Elizabeth Mosima
8 April 2008
Some schools have decided to continue with classes for one week in order to prepare for official examinations.
March 28, 2008 was the official closing date for schools for the Easter break in Cameroon. However, some schools do not seem to be observing the break. In Yaounde, one can easily see school children of different institutions clad in their uniforms carrying their school bags as if it was the normal school period. The question that comes to mind is whether Easter holiday are worth observing or not. It has been noted that most of the school children are students of private colleges and high schools. The Easter holidays is supposed to run for two weeks. Some schools have decided to continue with classes for one week in order to prepare the children for official examinations. According to the manager of the English High School in Yaounde, Atem Haddison, the school went on Easter break one week ago but the examination classes, (form five and upper sixth form) did not go for holidays. He explained that form five and upper sixth students were writing the mock GCE examinations before the closing date. The closing date was March 28 and schools are expected to resume on April 14.
The students finished writing the mock GCE on Saturday, April 5. The last week of holiday will be used for classes. According to the manager, the subjects that are being taught more now are those which the teachers have not yet been able to complete their syllabuses. "This is because the third term is too short. The teachers want to use the last week to cover up the syllabuses that have not been covered." he said. "As a result a special time table has been drawn up for this purpose. When schools resume on Monday, the rest of the school will be present and school will continue normally." he added.
Concerning the idea of students wearing their school uniforms even though it is holiday period, the manager said, they prefer the students to dress in their uniforms because they can be easily identified in case of any problem. He said much effort is being made by the school authorities to ensure the best results. He regretted the fact that even though teachers are being paid for extra hours and all facilities are being provided for the students to have a chance of succeeding, some students do not bother to attend. He said the school has no problems with the government as far as classes are concerned. "As a private school we recognise that it is very important for our students to perform well." he said.
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