At coordination meeting: Minister insists varsities must be incubators of ideas, engines of economic growth.

This was during the 2025 University Coordination Commission, CCU, which came on the eve the 2025/2026 academic year for universities.

The meeting was attended by all Rectors and Vice Chancellors of State Universities.

Speaking while chairing the meeting in his capacity as chair of the commission, Minister Fame Ndongo described Cameroonian Universities a powerful engine for economic, social and technological development.

He said graduates of Cameroonian universities have become responsible citizens who are useful to the country and sub-region.

The minister said as a reformist policy, the New University Governance is the offspring of the policy of renewal under the high impetus of President Paul Biya.

He said after inheriting a post-independence Higher Education System, primarily devoted to the training of the national bureaucratic elite, called upon to replace the colonial administration, President Paul Biya, as a far-sighted statesman, became aware of the need to breathe new life into a Higher Education System plagued by an infrastructure crisis, unemployment among young university graduates and strategic blindness in research.

Turning to the matter of the day, the Minister said Thursday’s session of the University Coordination Commission was taking place in a global context where the tectonic of geopolitical and economic plates is vibrating to the rhythm of the dynamics of Reglobalisation.

He said as a dynamic reconfiguration of globalisation, reglobalisation advocates a world order that serves the common good. 

The minister was categorical that: “It is therefore a window of opportunity for global countries, hitherto marginalised and subjected to the test of asymmetrical insertions into production and trade networks”.

He told stakeholders that: “As we prepare to launch the 2025/2026 academic year, I call upon you to ensure that the start and evolution of this school year proceed with the highest standards of efficiency, and foresight. The expectations are high, and rightly so. students, our communities, and our nation are looking to us; not just for education, but for transformation”.

He insisted that: “We must uphold rigorous academic standard, strengthen internal and external evaluation mechanisms, and ensure that our programmes meet both national and international benchmark”.

The minister said curricula must be reoriented to reflect realities of the job market while partnerships with industry and hands-on training must become the norm, not the exception.

He was categorical that the digital transition is no longer optional. The Minister stated that it imperative that the country’s universities embrace digital tools; not for only teaching and learning, but also for administration, research, student services.

He said the ultimate measure of success should be the ability of graduates to find meaningful employment. The minister was blunt that this “requires a shift in mindset; from teaching for knowledge to teaching for impact”.

“In this context, the implementation of the concept of the University of Entrepreneurship is not merely a policy initiative; it is imperative. We must cultivate entrepreneurial mindsets among students and faculty alike. Our campuses should become incubators of ideas, of innovation, and engines of economic growth,” he said adding that: “This means establishing entrepreneurship centers, Incubators, supporting student-led startups and integrating entrepreneurial thinking into every discipline”.

The minister admitted that the road ahead is demanding and challenging “but it is filled with purpose and promise”.

“The government stands ready to support you as much as possible; with resources depending on availability, policy, and with unwavering political will which flows from the High Authority of the Republic, His Excellency Paul Biya… But the real work lies in your hands. You are architects of our academic future. You are the stewards of our intellectual capital,” he told the heads of state universities.

“Let us make the 2025/2026 school year a turning point; a year of renewal, of innovation and of impact. Together, we can build a university system that does only educate but empowers and is innovative,” he concluded.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3565 of Monday September 15, 2025