Catholic Education Secretary exposes stakes and challenges in Bamenda

Interviewed by Emmanuel F. SANOSI
Rev Fr John Ambe is the new Catholic Education Secretary for the Archdiocese of Bamenda. Barely two weeks into his new office from Sacred Heart College, where he was principal, the new Education Secretary talks about the stakes and challenges facing this very important aspect of the Church’s evangelization mission.

Father, you’re just coming into this office as Education Secretary. What is your vision of Catholic education in the Archdiocese?

Actually I have been in this business of Catholic Education for along time at many levels as teacher, principal and coming in now Catholic Education Secretary. I certainly have a broad vision of what it is about.

From the general outcry, it would appear that all is not well in this sector of the Church’s mission. What are the main problems?

We have problems of financing, problems of staffing and personnel and many other aspects. However, I am not discouraged. I am very optimistic about bringing my own contributions in spite of the problems.

Catholic teachers in particular are looking up to you in great expectation. Do you have any plans for their perennial cry?

As a matter of fact many of our teachers have told me how much they are counting on me and I must say that makes me a bit apprehensive because their problems are many and I can only do my best to be able to satisfy them. The first thing I intend to do, will be to enter into very serious dialogue with the teachers because I know their salaries are low, their morale is low, and that although they are looking forward to better days, we should all understand the situation we are in today, so that together we will try to see the way forward.
This means I must know them and they too must know me, so I intend to visit most if not all the schools in the Archdiocese. Secondly, I shall endeavour to establish a dialogue of facts with them so that they should know where we stand because there is a lot of ignorance on both sides. So I am hoping that every stakeholder shall put all his cards on the table for us to be able to understand each other better. I am sure that when I shall ask them the facts about Catholic education and they give me these facts, we shall be able to find a way forward together.

Father, teachers of Catholic primary schools face a unique situation because despite their immense sacrifices their salaries are so low that they cannot afford secondary education for their children in a Catholic college. Do you plan to change things for them?

This special group of teachers are a primary preoccupation of mine from the day I came in as secretary. Coming in from a Catholic secondary school where I was principal I know that most of them cannot even afford to make ends meet let alone send their children to a Catholic college. I admit I don’t have a panacea for these problems but I am hopeful that we shall talk and arrive at better consensus as far as this particular issue of secondary education is concerned. I believe they have a right to educate their children and if they have to do so in Catholic institutions of learning then we shall look for appropriate means of helping them.

Father despite the impressive results that Catholic schools produce every year, government subventions are still a problem. Why is it that the government is not willing to appreciate the Catholic effort in the education of young Cameroonians?

That has been a surprise for, we produce the best results with very few teachers who are underpaid compared to government teachers yet subventions are hardly forthcoming. In the good old days the government used to recognise what the Catholic Church and the other Christian denominations were doing in the education domain and we were equally grateful for the subventions, but today the story is a sad and pitiful one. All the children we are educating in our schools and colleges are Cameroonians, so we are surprised that the government is not appreciating the fact that we are helping it do what it is supposed to be doing.

Is there any reason why the government should feel that this priceless contribution by the Churches could be a threat?

Not at all. We don not constitute a threat because we are rather sharing in the responsibility of the government and the government should, on the contrary, be perpetually happy that someone is helping in its responsibilities to the nation. The government should be happy that the Catholic Church and the other Christian churches are bringing up children to become morally upright citizens tomorrow. That cannot be a threat in any sense whatsoever.

Father, do you have any word for those parents who wish but perhaps cannot afford secondary education for their children in a Catholic college?

The first thing I’ll like to tell them is that Catholic education and education in other well-meaning denominations is still the best because we go in for quality education in all aspects, including the intellectual, physical, spiritual and moral upbringing of the child. So they should not feel defeated because of high fees.
I want to make it clear to them that apparently they think that government schools are free but if they sit down in the final analysis and look what they give by ways of contributions to the PTA, “contributions to the authorities of the schools” for admission purposes, and many other things, they will realise that what they pay is over and above the fees we charge in Catholic schools. I exhort them to reflect deeply on this especially when I know that the quality of education we offer is far beyond what the so-called government schools can ever dream of.

Comments

[Che Sunday J.]

There is no better proof on record to authenticate the moral bancruptcy of the Cameroonian government than its relationship with Catholic and other parochial educational institutions. After attempting and failing to buy places for their kids in these excellent schools, the powers that be have opted to keep their money to themselves. May it burn holes in their pockets.
Father Ambe has an exceleent track record as an educational administrator. That said, does not make him a superman. His current position is very challenging and I would hope that parents and (well-wishers or friends of the church), would find or put in place some creative funding mechanism to releive some of the financial burdens on parocial education, especially at the tetiary level. There should be in place, a private fund that will require parents to pay a token amount into such a trust fund that would be paid out as a lump sum to teachers on retirement. If every parent or well wisher is requested to pay 100 francs at the beginning of each school term, this could go into an account managed by the mission for such a purpose. On retirement, a teacher should be paid a percentage of his or her salary from this fund to augment what the social insurance people might be giving them. Its unfortunate that Cameroon has experienced a tremendous population growth but the powers that be have either failed to take note of this, or have simply refused to do anything, hoping for miracles to happen.