Cyber-cafés congest UB street

The University of Buea, UB, in its effort to move with the evolving technological world, has left its streets crowded with makeshift cyber-café operators who claim be helping candidates register online as required by the University.

The online registration, which was introduced in UB some three years ago, with the desire to ease the usually cumbersome registration process, save the institution’s information on the internet and go international, seems to have been a continuous headache to the students as complaints keep coming year-in-year-out on the hurdles involved in the process.

Though the process may not be as smooth as expected, it remains a salutary move which, it is believed people will get acquainted, with time.

The University’s prime motive for rendering UB’s information accessible online, according the Vice Chancellor, Dr. Nalova Lyonga, during an interview over CRTV Buea a few weeks ago, is to facilitate and reduce the cost and risk of people travelling to Buea every time just to get one thing or the other done.

She explained that the reason UB is doing all to ensure that, from the registration through admission and results release stages, among others, are done with ease online, without necessarily coming to Buea.

With the ongoing digital registration, some people have seen it as an opportunity and are making fast and huge sums of money from students through high charges. They seem to be exploiting the ignorant and often computer illiterate newly admitted students who are trying to fulfill their admission requirements. These opportunists have put up makeshift cyber-cafés and are exploiting the desperately-looking students.

According to UB’s Registrar, Prof. Roland Ndip, everything in the world is moving from manual towards digital, and so students are supposed to learn these things because they are useful to them.

“Online application is a usual thing I do in my office within seconds. The system is not difficult for the students; but rather, people are computer illiterates. I think the online system is ‘user friendly’.”

The Registrar said; “UB charges every student FCFA 10,000 as application fee, and FCFA 1,000 for an MTN Mobile Money account. Officially, every student is supposed to spend FCFA 11,000. Any expenditure other than this, incurred by students, does not come to the University.”

Ndip, however, confirmed that they have discovered that students plunge themselves into risks by not solving their problems in the right quarters.

He said UB has not asked students to go and hang about under the canopies of exploiters; neither has it authorised any group of people to do online application or registration on behalf of the University. “University of Buea is not going to be responsible for any mishap,” he warned.

Delphine Ekomken, a UB freshman, said she doesn’t like online operations because it gives room for students to be cheated by manipulating the keyboard.

“At times, they give us wrong information in their own interests, which is very detrimental,” she lamented.

Even though some students say the online process is said by to be complicated, Lyra Ekaney has a contrary view; “I prefer online registration because it is easier than the manual system of standing in long lines for hours. It is worth maintaining, because, it helps even people in distant places.”

On why the cyber-café operators are exploiting the students, Jude Waindim, one of the cyber-café controllers explained that some of them charge the students high because, they know the students are new in town and usually carry enough cash on them.

“The best thing is for UB to institute a standard price for all who intend to work on its online application or registration process.”

While the Registrar had said no authorisation has been given to any cyber-cafe to operate on UB Street, some of these cyber-café attendants still claim they have authorisation.