Governance in Cameroon

The Ministry of Basic Education and the Ministry of Higher Education are the principal public bodies in the education sector. The Ministry of Basic Education oversee the education system up to pre-university level whilst the latter is responsible for the country’s tertiary education system. Research efforts in the country are promoted and supervised by the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation. Examinations at the upper secondary level are developed by the Cameroon General Certificate of Education Board, which manages the British-based system and the Baccalaureate Board, which deals with the Francophone-based system. The Centre d’ Edition et Production pour l’Enseignement et la Recherche (CEPER) is the government publisher.

Public spending on education was 3.2 per cent of GDP in 2011.

Cameroon Vision 2035 expresses the aspirations of Cameroonians to be a united nation enjoying peace and security; democracy; decentralised administration; prosperity; and universal access to quality social services.

Cameroon qualified for the World Bank’s Fast Track Initiative – known since September 2011 as the Global Partnership for Education – which is aimed at meeting the education Millennium Development Goals and the Education for All goal that by 2015 all children complete a full cycle of primary education. Under the initiative, developing countries have committed to designing and implementing sound education plans since 2002, while development partners commit to aligning and harmonising additional support around these plans.

The key national objectives are universal primary education; revision of school system and curricula to meet the changing economic needs of the nation; and improved governance of the education system.