Why must teachers not “Fall Bush”?

For some time now, Secondary Education authorities in Cameroon have been expressing a lot of worries on the alarming increase of teachers flying out of the country for greener pastures, an exercise popularly known as “falling bush”.

In fact, this disturbing situation has left most classrooms void of teachers. It has raised a frightening student, pupil-teacher ratio in most primary and secondary schools across the country. The situation is quite appalling in the suburbs.

According to the Inspector of Basic Education for Nwa, in Donga-Mantung Division, Mrs. Frida Labub Menyong, the staffing situation in that area is “shameful and degrading”. She revealed that her Inspectorate has 76 Government Primary Schools with only 98 teachers teaching over 14,000 pupils. She said most of the schools have only one teacher, like the case of G.S Nkot and Mbem with more than 300 pupils but with only one teacher each.

She said the worst was that, these single teachers manning the schools are fresh from Teacher Training Schools but already school administrators. She said, more disturbing was the fact that in most of the areas, the willing-to-help Parents-Teachers Associations, PTA are left with no choice than employing secondary school drop outs, most of whom go to unteach the children. This gives reasons why in most of the hinterlands, during official examinations, teachers give the candidates the answers leaving the graduates with very doubtful certificates.

This is the picture of most primary and secondary schools in the suburbs. Although most Government Officials firmly blame this largely on teachers’ alarming rate of “bush falling”, teachers’ Trade Unions have recently blamed it on the Government. In fact, why should teachers not look for greener pastures elsewhere when our Government remains steadfast with an archaic and porous education system? Why should teachers not “fall bush” when their living conditions remain horrible, desperate and frustrating. In fact they offer too much and are paid catechist allowances in the name of salaries.

Government refuses to give them a reasonable documentation and research allowances, left alone an allowance for dressing like in some professions of lesser worth to teaching.

In fact, why should they not go for greener pastures when Government deliberately refuses to heed to their cry. Since the year 2000 that the teachers’ status was signed, a text of application had never been signed.

The Teachers’ Trade Unions of Cameroon (about eleven of them) took two years to negotiate their plight with the Government yet, the President of the Republic has remained adamant to ratify the final document from the Prime Minister formed-commission that was made up of six other Ministers of State and leaders of Teachers’ Trade Unions that were instructed by the same Head of state. Teachers have gone on several strikes to no avail. What can an obedient child do to a parent who does not listen to his cries than to look for a better life elsewhere? Why should teachers not “fall bush” when appointments are no longer by merit but commercialised.

It is reliably hinted that any teacher who wants to be appointed Senior Master of Discipline, Vice Principal, or Principal needs to fill his pockets with hundreds of thousands to the Ministry and the next day he is appointed. It is told the amounts vary depending on the size of the school and place. So, those who are imposed with a lot of family responsibilities and cannot provide such amounts only go on retirement as a classroom teacher. Any teacher in this state who finds the least opportunity will only quit the system.

The worst of it is that, appointments and transfers are equally politicised. They are left in the hands of unscrupulous and vindictive pseudo-politicians. Most of the politicians especially those suspected belonging to other political parties are deposed or transferred without measuring the pedagogic implications on the students.

In the same vein, they use their positions and party to appoint some teachers to posts of responsibilities without minding about their career profiles, all of this either to show strength of belonging to the ruling party or to compensate some of those who ran around with them during elections. So, conscientious and assiduous teachers who are faced with this mess would have no option than look for greener pastures abroad.

That is why our country continuous to suffer from high brain-drain. Why must teachers not look for greener pastures when our Teacher Training Colleges, especially the private are flooded with mediocre and adventurers who come out half-baked to unteach our children. Since some private schools are business inclined, the proprietors admit just anybody without minding the supposed qualification.

Even some Government Officials assigned to check their functioning are smartly paid-off by these shylocks of proprietors. The latter wants but money and not output. Christ the King Teacher Training College Nkambe is not far from this picture. When some teachers who went through the same education find a Government that continuous to produce mediocre in the name of their colleagues, they are condemned to single out themselves by going out of the system.

Most of the teachers do not find themselves comfortable with a system whereby the supervision and evaluation of national examinations which are the teachers’ end–product are commercialised and left in the hands of academic gangsters or intellectual dishonest men. Some examination authorities choose to recruit superintendents or examiners on percentage negotiations. Some Cameroon G.C.E liaison officers prefer to replace superintendents appointed by the Board on the basis of percentage payment or family relation thus frustrating others and discrediting the Board for nothing. Some times these are done even by flaunting the G.C.E. regulations enforced.

Some teachers are equally disturbed when their colleagues continue on the marking list for close to 30 years while others who have taught for over ten years have never been given the opportunity to evaluate what is taught. So, teaching without evaluation at that level is frustrating, and solace can only be found elsewhere when you are denied the chance. Consequently, if the Government must properly check the surge of “bush falling” by teachers, she must take up her responsibilities.

The Presidency should ratify the document on his table on the teachers’ plight; the text of application for the teachers’ status should equally be signed because this alone will check a lot of nuances in the teaching corps.

After signing a call for an education forum by the Cameroon teachers’ Trade Union-CATU, to revamp the System, the Government announced it two years ago but that did not hold. In fact, the holding of an education forum in Cameroon remains an imposing imperative.

In all, the sing song about the emergence of Cameroon by 2035 without improving on our educational system will be blasphemy, and a preparation for doom.