A CRITICAL INVENTORY OF SECONDARY LAY PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL PRECURSORS IN BAMENDA, 1962-1990

Abstract

Emerging from a British ‘colonial’ context where western formal education was variously promoted by the government, Native Authorities and especially Christian missionary bodies, some beneficiaries quickly became socialized in the English model of schooling in the territory roughly representing the erstwhile British Southern Cameroons. Although significant attention was given to education, in most cases, training was limited to mentoring in clerical and initial technologies at the basic level. At the independence and reunification of the territory in 1960 and 1961 respectively, the man power needed to respond to the diversified demands of the new public and private sectors stood far below expectations. Conscious of these shortcomings, some entrepreneurs, most of who had acquired and expanded their studies beyond the basic education level or served as school teachers decided to initiate and develop business investments in lay private secondary education for social and economic imperatives. It is in this context that this paper, mostly pooling from primary evidences and employing a descriptive and analytical approach, examines the humble beginnings and evolution of secondary lay private education in Bamenda (Cameroon). It emerged from the research that the development of secondary lay private schools in the area was primarily motivated by the need to reduce the dearth in appropriate fields of studies neglected by the British educational curriculum during their administrative presence in Cameroon. It was also due to the foresight by graduates who had gained entrepreneurial knowledge from their previous trainings in British-styled schools. Lastly, the origins and evolution of private secondary schools was not static, the entrepreneurial initiatives transformed with time from emphasis in technical and commercial education to comprehensive learning centers. The presence of the schools and societal influence of the entrepreneurs brought inordinate transformations to the society but this did not go without some major constraints. Principally, the findings revealed that lay private education in Bamenda was bornfrom necessity and grew to become a key and enterprising indigenous industry in Bamenda.