Higher education ministry scribe strikes varsities over delays in issuing certificates.

Prof Gabsa bared his mind at the start of the 3rd Ordinary Session of the Ad hoc Technical Committee in charge of the issuance of certificates under the Ministry of Higher Education.

Speaking as he represented the Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education, Prof Jacques Fame Ndongo, the MINESUP scribe didn’t mince his words.

He was blunt that delays in the issuance of certificates have frustrated many graduates wishing to further their education or get employed.

Prof Gabsa, who is also Vice President of the Committee, challenged University Rectors and Vice Chancellors to rise to the occasion and do the needful.

He said it was an aberration that the country’s higher education system, held in high esteem globally, was still facing issues linked to the delivery of certificates.

“I think it is important to begin by emphasising that as a teacher of the higher education system, to me, it is shameful that…we still have issues linked to issuance of certificates,” he bemoaned.

Prof Gabsa regretted that: “Some of us who studied out of the country, came back with our certificates but the certificates that we obtained before traveling out of this country, we are still unable to get them until this day”.

The varsity don was blunt that: “It is an aberration and a shame that we have to wait for the very high instructions to come from the Head of State for us to do the job that we are supposed to do within the higher education system”.

He then recalled that: “For those of us who are following the news every day, we are aware that there has been a serious problem with Cameroonians who are struggling to get into the Bar Association in Rwanda. They have gone to school for the number of years required but they are frustrated because they are unable to get their certificates obtained here before traveling out”.

He said: “In spite of the very high instructions from the Head of State, our universities are unable to provide certificates to those Cameroonians to help them progress. It is a general issue and we have to make one point clear; we are decrying these issues within the higher education system”.

“The Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education, I must say, is tired of this issue. Some universities are doing fine, there are already catching up with the process but there are some institutions that are behaving as if they are in a different world,” he lambasted.

He then stated that: “I think this commission is meeting today to remind us of our responsibilities, for us to understand that even if there were problems, this is the time to raise those problems. If there are problems that cannot be solved by the Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education, as the supervisor of the Higher Education system, definitely, he will know how to address the issue, report to his hierarchy and why not seek the very high authorisation of the Head of State if it becomes necessary”.

Prof Gabsa was clear that: “It is not as if there are problems that are impossible for the state to resolve. We are meeting today to remind ourselves of these responsibilities. We are calling on the attention of Rectors and Vice Chancellors to know that it is time for them to make Cameroonians comfortable where they are. They should give students their certificates to pursue their careers”.

He insisted that: “It is not a favour that a university is doing to a student who has completed his or her training programme. If they finish their training, they should be able to obtain their certificates”.

“We hope that the universities will all take their responsibilities and do the job that is required of them,” he concluded. 

Enter Prof Fongod Augustina

Meanwhile, in a scripted address delivered during yesterday’s strategic meeting in Yaounde, Prof Augustina Fongod, who is Director of Coordination of Academic activities at the Ministry of Higher Education, described the meeting as key to providing lasting solutions to problems faced in the delivery of certificates in the sector.

Putting the meeting in context, Prof Augustina Fongod explained that the meeting was a “continuation of our exchanges of about a year ago with the aim of examining and solving the concrete problems affecting higher education system graduation”.

She recalled that: “Since the 1993 reform of higher education and the adoption of the LMD system in the higher education system in Cameroon, the structural landscape of this system has undergone important changes visible through the establishment of bodies for the coordination of academic activities for university institutions. To this end, some bodies have been strengthened or innovated while others have been newly created”.

“It is under this prism that by Order No. 13/05/ MINESUP/SG/DCAA/SDAA of 20^th November 2013, that the Adhoc Technical Commission in charge of operations relating to the delivery of diplomas or certificates under the Ministry of Higher Education was created,” Prof Fongod concluded.