Education under Attack in Cameroon: The Effects of the Socio-Political Crisis on the Anglophone Sub-System of Education of the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon
Keywords:
Anglophone sub-system of education, Non-state armed groups, Armed Conflict, Education, Anglophone Regions
Abstract
Cameroon’s Anglophone regions have been the theatre of an armed conflict since late 2017 between government forces and Anglophone Non-state armed groups (NSAG). The sociopolitical crisis that started in 2016 has deteriorated overtime and has led to violent clashes between armed forces, killings, internal displacement and a growing atmosphere of fear, insecurity and incertitude. In late 2016, Anglophone Common Law lawyers and Teachers’ Trade Unions organized peaceful strikes across the two Anglophone regions to denounce among others, the systematic assimilation process of the Anglo-Saxon legal and education system into the Francophone system. According to them, the educational system is made up of two sub systems: the Anglophone subsystem of education based on the Anglo-Saxon model and the Francophone subsystem following the French model, and each must maintain its peculiarities. In response to the strikes, the government clamped down on the Common Law lawyers and Anglophone peaceful protesters who joined the protests to denounce the perceived marginalization and assimilation of Anglophones. By late 2017, the situation quickly degenerated into an armed conflict with Anglophone Non-state armed groups transforming the teachers’ strike into a school boycott campaign, shutting down education in most parts of the Anglophone regions. As a result, the education sector came under attack by the burning of schools and attacks on students, teachers, parents and education officials by Non-state armed groups. This situation has had devastating effects on the education sector as several hundreds of thousands of school children and students have been deprived of education since 2016. The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons why education is under attack in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon.
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2. Akame, G.A. et al. (2021), “Baseline Research: Education in Crisis in the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon”, Solidarity and Development Initiative (SODEI), 27 Old Gloucester Street London, United Kingdom.
3. Amnesty International, (2017), “Cameroon: Inmates ‘Packed like Sardines’ in Overcrowded Prisons Following Deadly Anglophone Protests”, Published on the 13th of October, 2017, Retrieved on the 25th of August, 2021, https://www.amnesty.org.
4. BBC News, (2019), “Students Football Team Abducted in Anglophone Cameroon”, Published on the 20th of March, 2019, Retrieved on the 20th of August, 2021, https://www.bbc.com.
5. Bush, K. D. and Saltarelli, D. (2000), “Two Faces of Education in the Ethnic Conflict: Towards a Peacebuilding Education for Children”, Technical Report, UNICEF, Innocenti Insight.
6. Craig, J. (2021), “Violence in Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis Takes High Civilian Toll”, Retrieved on the 1st of September, 2021, https://www.aljazeera.com.
7. Daily News Cameroon, (2019), “Ambazonia Fighters Set Vehicle of S.W. Education Boss Ablaze”, Published on the 4th of February, 2019, Retrieved on the 28th of August, 2021, https://www.dailynewscameroon.com.
8. Duarte, L.C. and Cano, A.F. (2016), “Impact of Armed Conflicts on Education and Educational Agents: A Multivocal Review”, Educare, Vol. 20, No. 3.
9. Durbin, A.S. (2018), “Cameroon in Crisis: Kidnapped Children and the Anglophone/Francophone Divide”, Published on the 6th of November, 2018, Retrieved on the 20th of June, 2021, Jewish World Watch, https://www.jww.org.
10. Forku, R. (2020), “UNICEF Alarmed by Spike in School Attacks in Cameroon”, Retrieved on the 1st of September, 2021, https://www.aa.com.tr.
11. GCPEA, (2020), “Education Under Attack 2020, Widespread Attacks on Education Worldwide More than 11,000 attacks in Past 5 Years”, published on the 9th of July 2020, Retrieved on the 1st September, 2021, https://reliefweb.int.
12. Human Rights Watch, (2018), “Cameroon: Armed Separatists holding School Principal”, Published on the 29th of May, 2018, Accessed on the 1st of June, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/news.
13. Human Rights Watch, (2020), “World Report 2020: Cameroon events 2019”, Retrieved on the 1st of September, 2021, https://www.hrw.org.
14. Human Rights Watch, (2020), “Cameroon: Gunmen Massacre School Children”, Retrieved on the 1st of September, 2021, https://www.hrw.org.
15. ICRC, (2017), “Framework for Access to Education, International Committee of the Red Cross”, Retrieved on the 1st of September, 2021, https://www.icrc.org.
16. International Crisis Group, (2019), “Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: How to Get to Talks?”, Crisis Group Africa Report No. 272, Published on the 2nd of May, 2019, Accessed on the 9th of May, 2021, https://.www.crisisgroup.org.
17. International Crisis Group, (2017), “Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis at the Crossroad”, Crisis Group African Briefing, Retrieved on the 25th of August, 2021, https://www.crisisgroup.org.
18. Journal du Cameroun, (2018), “Cameroon: At Least 17 Bamenda University Students Freed from Captivity”, Published on the 13th of December, 2018, Retrieved on the 1st of September, 2021, https://.www.journalducameroun.com.
19. Journal du Cameroun, (2021), “Cameroon: Gendarme Officer Shoots Child to Death in Buea”, Retrieved on the 28th of October, 2021, https://www.journalducameroun.com.
20. Justino, P. (2014), “Barriers to Education in Conflict-Affected Countries and Policy Opportunities”, Institute of Development Studies, UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).
21. Kindzeka, M. (2020), “Cameroon Teachers, Students Abandon Schools After Attacks”, Retrieved on the 1st of September, 2021, https://www.voanews.com/africa.
22. Mimi Mefo Info, (2019), “Kidnapped Kumbo School Girls Released”, Published on the 16th of February, 2019, Retrieved on the 25th of August, 2021, mimimefoinfo.mobile.facebook.com.
23. Molua, P.E. (2021), “Human Rights and Intrastate Conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon”, An Unpublished Doctorate Dissertation from the University of Buea, Cameroon.
24. Nkongho, F.A. (2018), “Crisis in the Republic of Cameroon”, Written Statement by Felix Agbor Nkongho, Founder and Chairman, Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, Delivered on the 27th of June, 2018 to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International, Organizations, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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28. Shemyakina, O. (2011), “The Effect of Armed Conflict on Accumulation of Schooling: Results from Tajikistan”, Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 95, No. 2.
29. Stewart, F. et al. (2001a), War and Underdevelopment, Volume 1: The Economic and Social Consequences of Conflict, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
30. Stewart, F. et al. (2001b), War and Underdevelopment, Volume 2: Country Experiences, Oxford: University Press.
31. The Standard Tribune, (2017), “The Government Just Banned SCNC and Consortium”, Retrieved on the 13th September, 2021, https://www.thestandardtribune.com.
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34. UNICEF, (2019), “More than 855,000 Children remain out of school in North-West and South-West Cameroon, Press release, Retrieved on the 1st of September, 2021, https://www.unicef.org.
35. UNICEF (2019), “UNICEF: Cameroon Humanitarian Situation Report, November 2019”, Retrieved on the 1st of September, 2021, https://reliefweb.int.
36. U.S. Congress (2019), “116th Congress, 1st Session, H. Res. 358”, Published on the 7th of May, 2019, Accessed on the 18th of May, 2021, https://www.ushouseofrepresentatives.gov.
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38. Watkins, K. (2013), “Education Without Borders: A Report From Lebanon on Syria’s Out-of-School Children”, A World at School.
Published
2021-12-21
How to Cite
[1]
Eposi, T.K. and Ewange, M.P. 2021. Education under Attack in Cameroon: The Effects of the Socio-Political Crisis on the Anglophone Sub-System of Education of the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon. International Journal on Integrated Education. 4, 12 (Dec. 2021), 156-171. DOI:https://doi.org/10.17605/ijie.v4i12.2527.
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Copyright (c) 2021 Tande Kate Eposi, Molua Patrick Ewange
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