to why pupils and students hate science subjects.
“Most of our schoolchildren and students hate science subjects, especially mathematics, and physics, because they believe that these subjects are beyond their intelligence. Experience has shown that the way these subjects are taught is one of the main problems.” Professor Maurice Kamto wrote on his Facebook page.
According to Professor Maurice Kamto, to thwart this problem, consideration should therefore be given to holding national teaching days devoted to developing the most effective methods and demystifying the teaching of these subjects.
“The results of this work should be incorporated into the training of teachers of these subjects in teacher-training colleges and retraining programs for teachers already in post,” he stated.
“It is at this price that we will achieve the scientific and technological revolution that our country needs for its development and security, as well as for its contribution to the scientific progress of Africa and humanity,” he added.
Pertinent Issue on Cameroon’s Education System
The concern raised by Professor Maurice Kamto is an issue that has plagued Cameroon’s educational system since independence. Over decades, the government has allocated schools to communities, but these schools are not equipped with the necessary tools to properly teach students.
Either it is a lack of building structures, a lack of equipped laboratories, or a lack of competent teachers.
Most students study, for instance, biology and chemistry without ever accessing a laboratory.
Even at that, a few teachers who have managed to be competent in these fields have been brain-drained abroad because of poor wages and working conditions.
At the end of the day, it is all about theory, and when it comes to practice, the students cannot excel.
All that is being taught remains at the level of imagination because the tools to show them are not there.
STEM, which is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, remains a far-fetched dream for a country that has over 60 years of independence.
Can Kamto Undo That If Elected?
Maurice Kamto was a presidential candidate during the 2018 presidential election, but he never clearly outlined his manifesto regarding education.
He is a law professor and was one time Minister Delegate to the Ministry of Justice, but little did he advance the sector in terms of justice.
He is even accused of being one of those who helped the Biya regime sit tight for over four decades. So does the problem of education in Cameroon surround only sciences? Not cutting corners as a member of government then portrayed the decayed education he got from Cameroon too.
Now, he is planning to run for the 2025 presidential election. However, his educational policies are yet to be revealed.
