Back to school: scramble for plces in technical schools still on this year
By Stephen TADAHA
Two weeks to the start of the 2023-2024 academic year, Principals of various technical institutions say the number of students seeking admission is on the rise each year.
A case in point is the Government Technical High School Bamelo in Babadjou subdivision, west region of Cameroon where a total of 198 candidates sat for entrance examinations into the second cycle of the institution. Of the 198 who sat in for the exams, 67 were from the general education sector. An increase from the 40 who sat in last year.
“What motivates me to go in for the technical section is because I discovered that many of my elders who did this are working. Some people have been crying of being jobless after their degree and I don’t want to fall in the same trap,” a candidate at the entrance examination centre explains.
“I went in for the technical section because my parents asked me to do so. They say they want me to be self-employed in future,” another candidate says.
Some parents say general education is just a waste of time and resources.
“General education in Cameroon has lost its value. There are many graduates who are doing nothing with their diplomas just because the country is making things tough for them. I prefer that my children go to technical schools,” a parent explains.
The high level of unemployment in the country has create a need more than ever before, for self-employment.
