📋 Tender Overview
The Northwest Region of Cameroon has been deeply affected by the ongoing Anglophone crisis, which has had a significant impact on education in the region. This study aims to assess the impact of the crisis on education in the region. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative methods. Quantitative methods were used to analyse data on school enrolment, dropout rates and access to education. A total of 300 questionnaires were administered and 220 were returned. The findings of the study show that school enrolment has decreased significantly and dropout rates have increased due to the crisis. The study further found that the crisis has had a profoundly negative impact on education in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. The study, therefore, recommends actions to address the impact of the crisis and to ensure that children can access quality education.
In modern society, the majority of the population depends on the education of children as a source of future economic and social growth and increasing technological know-how. Above all, education is a basic human need that can ensure development. Studies have proven that aside from the fact that education is a basic human right for all children, it is also a powerful tool by which social and economic development can be attained and is a way of lifting children out of poverty. Education is a basic human right necessary for socially and economically marginalised children and adults to lift themselves out of poverty.
Human Rights Watch argues that education ‘can break generational cycles of poverty by enabling children to gain life skills and knowledge needed to cope with today’s challenges.’1 Education is linked to the creation of concrete improvements in health and nutrition, improving children’s chances for survival. It is believed that education is a powerful protection factor as ‘children who are in school are less likely to come into conflict with the law’ and they are ‘much less vulnerable to rampant forms of child exploitation, including child labour, trafficking and recruitment into armed groups and forces.’2 Education is considered a right and not a privilege, as every child has the right to be educated. According to Norad, the right to education is a fundamental human right. Every individual, irrespective of race, gender, nationality, ethnic or social origin, religion or political preferences, age or disability, is entitled to a free elementary education.3
Although the Republic of Cameroon has a rich geography and cultural diversity, it has many challenges, including growing inequality and economic weaknesses, which create problems relating to education. The crisis in the Northwest Region (NWR) is not an exception. Even though the crisis exists, many people still find it difficult to define and identify its root causes. Ngoh writes: ‘Although it is generally agreed that there is an Anglophone problem in Cameroon, it is not easy to define it.’4 The problem of the crisis revolves around the cultural identity of a minority people in a union whose first rights are for equal recognition to exist in Cameroon. This has led to Anglophones forcefully claiming equal rights as citizens in Cameroon with Francophones, who are treated better, according to the Anglophones. ‘Anglophones feel and claim the rights to exist as citizens of Cameroon and to be treated equally with their other partner the Francophones,’ according to Ngoh.5 It was this manifestation that sparked inter-tribal wars, which are common in Cameroon’s history, such as the conflicts in 1990, 2008 and 2016. These conflicts occurred because the government failed to address the immediate issues, which often led to other issues arising.
The violation of children’s right to education has negatively impacted society, as there is a high crime rate, increased illiteracy rate, and decrease in technological competency. As a result, there are calls for the government to see to it that children’s right to education is respected, as this will boost economic and social growth and development in the NWR. As a means of achieving human rights, the United Nations created a comprehensive body of human rights law in a universal and international protected code, to which all nations can subscribe.
In Cameroon, in as much as the government strives to see to it that the children of the NWR are educated, since 2016, the doors of most schools remain closed, as part of the boycott against education. Most schools are unable to reopen due to threats of violent attacks. An ACAPS report states that: ‘Separatist armed groups and unknown assailants have damaged, destroyed, or burnt down at least 74 schools in the NWSW [Northwest and Southwest] regions since the beginning of the conflict in June 2019.’6 In Nchum, Bafut, in the NWR, at least two incidents occurred from January to September 2020, one involving military occupation and the other the alleged burning and damaging of two non-operational primary school buildings. The schools were non-operational because of COVID-19 and the socio-political crisis.7
Armed groups have deliberately prevented children from attending school in the NWR, as they believe this might assist them in attaining their goals in the region. Some separatist armed groups are protesting against the Government of Cameroon (GoC) education system by forcing schools to close and attacking students, teachers and educational facilities. In 2017, the separatists imposed a boycott on formal education that uses the GoC’s curriculum, and most schools in the NWSW regions are closed for the fourth consecutive year. Targeting schools thus has both a political and economic dimension to it, while not forgetting the social aspect of education.
