Back to School 2025: Students Delay First Day
By Synthia Lateu
Kenne Merciel sits in a seamstress’ workshop at the Mbouda central market, in the West region waiting impatiently for his school uniform to be patched. With his right hand, he holds a small piece of paper and stares at it thoughtfully. It is Monday afternoon, September 8, 2025 , the first day of the 2025/2026 academic year, which he has chosen to skip.
Merciel, a Première student in the francophone subsystem (Lower Sixth), says he plans to buy his school needs before finally resuming the next day.
”I don’t go to school on the first day of resumption. It’s just a habit, especially for us old students,” he says with a chuckle, adding that only new students hurry to school. “Besides, the self-introductions on the first day are always boring to me.”
Like Merciel, many school-aged students were seen parading through the market while others settled in their classrooms. Some continued business activities to raise money for the school year. Ulrich who sells shoes as a holiday hustle, also skipped the first day and says he will resume later in the week.
Rayess another student, told CNA that he plans to resume only in the second week. “Old students like us don’t resume during the first week,” he stated, as he took measurements for a new school uniform to be ready by the weekend.
But not everyone shares that mindset. Longla Ange, a Troisième (Form Four) student, said she resumed on the very first day because she is in an examination class.
“It was worth it. The teachers were present, and lessons started immediately,” she said. She noted that many of her classmates were in attendance, and regretted that some who failed to show up would struggle to catch up.
Education experts advise students to resume on the first day, insisting that it sets the tone for the rest of the academic year.
Across Cameroon, more than eight million pupils and students returned to school on Monday, September 8, 2025. The Ministries of Basic and Secondary Education have expressed satisfaction with what they described as an effective start of the school year nationwide.
