Secondary Education Minister shuts down 171 clandestine schools.

According to Minister Nalova Lyonga, the closed establishments are operating without formal authorisation. The minister also indicated in her decision that some of the schools are located in unsuitable sites, such as those close to railroads or waterways.

Most of the banned schools are in the Littoral Region, with 67 of such institutions. Out of this number, 44 are said to be found in Wouri Division alone.

The Centre Region comes second with the most affected schools, with 46 establishments, out of which 19 are in the Mfoundi Division.

Six of the clandestine schools are in the localities of Ntui, in the Mbam and Kim Division in the Centre Region, while eight were shut down in Fiko in Moungo Division, Littoral Region. 

The five schools shut down in the North Region are in the Mayo Rey Division. There is one in Tchollire and four others in Touboro. 

In the Far North Region, only one school has been shut down.

10 establishments were closed in the Adamawa Region.

The North West, West, East, South and South West Regions have seven, 12, five, six and 12 schools respectively that have been shut down.

It should be recalled that in 2023, about 135 Secondary Schools were closed nationwide. The phenomenon of clandestine schools is not limited to Secondary Education. 

In 2023, the Minister of Basic Education, Prof Laurent Serge Etoundi Ngoa, announced the closure of almost 326 private schools for the 2022-2023 school year. These establishments were accused of violating the legal formalities for creating and opening, or of failing to operate properly.

Among the reasons disclosed by the basic education minister then were the use of false deed of establishment, lack of a decree of establishment and opening, use of unsuitable environment and the lack of an extension deed for the French, English or bilingual sections.

Minister Etoundi Ngoa had pointed out that the aim of the crackdown was to ensure the respect of the laws and rules in force. 

“To date, the support that partners give to the basic education sector is closely dependent on the clarity and dependence of the control of the school map in our country,” the Minister had said in 2023.

He had also insisted that: “We must therefore do our utmost to ensure that at any given moment, we are able to answer the question of how many schools exist in a given locality”.

 This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3176 of Monday July 22, 2024