High school principal accused of extorting money from parents

Ngoundou Garba, headmaster of Ngambè-Tikar school in the department of Mbam-et-Kim, Central Region, is accused by a group of parents of the bilingual school of increasing costs of folders for official examinations, against the advice of his superiors.

On October 27, Jean Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe, the new Minister of Secondary Education (MINESEC), fixed the schedule of exams and fees required to be observed in the composition of files.

For example in the law, examination fees for the BEPC amounted to 3500 FCFA. Besides these expenses, parents often have to add 1,000 FCFA for a stamp to be affixed to the application for registration, another 1,000 FCFA and 200 FCFA (common stamp), not to mention the 1,000 FCFA for the half-sized Photo.

The total amounts to 6700 FCFA and at the "high school in Ngambé-Tikar, the principal requested the payment of 7700 FCFA for the BEPC, 5700 FCFA against the year before, 11,700 FCFA for probationary against 9700 last year, 13,700 FCFA for Bachelor, against 11 700FCFA, the year before, an increase in 2000 FCFA per student" refers a parent of a student to KOACI denouncing " extortion used for ulterior purposes."

This increment was made without explanation or direction by the high school, we learn. "The headmaster has decided on the margins of the decision of MINESEC" says our source, denouncing embezzlement, in addition to 500 CFA francs required for each badge, and 1000 FCFA for booklet.

Parents of students are convinced that these are "unduly paid" given the number of candidates for official examinations at this establishment with a capacity of more than 2,500 students.

Other sources at MINESEC indicate that there is a misunderstanding about the new fee increase for official examinations.