Private Higher Education: Avoiding A Perilous Path

Richard KWANG KOMETA 
Many must have been left perplexed by the information ons the training of paramedical personnel in the country. The alarm bell by the National Council for Professional Nurses, Midwives and Health Technicians on 7 August, 2024 called for the banning of the training of BTS, HND, DSEP, and HPD professional health training programmes in the country. The reasons being that a proliferation of higher training institutions in Cameroon offered formation that was far from the norm. Even worse, they complained about shortcuts leading to BTS/HND//DSEP/HPD diplomas in health. However, it is not clear if such fast-tracking in healthcare training can actually guarantee efficiency!     
As expected, such a call cannot be appreciated by those in the sector, probably making quick cash from their activity. They quickly tagged the move as political as well as managerial position and a demonstration of poor knowledge of the realities on the ground and so on. But, a malaria patient in pain who might have had the experience of a nurse-in-training piercing them over five times in search of a vein to get blood for a laboratory test also has their own understanding of the problem being raised by the National Council of Nurses. Some may argue that such learning processes can never be so easy especially for those still new in the field.     
That notwithstanding, the level of seriousness the issue poses could be measured from the meeting of the Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education Prof Jacques Fame Ndongo and the Minister of Public Health, Dr Manaouda Malachie on 16 August, 2024. Their conclusion was simple. As from the 2024/2025 academic year, there will no longer be any paramedical students in the Brevet de technician supérieur (BTS) and the Higher National Diploma (HND) cycles in the country.  Those already being trained will have to take a placement or aptitude test before joining the medical field upon graduation. That is just another way of saying that something has been going wrong somewhere for decades in the way health personnel in that sector were trained. Correcting the malpractices now simply means it is better late than never.     
It equally requires that a regular eye should be cast on the entire private higher education training sector in the country. The way such structures keep mushrooming can tell another story. Recent statistics indicate that Cameroon boosts about 500 private higher education institutions. Numbers in themselves do not mean much. With the galloping demographic growth in the country, it is understandable that educational facilities should be able to match the demand. But numbers must in no way overshadow quality. Virtually all domains of training are now available in the country. Judging from the high cost of sending children abroad and the growing desire by youth to keep looking only beyond the borders for quality training, it is important that what exists locally should be made to meet acceptable standards. This is key to families and even the wellbeing of the nation.    
Progressively, the attitude of people taking advantage of certain loopholes to go overboard or even try to bend the rules has been increasing. Extending half-baked training practices and applying lacklustre measures on the health sector can mean much to the entire nation. There could be no better way of putting lives in danger! Communication, aeronautics, transport and logistics, agriculture, mining and so on are some of the areas where most private institutions of learning have been recruiting students. Some of the institutions keep sprouting up even in squalid neighbourhoods with little or no space for the students to ensure inclusive formation. There are those who even create the structures before seeking accreditation from the officials in charge.     
In cases where they already have titular backing from State Universities, there are those who keep looking for ways to connive with officials in charge of their follow up to bend the rules and distribute certificates with the sole intention of enrolling more students in the next academic year.  Yet, certain key courses require that the level of staff must be...