"Reforming" varsities without academic freedom!.

That is the conceding quote from the Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education, Prof Jacques Fame Ndongo, when he addressed members of the University Coordination Committee in Yaounde on Monday.

Rather than being a "blame game" it has over the years been a vitriolic criticism of the country's higher education system that is politicised, deficient in infrastructure, quality staff, research fundings and void of academic freedom.

The University of Buea, ranked by UniRank as the best in the country, occupied a humiliating 82nd position of top higher institutions in Africa. No gainsaying the established fact that it is a sorry state of Cameroon’s universities.   

By claiming that time to stop criticising the floppy standards of Cameroon universities is over, the Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education, Fame Ndongo, who is also the spin doctor of the ruling CPDM, told the Committee that the Head of State, in his stately foresightedness and proactiveness, has taken early steps in combating the challenge with the enactment of the new Higher Education Orientation Law, which prescribes professionalism in teaching.

The task ahead, the minister said, is that of having the university community to unite as a team to ensure the effective execution of the reforms.

This, he said, was aimed at fulfilling the Head of State’s ever-growing goal of having the higher education sector serve as a major development tool and a key player in the drive towards emergence in 2035.

“This is another opportunity given to us to make a difference in the higher education system-to change our thinking and way of doing things so that our universities and training institutions can also become actors and drivers of development and the transformation of the knowledge economy,” the minister said.

He added that: "The new Higher Education Orientation Law has given us all what it takes to make this happen and make the desired leap forward. I call on all of us taking part in this session of the University Coordination, to contribute positively to a brighter and better future for our higher education system”. 

In her reaction to what is being hyped as "universities reforms", the Vice Chancellor of the University of Bamenda, Prof Nkuo Theresa Akenji, said her institution, like other state universities, is making strides in promoting online teaching and entrepreneurship as specified by the Head of State.

“Entrepreneurship is a given. We are moving from a research teaching outreach to actual innovation and industry. All the programmes are being revised to focus on the youth, so that they can acquire that problem-based learning so that they will be able to acquire skills to make them entrepreneurs and not job seekers, but also be job-providers. That’s our focus right now,” Prof Akenji had said.

On paper and at conferences, universities are poised for real reform and innovation. But is that the reality on the campuses, which as temples of research, should have unfettered academic freedom?

Prof Henry Rosovsky, an American economist and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University, is on record as saying: "Academic freedom, in all senses, is much more critical to the success of a university than how much money is spent on infrastructure or on hiring big names. Faculty need to have the space to pursue the research that they are passionate about. They also need to have the freedom to express their opinions in the university and in society as a whole".

But is that the situation in Cameroon when a lecturer at the University of Buea, was sacked for asking his students a question on the brutal conflict in the North West and South West Regions?  

Are State universities in Cameroon free, when the Vice Chancellors of the Universities of Buea and Bamenda, are appointed by the Head of State, instead of being voted by the teaching staff, as is the tradition in Anglo-Saxon universities? 

Isn't it politicising university education when lecturers are known to have openly declared their support for the incumbent Head of State, during presidential elections? 

Would they have kept their job, if for instance, such support was for an opposition candidate? 

Was there freedom when Fame Ndongo is known to have cancelled admission list into the pioneer batch of the University of Buea’s Faculty of Health Sciences, claiming it didn't meet regional balance?

The Guardian Post supports any action by the Head of State intended to transform the country's Higher Education sector into some of the envious Ivy League universities in Africa and beyond.

At The Guardian Post, we go with the view that academic freedom should be at the core of such reforms. 

German-born theoretical physicist, who is widely considered as one of the greatest and most influential scientists of all time, Albert Einstein, once said: "By academic freedom, I understand the right to search for truth and to publish and teach what one holds to be true. This right implies also a duty-one must not conceal any part of what has been recognised to be true. It is evident that any restriction on academic freedom acts in such a way as to hamper the dissemination of knowledge among the people and thereby impedes national judgment and action."

Richard Nixon equally expounded that: "I also believe that academic freedom should protect the rights of a professor or student to advocate Marxism, socialism, communism, or any other minority viewpoint - no matter how distasteful to the majority".

Truth be told, Cameroon universities do not have academic freedom and the "blame game" will continue to the detriment of development and teaching that is aligned with "job creation," in an ever-evolving competitive world.