| ISBN | 9789956558155 |
| Pages | 376 |
| Dimensions | 229 x 152 mm |
| Published | 2008 |
| Publisher | Langaa RPCIG, Cameroon |
| Format | Paperback |
The Cameroon GCE Crisis
A Test of Anglophone Solidarity
edited by Richard Fonteh Akum, Francis B. Nyamnjoh
This book richly documents the battles fought by the Anglophone community in Cameroon to safeguard the General Certificate of Education (GCE), a symbol of their cherished colonial heritage from Britain, from attempts by agents of the Ministry of National Education to subvert it. These battles opposed a mobilised and determined Anglophone civil society against numerous machinations by successive Francophone- dominated governments to destroy their much prided educational system in the name of 'national integration'. When Southern Cameroonians re-united with La République du Cameroun in 1961, they claimed that they were bringing into the union 'a fine education system' from which their Francophone compatriots could borrow. Instead, they found themselves battling for decades to save their way of life. Central to their concerns and survival as a community is an urgent need for cultural recognition and representation, of which an educational system free of corruption and trivialisation through politicisation is a key component.
Reviews
“… impressively details how repeated attempts by the Ministry of National Education were stoutly resisted and checkmated by the resolute and unanimous will of the Anglophone community… solidly united in one determined resolve, namely, to save the integrity and credibility of the Anglophone Educational system in Cameroon. It was a marvellous, admirable and peaceful demonstration of unity in the cause of the Common Good of all Cameroonian children.″
“Running the GCE Board has been a major challenge. Initially, unwilling to accept defeat, Dr. Robert Mbella Mbappe, the minister, put in place one scheme after the other to frustrate the Board, make it fail and then return control of it to the central services of his Ministry.“
About the Editors
Richard Fonteh Akum is currently with the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Dakar, Senegal. He has researched and published on various aspects of society in Cameroon.
Francis B. Nyamnjoh joined the University of Cape Town in August 2009 as Professor of Social Anthropology from the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Dakar, Senegal, where he served as Head of Publications from July 2003 to July 2009. He has taught sociology, anthropology and communication studies at universities in Cameroon and Botswana, and has researched and written extensively on Cameroon and Botswana. In October 2012 he received a University of Cape Town Excellence Award for “Exceptional Contribution as a Professor in the Faculty of Humanities”. He is recipient of the “ASU African Hero 2013” annual award by the African Students Union, Ohio University, USA. He is: a B1 rated Professor and Researcher by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF); a Fellow of the Cameroon Academy of Science since August 2011; a fellow of the African Academy of Science since December 2014; a fellow of the Academy of Science of South Africa since 2016; and Chair of the Editorial Board of the South African Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Press since January 2011. His scholarly books include: Africa’s Media, Democracy and the Politics of Belonging (2005); Insiders and Outsiders: Citizenship and Xenophobia in Contemporary Southern Africa (2006); “C'est l'homme qui fait l'homme”: Cul-de-Sac Ubuntu-ism in Côte d'Ivoire (2015); and #RhodesMustFall: Nibbling at Resilient Colonialism in South Africa (2016).