Incisive Journalism in Cameroon: The Best of ��Cameroon Report�� (1978 � 1986)

33. Cameroon Report 08/8/1985: The Question of Certificate Equivalence

115 33 Cameroon Report 08/8/1985: The Question of Certificate Equivalence The practice of equating academic and professional qualifications obtained abroad is not unusual and useless as it may seem, but the practice becomes repugnant when it is used as an instrument of social disequilibrium. Differences in the country’s two educational systems warrant that students seeking higher education abroad either go to French-speaking or Anglo-Saxon institutions as well as others, but the various stages of ascendency remain very much the same. The stages include a first degree, a post graduate diploma, a master’s degree and a doctorate. The acquisition of the doctorate varies from 5-10 years after a first degree, depending on the student’s capabilities and the work load of the programme. Somehow there is a persistent belief in Cameroon that post graduate qualifications from French-speaking institutions are superior to those from Anglo-Saxon establishments ostensibly because of differences in duration, a criterion which has a much lesser value than content and scope of educational programmes. Hence it has regrettably become normal for a holder of a French doctorate to be recruited on a higher salary scale than his counterpart from an Anglo-Saxon University. This applies at all levels of post graduate recruitment in both the public and private sectors. Although the labour code is clear on this matter, holders of Anglo-Saxon degrees obtained abroad are invariably relegated to one or two salary scales below their counterparts 116 from French-speaking institutions. (Except a few who are able to obtain effective political intervention). There has been a general acquiescence with regard to this practice for reasons which cannot be explained without acknowledging the prevalence of a superiority complex derived from numerical superiority and not qualitative assessment. The institution of certificate equivalence is not merely aimed at assessing qualifications but has been perversely used as an instrument of reclassifying certain people to the lower rungs of the job market and instilling in them a sense of professional inadequacy which cannot be justified. It would be recalled that this same attitude was mainly responsible for what became known as the G.C.E. crisis which up till now has not been resolved and can only be resolved by respecting the cultural diversity of the country, a diversity which should be considered an asset, not a liability. It should be noted, however, that attempts to devalue academic and professional qualifications from Anglo-Saxon institutions by means of a biased bureaucratic machinery does not in any way reduce the intrinsic value of these qualifications. The extrinsic values attached to them by this machinery only foster the undesirable sentiments of disappointment, de-motivation, rustication, estrangement and brain drain. This situation, compounded with many other discriminatory practices, does not speak well of national objectives to exercise social justice, maintain social balance and respect cultural values. Thus practices likely to jeopardize the stability of the country such as these should not be treated in an expedient manner, as it is the case, but with the profound perception and assessment of intrinsic cultural values. 117 The delay tactics involved in the procedure for obtaining certificate equivalence does not favour Anglophones seeking equivalence in the prevalent rat race in the labour market. This procedure could be said to be unnecessarily time consuming, considering that these Anglo-Saxon qualifications are not unknown to the authorities. Sam-Nuvala Fonkem 118 ...