Timely Decision!

The announced special recruitment of some 2,000 fresh lecturers into State Universities over a period of three years is by every means news of the week in the country. The euphoria has certainly gripped many a Cameroonian given that the Presidential decision directly and indirectly concerns a good number of citizens within and without the national territory.

Those who have the requisite qualification and have been yearning for jobs now have the opportunity to clinch one and lead more responsible lives. Stakeholders of State universities grappling with problems of inadequate teaching staff will have the problems solved once the new recruits take up duties.

The least is not the thousands of young Cameroonians enrolled in the higher institutions of learning and who badly need better follow up to attain their lives’ dreams. All the above elucidate the shrewdness and timeliness of the Presidential decision. Recruiting two thousand (2,000) PhD/Doctorat holders as lecturers in Cameroon’s State universities over a period of three (3) years, with effect from the 2019 financial year visibly translates the Head of State’s strong desire not only to absorb qualified and sometimes idling youth but equally a giant step to enhancing better knowledge sharing in the country.

One thousand (1,000) lecturers to be recruited in 2019, five hundred (500) in 2020 and five hundred (500) in 2021 is a giant push to better teaching and learning in State Universities. Little wonder the press release of the Minister, Secretary-General of the Presidency of the Republic breaking the news of the recruitment underlined that, “the decision by the Head of State seeks to provide a concrete solution to the pressing need for teaching staff in State universities, especially following the creation in recent years of several new institutions.”

That it is guided by his abiding concern for the growth of higher education, and falls in line with his resolve to keep his promises to the Cameroonian youth at home and abroad, surprises no one who has keenly followed Mr Biya’s stewardship for close to four decades now.

The interest of youth, quest for quality education and finding a right formula to solving the sometimes difficult unemployment equation in the country has almost always been President Paul Biya’s concern over the years. His previous outings either on the eve of the Youth Day or end-of-year speeches have seen him made pronouncements on what could be done to tackle the teething problems. For example, he told youth last February 10 that, “the world in which we live is a competitive one in which only the best make it…It is generally acknowledged that Ca meroon is endowed with...