Rethinking secondary education in Cameroon with clean school philosophy.

Moderated by Killian Ndah Ndifon, the special edition brought together the Minister of Secondary Education, Prof Nalova Lyonga, the Secretary General of the Ministry, key directors of central services, education stakeholders, and external observers, including Prof Victor Mbarika, President of ICT University. 

What unfolded was not a defensive media exercise, but a deliberate public exposition of a reform philosophy, its instruments, its partnerships, and its prospects.

The “Clean School” philosophy… 

The Minister opened the programme by articulating what she described as the “Clean School” philosophy; a concept often misunderstood when reduced to mere physical sanitation. 

Prof Nalova Lyonga was emphatic: clean school does not mean only clean walls or tidy classrooms. It is a holistic ethical framework meant to redefine the school as a moral, administrative, pedagogical, and psychosocial space. A clean school, in this expanded sense, entails: 

Moral cleanliness: schools that actively combat violence, drug abuse, sexual exploitation, and moral indifference.

Administrative cleanliness: transparent appointments, promotions, transfers, financial management, and decision-making processes.

Pedagogical cleanliness: learner-centered teaching, professional integrity, continuous assessment, and remediation strategies.

Psychosocial cleanliness: functional counseling units, attention to mental health, and strong school-home-community collaboration.

Digital cleanliness: reduced cash handling, traceable transactions, and secure data systems.

Significantly, the Minister did not present this philosophy as a personal trademark, but as a collective institutional doctrine. 

By inviting all her collaborators to embrace and explain it publicly, she underscored a key intention: continuity beyond tenure. 

The Clean School philosophy is designed to outlive any individual minister and become embedded in MINESEC’s institutional culture.

It is as a result of this holistic understanding of the clean school philosophy that we take the opportunity to cry for clean school in the condition of teachers and administrators in the private sector. While some institutions are humanly clean, doing wonderfully well with good payment rates (1,500 FCFA – 2,500 FCFA per hour), wonderful monthly wage, and sustainable contracts of employment, others remain miserable in many schools with poor payment (900 FCFA – 1,200 FCFA per hour), no longevity plan for old age safety, no contracts, insurance, arbitrary dismissal, kakistocratic managements leading to dirty school in classrooms, environment and eventually poor pedagogic outcomes.

 This is a call for concern for holistic cleaning school philosophy implementation. A ministerial department to tackle on such concerns is of utmost importance.

Distributed leadership…

One of the most striking features of the programme was the Minister’s leadership style. Rather than monopolising responses, she systematically redirected questions to the directors in charge of specific domains. 

This gesture was not incidental; it reflected a governance philosophy rooted in institutional intelligence rather than personal authority.

This approach achieved two things simultaneously: It demonstrated that reforms are not improvised, but technically anchored, as she reiterated the phrase "...for continuity..." several times in her intervention. It restored public confidence in the competence and coherence of the Ministry’s internal machinery.

Distance learning and the “magic board”

The Director of the Distance Learning Center took the floor to elaborate on the Center’s mandate, activities, and innovations, chief among them the Smart Board marked Pantheon; christened by the Minister as the “Magic Board”. 

Far from being a decorative gadget, the Magic Board represents a pedagogical revolution. Its functionalities include: Interactive lesson delivery combining text, visuals, videos, and simulations, real-time annotation and content adaptation, offline and online usability, allowing access even in low-connectivity zones, Integration with digital lesson repositories and support for blended learning (classroom + distance learning).

The board allows teachers to move beyond static chalk-and-talk pedagogy into dynamic knowledge construction. 

In rural or underserved areas, this technology becomes an equalizer, narrowing the pedagogical gap between urban and hinterland schools. 

To address persistent connectivity challenges, the Ministry has introduced “micro-cloud” systems; localized digital hubs that store educational content offline, ensuring continuity of learning even without internet access. 

This innovation directly answers one of the most common critiques of digital education in Africa. However, we think that more reinforcement in this area to curb this quagmire is the introduction of the Talking Book, this to be another topic of discussion.

Partnerships as accelerators, not substitutes 

The Director in charge of Partnerships highlighted the strategic alliances underpinning MINESEC’s digital transformation. These partnerships are neither decorative nor donor-driven; they are problem-solving collaborations. Among them: UNESCO, which provided the first digital cameras and technical support for distance learning; UNICEF, which deployed tablets to schools nationwide via MINESEC; Local and international partners contributing infrastructure, content, and capacity building; Financial and service partners such as Express Union, Telecommunication mobile financial services, and other mainstream banks, facilitating accessible and transparent school-fee payments across all subdivisions.

Crucially, these partnerships reinforce (not replace) state responsibility. They function as accelerators of a national vision, not as outsourcing mechanisms.

Digitalgovernance: From cash to code 

Another major pillar discussed was the digitalisation of school administration, including: Online payment of school fees, digital matriculation and unique learner identifiers.

The objective, clearly stated, is to eliminate premature writing of official exams in Form 4 and Lower sixth, to eliminate the drawbacks of cash-based systems: corruption, long queues, lost receipts, and administrative bottlenecks. Payments now go directly to authorized accounts, enhancing transparency and accountability. Beyond convenience, this reform represents a moral repositioning of governance; a shift from discretionary power to traceable systems. 

Importantly, the Minister emphasized sustainability: these platforms are institutional assets designed to persist regardless of leadership changes.

Data, monitoring, and emergence of Smart System 

For the first time, MINESEC is building a real-time data ecosystem. Through digital attendance tools, tablets, and centralized dashboards, the Ministry can now monitor: Student attendance figures nationwide, teacher deployment and presence and syllabus coverage and learning progress.

This data-driven approach marks a transition from intuition-based policy to evidence-based educational governance.

Prof Victor Mbarika’s appraisal 

Perhaps the most compelling validation came from Prof Victor Mbarika, President of ICT University. Visibly impressed, he described the Ministry’s initiatives as groundbreaking and acknowledged that they explain why Cameroonian secondary school graduates increasingly emerge as innovators and creators at university level.

For him, the Distance Learning Center is not merely an administrative unit; it is a pipeline of future-ready learners, already aligned with the demands of the digital economy.

AI and responsible innovation 

The discussion concluded with a forward-looking gaze toward Artificial Intelligence, AI. 

The Minister’s stance was clear: AI must serve pedagogy, not replace it. Its role is to enhance creativity, personalize learning, and equip learners with 21st-century skills, while preserving the centrality of the teacher as the main facilitator whose cognitive abilities cannot be replaced by algorithms.

A paradigm shift, deliberate and collective 

What Press Hour revealed on December 14, 2025 was not a flawless system, but a coherent paradigm shift. 

From the Clean School philosophy to digital governance, from smart boards to micro-clouds, from partnerships to data intelligence, secondary education in Cameroon is being reimagined as a moral, technological, and institutional ecosystem.

The significance of this moment lies not only in what has been achieved, but in how it has been framed: as a collective project, designed for continuity, accountability, and adaptability. In public policy, the most honest question is not whether reforms are perfect, but whether they are intentional, systemic, and sustainable. 

On that score, the Ministry of Secondary Education has clearly moved beyond rhetoric. 

The chalkboard era is giving way to the smart-board age, and Cameroon’s secondary education is decisively stepping into it, while slowly but surely aiming for holistic integration of all schools.

By Dr Nalionge Maxmillianus Ewoko: He is a Cameroonian educationist, philosopher and school administrator.

 He holds a Bachelor’s degree in metaphysics and Aesthetics, a Master’s degree in ethics and political philosophy from the University of Yaounde I and a PhD in organizational leadership from Ecclesian Theological University of Nigeria. He is currently a teacher of Philosophy at the Distance Learning Centre under the Ministry of Secondary Education.