Stakeholders deliberate on cutting Vocational training cost

In order to relieve families of huge tuition burden and allow State universities with the vocational sectors to find the right balance, the University stakeholders who participated in the National Conference on academic framing of the professionalization of University teaching in Cameroon made a few recommendations on Thursday March 19, in Yaoundé.

At the end of the workshops, participants shared the results of their deliberations in the presence of the Minister of Higher Education (Minesup), Prof. Jacques Fame Ndongo, Chancellor of academic levels.

Concerning the costs of vocational training, it was recommended that they leave the fixing of the rate at the discretion of the boards of Directors of universities, to promote vocational training, which could result in the establishment of a support fund for training more young people in vocational training for their greater involvement in the State developement.

In the same vein, on the issue of funding vocational sectors which is often very expensive, participants expressed inter alia that the opening of any vocational institute is now accompanied by a business plan that will absolve the real cost of the training and expenses related to its effective functioning, databases which would define the amount of University rights to suggest to the Board of Directors which ones are appropriate, to validate and apply it.

They also proposed that the Ministry of Higher Education makes a separate text regulating these conditions of vocational training for each level of training and that the opening of a professional sector is preceded by setting up a platform involving the socio-professional environments to ensure the relevance of the proposed training.

A few axes of partnership were also outlined. This was inter alia to review the Charter signed between the Minesup and the Gicam to update the major axes and creating a status for the student intern.