Secondary Education: Nalova Lyonga launches census to tackle absenteeism.

The member of government has, in what is being described as a move to tackle the worsening phenomenon of prolonged absenteeism by teachers in Secondary Schools across the country, launched the physical and biometric census of personnel under the Ministry of Secondary Education, MINESEC. 

The exercise has been announced in a release the Minister issued on March 9, 2026. 

In the release, the minister insisted that the census concerns all personnel paid under the budget of the ministry; be they on study leave on serving under different administrations. 

MINESEC personnel, per the release, are expected to “update their information on the platform at rh.minesec.gov.cm, in prelude to the physical and biometric census of MINESEC staff, which will take place nationwide from 9 March to April 8, 2026”. 

Minister Nalova called on all MINESEC personnel to “commit themselves to the success” of the operation. 

It is not the first time the minister is going tough on absentee teachers. Prof Nalova Lyonga had long rolled out stringent measures to tackle the cankerworm of absenteeism and abandonment of duty posts by Secondary Education teachers.

She had introduced a mechanism through which members of the Secondary Education family could anonymously report cases of absentee teachers to authorities, via www.minesecdrh.cm. 

In July 2021, Minister Nalova Lyonga published a list of some 600 teachers who had abandoned teaching for greener pastures in Europe, America, and other destinations abroad but continued receiving salaries. 

Few weeks back, government uncovered some 20,000 absentee civil servants during an end-of-year payroll clean up that was carried out by the Ministry of Finance.

The Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, had noted that the number represents a loss of up to 46 billion FCFA for the public treasury annually.

The uncovering, officials said, was made possible, thanks to a decision by the government to digitalise the movement of people in and out of the country using international airports and other border posts. 

Minister Motaze is said to have warned that the uncovered absentee civil servants could, with effect from January 2026, stop receiving salaries and other benefits from government. 

He is said to have insisted that thenceforth, if a civil servant is recorded leaving the country without a mission order or official leave of absence, and no re-entry is recorded in the following months, sanctions will follow.

Reports had indicated that the Ministry of Secondary Education has the highest number of absentee civil servants. 

Records at the nation's international airports and border crossings, officials said, indicate many of those concerned since travelled out but have since not returned.

Specifically, at the Ministry of Secondary Education alone, up to 5,000 teachers are said to have been indicted for leaving the country without any authorisation.

Apart from earning unmerited salaries and other benefits, government officials are decrying a situation where many classrooms remain without teachers, yet, billions are drained from the treasury every month.

Government mentioned Canada, specifically, as the most favoured destination of migrants from Cameroon who work in the North American country as “illegal expatriates”. 

The article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3729 of Thursday March 12, 2026