University Education:

Gov’t Bows to Pressure, Begins Recruitment of More PhDs
By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Striking PhD holders listening to higher education boss, Fame Ndongo

Government has finally bowed to pressure from some protesting PhD holders and ordered their special recruitment into state universities under the second phase of recruitment of PhD holders into state universities.
    The truce between the disgruntled PhD holders who have spent close to three weeks sleeping at the courtyard of the Ministry of Higher education expressing their grievances as to the procedure involve in the recruitment was reached Thursday 9 January 2020.
    This was after a meeting chaired the previous day by Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education, Prof. Jacques Fame Ndongo with members of the technical committee for the recruitment.
    Minister Fame Ndongo said the special recruitment was order by the Head of State and reassured the disgruntled lecturers their problems will be looked into.  “I want to thank the Head of State who has prescribed this special recruitment. We are delighted by this happy end because now it is the end of the strike” the Minister said.

Apart from that, the Minister has authorise the different University Rectors/Vice Chancellors to replace where necessary lecturers who have died, resigned, abandoned their duty posts or have been dismissed with PhD holders older than 45 years provided they meet the conditions required.
    Dr. Lekene Bridget, Spokesperson of the protesters on behalf of the protesters said they were ending the strike because they think their grievances have been heard and will be take care of. “When we see that we PhD so many times lecturers at the University are not recruited and those who have masters have been recruited it makes us think that we are the children of nobody in this Cameroon. Today we have a good compromise that assures us that our injustices are been taken into account and our problems will be resolve.”
    The disgruntled PhD holders complained about duplicates of some names on the recruitment list, recruitment of Master Degree holders, submission delays for applicants from the diaspora, recruitment of applicants with fake certificates, recruitment of secondary school PhD holders for a recruitment intended for unemployed PhD holders, an increase in the age limit to 45 years among others.