In the
beginning of 2017, Cameroon’s population was estimated to be about 24.5 million
people, showing about 2.2 million+ growth from 2014 statistics. According to
United Nations forecast, by 2035, Cameroon's population will be about 36.576.873 million
people. A good faction of this population is made of subsistence farmers and students, with only a little percentage covering full time class workers.
In the domain of education, Cameroon disposes of very few hyper professional schools that train skilled labor. The few that exist are characterized by complex political alterations and very huge financial costs, making entry almost impossible for the “common” Cameroonian.
A weak
education at the base determines the pupil’s future. More than half of the
country’s population live in rural areas that dispose of very little or no
schooling infrastructures, limited number of professional teachers who are
mostly not motivated in order to enhance productivity. All these weaken the intellectual capacity of
the youthful population.
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| GOVERNMENT PRIMARY SCHOOL NJIKWA |
The country’s
educational system has been relatively unstable for the past academic year due
to the problems in the two English speaking regions. This is seen in the poor
performance in the General Certificate of Examination results at both the
ordinary and advanced levels.
More than 29% of Cameroon's population lives below the poverty line with barely a meal a day and in total, a whopping 60%+ depends on subsistence agriculture for a livelihood. The crops gotten from this form of agriculture is mostly consumed locally. This situation has been aggravated by the problem plaguing the two English regions.
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| MIXED FARM(Maize, beans) |
Of all the output gotten from agriculture, about 90% is exported as primary products with no transformation done at very pathetic prices. These same materials are transformed and resold to us as very high prices. Same goes to the mineral sector.
Key resources that could improve the country’s Gross National Product has been placed in the hands of foreign companies who repatriate all earnings and invest almost nothing in the regions of exploitation.
Key resources that could improve the country’s Gross National Product has been placed in the hands of foreign companies who repatriate all earnings and invest almost nothing in the regions of exploitation.
WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD?. In order to combat these problems, the country needs to invest more on
the educational sector. It is from this sector that professionals will be
trained in all other domains, be it mining, technological or diplomacy. We would
not need to bring in professionals to manage our resources.
The
government should also try to partially cover financial burdens in professional
institutions. This will encourage the average Cameroonian to forward his/her
education.
Teachers
should be regularly motivated with prices, increments and tokens. This will boost
their zeal to do the job in a livelier manner.
These, and
a lot more will help improve the country’s economy in the forthcoming years,
thereby driving the country towards its great ambitions.
Please comment with your views!