Inclusive Education in Cameroon: Progressive Increase in Stakeholder Involment
The launching of the We Ring the Bell (WRTB) 2023 Campaign takes place in Cameroon with the massive participation of major stakeholders. Holding under the patronage of the Minister of Social Affairs Her Excellency Mme Pauline Irene Nguene, the event equally witnessed the presence of the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Marie-Therese Abena Ondoa. Other Ministries present included Basic, Secondary and Higher Education, as well as the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training. Also present were representatives from other government structures, the Mayor of Yaounde Six Council (host municipality of the event), and representatives of National and International Non-Governmental Organizations.
We Ring the Bell 2023 Campaign launched on May 4, is celebrated under the theme “Moving From Policy to Practice: Inclusive Education for Children With Disabilities in Cameroon”.
With key stakeholders actively involved in the campaign, there is assurance for a continuous bright future for children, youths and adults with disabilities acquiring quality education and meeting their full potentials in #Cameroon.
Significant strides by the Government were detailed in a presentation by Mme Angelica Ambe Mundi, Director for the Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly at the Ministry of Social Affairs (MINAS), #Cameroon. She noted that 70 pilot public schools are already developing an integrated and inclusive education approach in Cameroon. Mme Ambe equally gave a litany of the successes realized in Cameroon in the Education of Children with Disabilities since the WRTB campaign started in 2016.
She reveals that thanks to partnership with the CBC Health Services, a lot has been achieved in the domain of protecting and promoting the rights of children with disabilities in the country.
The discourse of the Director of CBC Health Services Prof Tih was rich in content and details the work of the CBC Health Services through its Services for Persons with Disabilities Programs. (Published below in its entirety).
“It is a great pleasure for the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services to join hands with the Government of Cameroon once more to launch the 2023 Edition of the Annual “We Ring the Bell Campaign”. We are very happy with the theme of this event chosen by MINAS: From Policy to Practice; Inclusive Education for Children with Disabilities. This shows that we need to pause and take stock of what our talking and campaigning for the past years have enabled us to achieve.
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am very happy to highlight to you what the CBC Health Services in Partnership with the Ministry of Social Affairs, Basic Education, Secondary Education and some institutions of Higher Learning in Cameroon have been able to achieve in the domain of Inclusive Education. These achievements are categorized in the domains of Capacity Building and recruitment of inclusive education teachers, Provision of Scholarships and Assistive Devices; Sensitization and Awareness Raising
- Capacity Building: The CBCHS in partnership with the Regional Delegations for Basic and Secondary Educations in the Northwest and West regions of the country has built the capacities of 288 teachers to be able to teach learners with impairments and those without impairment in the same classroom.
- Recruitment of Inclusive teachers: We have recruited and are supporting the payment of the salary of 15 special needs teachers in schools in the Northwest, West, Center, East and Far North Regions. They support the regular teachers to better teach children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms.
- Provision of Scholarships and Assistive Devices: With Support from the Liliane Foundation, we provide scholarships to 2500 learners with disabilities on yearly basis that cover their school fees in private schools, didactic materials and assistive devices like crutches, braille, slates, styluses, talking clocks, talking calculators, etc, to enable learners with disabilities study comfortably in the same classrooms like their peers without an impairment.
- Inclusive School Clubs: We have created 10 inclusive school clubs with student ambassadors who are championing Inclusive Education in their schools.
- Parent Support Groups: We have created 200 parent support groups in 9 regions of Cameroon grouping more than 2000 parents of learners with disabilities who share experiences and solutions to inclusive education in Cameroon.
- Successful Pilot of Inclusive Education in Government Schools: In collaboration with the Delegations of Secondary Education and Social Affairs in the West Region, we have successfully piloted inclusive education in two of the largest government schools in the West Region: Lycee Classique and Lycee Bilingue. This was done by modifying some infrastructure by creating ramps, providing resource room with computers, braille machines, embossers, tape recorders, talking software, etc
- Technical and Material Support to GCE Board: We have supported the GCE Board with braille Machines and embossers to ensure that exams are always accessible to students with disabilities,, built the capacity of staff on inclusive examination practices and provided continuous technical support. The GCE Board has created special inclusive examination centres through our advocacy, where learners with all types of impairment can comfortably write national examinations. These include BHS Buea, BGS Molyko, GBHS Bamenda and Lyee Bilinque Bafoussam.
- Provision of School Buses: Through our Partnership with MIVA, we have applied, received and donated school buses to PROMHANDICAM, Foundation Edu-Rehab, CUIB Buea, Ecole de Sourd Bertoua, Tertiary Sister in Bamenda and SAJOCAH Bafut to enable them transport children with disabilities to schools and back.
- Research: In Partnership with Radboud University in the Netherlands, we carry out research on an annual basis to inform us on gaps in inclusive education and recommendations on how to close these gaps. Our recent research informed us that pre-schooling for children with disabilities is very important to enable them to have the necessary skills so that they can be well included in mainstream schools.
All of these interventions have been possible thanks to the partnership and Enabling Environment we receive from her Excellency, the Minister of Social Affairs, the Minister of Basic education and the Minister of Secondary Education. We extend our sincere appreciation to all of you and pledge to continue to collaborate with you in assisting children living with impairment.
Inspite of all these successes there are still challenges which prevent the CBCHS from completely attaining its objective and contributing to the government achievements of the SDG 4. These challenges include but not limited to the following:
- Almost all education infrastructure are not adapted to learners with disabilities, especially learners on wheelchairs.
- The Cameroon Education Curriculum is not adapted to the needs of learners with disabilities
- There is a generalized negative attitude towards children with disabilities
- There are a limited number of inclusive schools and teachers in Cameroon
- There is ignorance of the 2010 law by some school authorities leading to the refusal to admit children with disabilities in some public schools.
Your Excellencies, distinguish Ladies and Gentlemen,
For us to accelerate the movement from policy to practice, I recommend that:
- The Ministries of Social Affairs, Secondary Education, Basic Education, Higher Education and other key Ministries, together with the national and international partners of inclusive education in Cameroon, should form a community of practice for Inclusive Education and hold quarterly reflection meetings on how to continuously move from policy to practice
- The government should put in place a system of reward and sanction for Head Teachers and Delegates who dispise or fail to apply the 2010 law.
- We pray the government ot work with financial and technical partners to plan and provide capacity building to key teachers of the basic, secondary and tertiary education sectors on to effectively function as trainers and teachers of children with disabilities in mainstream public schools.
- The government should engage technical and financial partners to Support the relevant Ministries in revising the Training curricula used to train teachers and lecturers in disability inclusive education.
- The government should provide and equip resource rooms in all public schools to facilitate the teaching and learning of children with impairment. These resource rooms should have the basic assistive devices needed by children with disabilities
- We encourage the government to conduct an accessibility audit in all government schools to determine the feasibility of inclusive education in all schools in Cameroon.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The CBC Health Services is committed to working with the Government of Cameroon through its relevant ministries to ensure that inclusive education is not only existing as a policy and being talked about, but that it is actually being practiced.
I greatly appreciate Her Excellency, Madam Paulene Irene Ngeune for organizing the 2023 edition of We Ring the Bell Campaign. This is very commendable.
I wish to end this brief address by expressing my sincere appreciation to the Liliane Foundation for the continuous support givden to children with disabilities in Cameroon. I wish to thank everyone who signed up to participate in the 2023 edition of e ring the Bell campaign. My appreciations goes also to the organizing committee for s job well done.
God Bless Her Excellency the Minister of Social Affairs,
God Bless the Ministers of Basic, Secondary and Higher Education as well as other Ministries working in Collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs for the realization of Inclusiv Education in cameroon
God bless the CBC Health Services and her partners,
God Bless, the President of the Republic of Cameroon
God Bless Cameroon.
Sincerely,
Prof. Tih Pius Muffih, MPH, PhD
Director of CBC Health Services”