Public Schools Without Teachers...

Most classrooms in the rural areas have limited or no teachers to deliver the goods.

UNESCO's ratio of one teacher per 45 pupils or students seems to be a far-fetched dream in public schools in Cameroon. Information indicates that schools, mostly those in the rural areas, have few teachers to teach pupils or students.

Moreover, majority of teachers available are not trained. Schools are forced to use their services in a bid to avoid pupils staying without lectures. Whereas, thousands of qualified teachers exist in the country but are unemployed or rather prefer to concentrate their teaching skills in the urban areas or different professional fields.

Others may say the management of teachers in the country is a regrettable squandering of human resources especially given that qualified teachers are hard to come by in many other African countries. But teachers say the logistical support, lack of finance to improve working conditions are some of the reasons why poor quality of education is offered in some public schools in the country, particularly in remote areas.

At times, one teacher is required to teach two classes because of lack of staff. Some teachers who do not even master Shakespeare's language are forced to teach English Language to students. The story is same when teaching the French Language or philosophy subject, amongst others. A teacher at times has about three classes of over 60 pupils or students to teach. The consequences are poor results and high school dropout rate.

Three or two teachers for six classes are the reality at a public school some 300 km northwest of Douala in the Littoral Region. Made-up of three adobe bungalows, it suffers from a chronic shortage of teachers, as do many schools in the northern regions of the country. A statistician who opts for anonymity says when one leaves the urban areas and travels to the countryside, he/she will be able to gauge the extent of the disaster: one-room schools (with a single teacher responsible for six different levels), twinned courses taught by individuals with no appropriate training and establishments where more than 85 per cent of teachers are unpaid volunteers, best describe the scarcity of teachers in several remote regions in the country.

Several young teachers do not immediately take up duty because of the long wait for salary. Their absence has not helped the situation. At times, even when the salary is available and constant, they seek to be transferred to other schools because their current duty post is not only in a remote area, but also that the place is unbearable to stay in due to lack of basic living commodities. Perhaps, government's promise to improve the conditions of teachers appointed to teach in such areas might be the major way forward for a better education in the country.