Kini Nsom & Leocadia Bongben
23 November 2008
The sacking of some six students of the Higher Teachers Training School, ENS, Yaounde, last week, has unveiled the corruption and laxity that characterise the entrance examinations into professional schools in the country.
ENS Director, Prof. Andre Mvesso, signed a communiqué on the sacking of six fourth-year students of the Philosophy Department without revealing their names.The communiqué simply stated that the students, who have degrees in Law and Political Science, did not qualify to be admitted in that department.
One of the victims, who asked for anonymity, told The Post that they were duly admitted by a competent panel.The student refused to comment on allegations that they paid huge sums of money to certain quarters before being admitted into that department.
Meanwhile, a source at the Ministry of Higher Education attributed the admission of students into the Philosophy Department with Bachelor degrees in law to the laxity of the commission charged with scrutinising and the selection of candidates.
The Post learnt that the admission would have been the result of monetary transactions.
Instead, the Director of ENS was hailed for uncovering the fraud that facilitated their admission.
The source said the procedure for the admission of candidates in public examinations is administrative, academic and political.The administrative responds to the fulfilment of the requirements and the compiling of a file. The academic, demands that results indicate the qualification of the candidate and the political talks of regional balance.
It was on this premise that observers wondered how these students could have escaped the vigilance of the commission.The situation is said to have been more intriguing given that the text laying down the rules for the organisation of ENS examinations for the Philosophy Department stipulates that candidates must be holders of a degree in Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology.
The release sacking the students claims that the law scholars cannot teach Kant (an outstanding German philosopher) to High School students where introduction to "Love of Wisdom." is reserved for accredited teachers of Philosophy.
Meanwhile, the Foundation of Human Rights and Development, FHRD, has issued a press release calling on the ENS Director to explain why over 80 percent of students admitted to read Philosophy are not holders of a Bachelor degree in Philosophy.
The release that is signed by FHRD'S Executive Director, Afanyi Ngeh, after interviewing some 19 students in the 2006/2007 academic year, says less than three had degrees in Philosophy.
The same situation goes for the 2007/2008 academic year.Given that the Director tried to shirk responsibility, and put the blame on the "error of ENS auxiliary staff that were not sufficiently groomed and who were duped by unscrupulous fellows fully informed about requirements", FHRD regretted that the don consciously told the public that he recruited unqualified staff into such a prestigious institution.
The NGO qualified this as an act of incompetence and neglect of duty on the part of the Director.The human rights activist argued that if the students who were discovered during registration must be dismissed, then all the other students who went into the school through fraud must be dismissed.
He argued that the students could be sent to different departments since the reason for their dismissal was lack of qualification to read Philosophy. FHRD holds strongly that if the six students must be dismissed, this should be same for all other students that violated the administrative texts.
The FHRD boss recommended that the Director of ENS should assume total responsibility for the organisational, administrative and technical lapses and should honourably resign.
They called on government to create a commission of inquiry to probe the conduct of the July 2008 entrance examinations into ENS Yaounde and above all, for it to create an independent public examinations board for all competitive examinations and direct recruitment into the public service.
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ENS is the worst offender when it comes to entrance bribes.The worst get in while the best who may not have had money to bribe their way through the sham interviews are left stranded, wondering what may have hit them.We are currently compiling a list of the bribe takers, date, money taken, who was the beneficiary, etc. and will hope that it goes to the PM desk.If he does not act, believe me we will know where to publish it for all Cameroonians to see.AND WE SHALL STAND BY OUR STORY.