700,000 Secured Certificates Awarded in Basic Education

Twenty four years after the last primary school certificate was delivered in Cameroon, the Ministry of Basic Education officially handed over 700,000 "New Look" certificates to primary school leavers and Grade One teachers during an official ceremony that took place in Yaounde on Friday, October 19th, 2012.

Beneficiaries were holders of the First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC), the "Certificat d'études primaries" (CEP) and the Teacher's Grade One Certificate (CAPIEMP) of the 2009, 2010 and 2011 sessions. While a sample of the laureates from the Centre Region received their certificates from the Minister of Basic Education, Youssouf Hadidja Alim, and other members of government and dignitaries present, Regional Delegates of Basic Education received certificates meant for their respective regions.

Minister Youssouf Hadidja Alim congratulated the beneficiaries and underscored the key role played by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in offering scholarships and birth certificates that enabled many children to attend school and sit for official examinations. For her, the primary school certificate is of great importance as it permits children to gain access to all aspects of life. If the economic crisis of the eighties prompted a halt in the award of certificates in 1989, she said, the use of results testimonials that followed was not spared by falsifications and challenges faced by laureates in obtaining the testimonials.

Following instructions of the Head of State for the progressive deliverance of certificates, the Ministry of Basic Education inscribed in its 2012 roadmap to print secured certificates in France. "Deliverance of certificates from 1990 to 2008 will be done progressively," the Minister promised.

The ceremony was witnessed by the Minister of Vocational Training, Zacharie Perevet and representatives of several ministries as well as the Circle of Friends of Cameroon (CERAC), Chantal Biya Foundation, among others.