The preparedness of the University of Bamenda, UBa, to meet future development challenges has been restated with the launch of UBa Consult to guarantee viability, financial autonomy and sustainable development. North West Governor, Adolphe Lele Lafrique, launched the venture on July, 12, 2016, stressing that the platform aligns with the vision of the government and other stakeholders to see the university emerge into a leading national institution.

The Governor lauded management for the initiative, which is a partnership with the renowned Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Pune, India. It was a moment for the Governor to salute the new momentum and dynamism brought to the University of Bamenda by the new leadership. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Nkuo Theresia Akenji, said UBa Consult was not only an Information Technology Consortium, but a multi-dimensional and multi-purpose business venture that encourages individuals, groups, institutions and viable communities.

She added that the initiative was inspired by the commitment to promote sustainable development, enhance transformational research and outreach to significantly contribute to Vision 2035. The evolving digital world drove the university to start off the business venture, it was disclosed. Present at the event was Prof. Siddharth Jabade and Prof. Yuvraj Lahoti of the Vishwakarma Institute of Technology. They presented lectures on “Socially-responsible Revolution” and “Stakeholders in the progress of the region.”

Cameron Tribune

The Disciplinary Board of the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM) has expelled five students, including three Cameroonians and two foreigners (a Chadian and a CAR) for cheating during second year examinations.  Abas Mohamadou Ousmanou, son of CPDM billionaire from Ngaoundere, Alhaji Abbo is among the excluded.

They were caught trying to access documents related to a core module from their mobile phones. ENAM examination laws prohibit the use of any material or electronic devices. In response to a request for an explanation that was served to the students by the disciplinary board of ENAM, the respondents argued that: “Having almost finished, we pulled out our phones to look at the time. It was at that point that the supervisor asked us to hand over the phones to him”.

The students pleaded guilty of violating ENAM examination rules and regulations.  Abas Mohamadou Ousmanou and his gang of fraudsters received no pity from the disciplinary board.

Rita Akana (Cameroon Concord News Group)

The Minister of Women Empowerment and the Family, Marie Therese Abena Ondoa has praised the Revised Penal Code, calling it a perfect representation on the integration of women. The Minister made the remark in a press release recently signed in Yaounde.

She noted that the portions of the code which punishes Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), sexual harassment, obstacles to educating the girl child, acts towards preventing the normal growth of body parts of a girl and the denial of visitation rights to separated parents, are worth lauding.

The Minister also expressed satisfaction with the section which demands the equal treatment of men and women in the case of adultery. In the press release, Minister Marie Therese Abena Ondoa implored all Cameroonians to respect the code, while encouraging the women to support it.

CRTV

Students in the University of Buea (UB) have continued writing their Second Semester examinations scheduled from June 28-July 18, 2016. On Monday, 11 July, lecturers went on strike, with examinations reportedly overseen mainly by support staff. According to the Registrar, Prof. Roland Ndip, the examinations have been going on hitch-free. He added that the University Senate meets on 3 August during which results will be discussed and approved before being published online. This is so that students in any part of the country and abroad can easily access their results.

Asked about the strike action by lecturers of the university, the Registrar concerted with another school official and then refused to make any statement. However, Cameroon Tribune was able to speak to the First Vice President of the National Syndicate of Teachers of Higher Education (SYNES), Buea chapter, Dr. Ndeh Martin Sango. He confirmed that they actually declared a strike, but it had just been suspended.

“We decided to strike during exams because of unpaid bonuses. These are bonuses for the supervision of long essays, leave claims, re-sit exams, supervision of Master’s theses, and bonuses related to extra working hours. These bonuses date back to 2013 and all attempts to get the university to pay them have failed,” Dr. Ndeh Martin Sango explained. He continued; “We suspended the strike after pleas by students and parents as some of the students will be writing public competitive exams. We decided to suspend the strike so that these students should not suffer innocently. However, we will continue with the strike by withdrawing our services from re-sit exams. We will not start lectures in October if the bonuses are not paid,” he warned.

The union leader alleged that the University of Buea is going through serious administrative crisis, reason why the authorities were not open to dialogue. “We gave the administration a one-month notification before the strike. If the administration was proactive, they would have called the executive of SYNES for dialogue and probably, we would not have declared a strike. In the absence of dialogue, there is always an alternative and we saw strike action as an alternative,” Dr. Ndeh Martin Sango said. Meanwhile, the UB authorities have on several occasions declared their openness to constructive dialogue.

Cameroon Tribune

Elechi Amadi is no more. According to Thisday newspaper, he died on June 29, 2016 in hospital in Port Harcourt, Rivers State of Nigeria, of an undisclosed ailment at the age of 82. Reacting to the news, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, said Amadi was “a consummate patriot, a great literary icon, a soldier’s soldier and development enthusiast.”

Eldred Jones, in “African Literature 1966-1967,” described the novelist as “a Nigerian author of plays and novels that are generally about African village life, customs, beliefs and religious practices, as they were before contact with the Western world.” Amadi is best remembered for his 1966 novel, “The Concubine,” which was described “an outstanding work of pure fiction.” His other works included “The Great Ponds,” “Isiburu,” “Sunset in Biafra,” “Dance of Johannesburg,” “Pepper Soup,” “The Road to Ibadan,” “The Slave,” “Estrangement,” “Les Grand Etangs,” and “The Woman of Calabar.”

Born in 1934 in Aluu, Rivers State, Amadi attended Government College, Umuahia, Survey School, Oyo and the University of Ibadan, where he obtained a degree in Physics and Mathematics in 1959. He was a land surveyor and later teacher in several schools, including the Nigerian Military School, Zaria from 1963–66. Amadi served in the Nigerian Army and remained there during the Nigerian Civil War, retiring as a Captain.

He also served in the Rivers State government as Permanent Secretary, Commissioner for Education and Commissioner for Lands and Housing. Elechi Amadi was a writer-in-residence and lecturer with the Rivers State College of Education (now Ignatius Ajuru University of Education), where he was Dean of Arts, Head of the Literature Department and Director of General Studies.

CAMTRIBUNE

The Registrar of the Cameroon GCE Board has left Buea this morning for Bamenda, the chief city in the North West region as the marking session of the 2016 session of the General Certificate Examination enters Day II. Sir Humphrey Ekema Monono is expected to arrive Bamenda in just under 3 hours.

In a telephone conversation he had with Cameroon Concord News earlier today, Sir Monono revealed that the board operates marking centers in Bamenda and Buea. The astute manager added that 9 marking centers are in BUEA and 7 in Bamenda .

The GCE Board Registrar also noted that an exhaustive marking guide have been made available to all examiners. Humphrey Monono hinted that the board staged a mechanism for effective marking which was aimed at evaluating the state of preparedness of the examiners.

EWANG John, one of the GCE assessors who confirmed that the mechanism for effective marking had indeed been carried out said it was to discover the strength and weaknesses of the examiners so as to adjust them. More than 6000 examiners are expected to mark at least 200 scripts each within 9 and 10 days respectively.

 By Besong Esther Agbor

The Intensive Vocational Training College Buea has graduated its joined 35th, 36th, and 37th batches of trainees amidst high unemployment rate in Cameroon. The graduation ceremony took place on Friday June 24, 2016 in Buea, Fako division of the South West Region. The over 400 graduates were trainees of the 2013, 2014 and 2015 academic years pending graduation from the vocational training center.

In an effort to promote the training of bilingual secretary ship as a major tool to emergence, the government of Cameroon through the Employment and Vocational Training Ministry created six (6) public vocational training centers nationwide. The Intensive Vocational Training Centre, IVTC, Buea is the lone English center in Cameroon with five others spread across the country. The director of the center Becky Effoe Limunga revealed that vocational training promotes positive work ethics and enhance economic growth which is a prerequisite to gainful employment, asserting that, it was a golden opportunity for the public and employers to make material use of the facilities and training programs offered.

The South West Regional delegate for Employment and Vocational Training urged the students to meet up with contemporary challenges of the professional. The students were schooled on computerized accountancy, bilingual secretary ship and other lucrative courses. It is a one year training program upon which the trainee is issued an academic diploma.

Cham Victor Bama (Cameroon Concord News)