Teachers Certificate Exam: Anglophones get all french instructions

Despite recent general outcry by Anglophone Cameroonians over government’s policy of systematic eradication of the English language in the country and their second fiddle treatment by Yaounde, the general organization of the 2015 edition of Teachers’ Grade One Certificate examination, under the auspices of the Ministry of Secondary Education, once again violated the rights of Anglophone candidates.

Examination instructions to candidates and invigilators in the Anglophone zones of the country were all in the French language to the detriment of Anglophone candidates most of whom know very little French.

The preamble, for instance, of the candidates’ answer sheets that required candidates’ general information and other necessary information about the exam were all printed in French.

Statements or phrases like 'nom', 'prenoms dans l’ordre de l’acte de naissance', 'nom en lettres majuscules d’imprimerie', 'numero de table du candidat', 'signature du surveillant', 'ne rien ecrire dans ce cadre', 'signature du correcteur', 'numero intercalaires', and many others were all in French; not even with the English equivalent as is sometimes the case.

The forms that required invigilators to fill in cases of irregularities were also all in the French language. They were titled “proces-verbal de surveillance” with no English equivalence either.

The monolingual instructions and information for candidates were signed as “Le Directeur des Examens des Concours et de la Certification.” And again, there was no English equivalence. The paper was signed in French by Bisse Bea.

Some of the student Teachers in Bamenda who spoke to the Cameroon Journal on July 9 lamented that, they could not understand why in a bilingual country like Cameroon, the French language was being imposed on them when they did their studies entirely in the English language. The students called on the authorities in charge to normalize the situation in the 2016 session of the examination.

Hon Cyprain Awudu Mbaya, SDF Member of Parliament, recently took the laws into his hands when he went on the rampage in Ayaba Hotel, Bamenda tearing down every sign in the hotel that didn’t have a corresponding title in English; in disapproval of the alienation of the English Language in Cameroon by the Biya’s regime.

The issue of Anglophone marginalization has been raised of late by Anglophone Lawyers, South West Chiefs, South West Elites Association, and most recently by some Anglophone Parliamentarians.

In the meantime, two months have crawled by, since May 9, 2015, when Anglophone Lawyers gave President Paul Biya'S government six months to address the issue of Anglophone marginalization. So far, nothing has come from the government as per the position it intends to take.

The conduct of the 2015 student Teachers' end of course examination has come to confirm the hypothesis that in Cameroon, you “speak as you want about the marginalization of Anglophones and the English Language, nobody cares.”

It should be noted that the constitution of Cameroon puts French and English at the same level. Part 1, Article one (3) of the preamble of the constitution states that: “The official languages of the Republic of Cameroon shall be English and French; both languages having the same status. The state shall guarantee the promotion of bilingualism throughout the country.”