As universities opened their doors for the 2024-25 academic year on 7 October 2024, Cameroon’s University Coordination Commission (UCC) called on the government to lift the suspension on PhD admissions at state universities.
Admission to PhD programmes at 11 universities was suspended in 2023 “until new conditions laid down by the government were met”, Professor Jacques Fame Ndongo, the minister of higher education, said at the time.
At a meeting on 1 October 2024 to prepare for the academic year, the UCC called on university heads to prepare a joint request to be tabled to the prime minister to lift the suspension. In a statement after the meeting, the commission urged universities to ensure they improve their selection process and provide evidence of the necessary reforms to ensure quality research under the recommendations of the ministry of higher education and the prime minister in the suspension statement issued in July 2023.
University heads were requested to file a detailed report on the financial and academic ability of each department or school in their institutions that educates PhD students and how funds for that purpose were used, University World News reported earlier.
Universities meeting the challenge
The university heads who attended the UCC meeting said their joint request to the prime minister will include detailed reports on how prepared each university is to resume PhD admissions in line with the conditions laid down by the government. They said they have kept their eyes on the ball since the suspension and have been working to meet the challenge.
“We have been working on these recommendations to improve the quality of PhD research since last year and we think the necessary blueprint has been put in place for a new start,” Professor Magloire Ondoa, rector of the University of Douala, told University World News. He said there was some hope for increased research funding from the ministry of higher education and the ministry of scientific research for the 2024-25 academic year.
In other recommendations for the new academic year, the commission calls for the strict application and consolidation of the concept of university enterprise and student entrepreneur, as well as the ongoing digitalisation revolution in the higher education system.
The commission requested universities to create think tanks in partnership with the private sector and socio-professional circles to create models on how to finance and support the economic inclusion of student entrepreneurs, job creation, and the fight against unemployment.
Align teaching with socio-economic realities
The minister of higher education announced additional funds to the different university heads for the 2024-25 academic year to support their digital centres. “This is in line with the new higher education policy promulgated into law by the head of state on 25 July 2024 on the E-national Higher Education Network project,” the UCC’s statement reads.
The members were also updated on the operation of the university digital development centres, the challenges faced, and how to overcome them.
Meanwhile, firm instructions were given during a government cabinet meeting for higher education authorities to align teaching programmes with the socio-economic realities, emphasising professionalisation to encourage self-employment among students upon graduation. The meeting, held by Prime Minister Dion Ngute, took place on 30 September 2024.
The cabinet reviewed all education sectors’ performance of the past year, The Guardian Post reported on 3 October 2024. “The head of government urged the minister of employment and vocational training to adjust the training content to meet international standards and create a competitive pool of human resources,” the news report reads.
Call to lift suspension is welcome
A statement by the director of cabinet in the prime minister’s office made after the meeting said the government encouraged efforts to drive transformation one step at a time, working towards fostering higher education reforms that are gender inclusive, according to the prescription by the head of state.
“The government encourages efforts to boost enrolment, retaining and transitioning girls to higher education, especially in the science and information technology sector,” the Director of the Cabinet in the Prime Minister’s office, Balungeli Confiance Ebune, said over state media.
Experts welcomed the call to lift the suspension of PhD admissions, provided the universities are ready to work in line with international standards.
“Lifting the suspension will be the right step in the right direction. But it will also be a challenge to the different universities to live up to expectations and produce quality results,” Professor Eric Mathias Owona Nguini of the University of Yaoundé II-Soa, told University World News.
Aspiring students relieved
PhD students and aspirants say there have been rumbles of discontent from students who saw their hopes of PhD studies delayed by the suspension. “Many students have been disillusioned since the news about the suspension. Lifting it will be a welcome relief for most of us who are preparing to start studies at this level,” Aminateh Nkemngu Fuanya, holder of a masters in communication and PhD applicant at the University of Buea, told University World News.
The call for lifting the PhD suspension programme in Cameroon is in line with the World Bank’s calls for more PhD holders to drive and accelerate development in Africa. The World Bank says Africa should strive to produce 100,000 PhDs in the next 10 years to yield the research the continent needs for accelerated development.
Culled from universityworldnews.com
