Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary receives full accreditation, set to start offering doctoral degrees

By Hansel Ngala
The Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary (CBTS) has received full accreditation from the Association for Christian Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA). It is Africa’s largest theological association which validates certificates, diplomas and degrees offered by theological schools (Bible colleges and seminaries) in Africa.
The announcement was made by the seminary on its official Facebook page in a statement which read in part:
“This Accreditation represents a significant milestone in the history of the seminary, affirming its commitment to excellence in theological education and its dedication to serving both the local community and the broader Christian Church”.
The seminary trains pastors, chaplains and other theological experts for the Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC) as well as clergy for other Protestant denominations who agree with its theological statement, such as from the Full Gospel Mission, the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) and the Apostolic Church among several others.
Reacting to the news, the seminary’s provost (a seminary’s equivalent of a university’s vice chancellor), Rev. Dr. Nseimboh Johnson said, “This Accreditation is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our faculty, staff, and students. It is a recognition of the quality of education that we provide and a validation of our mission to equip men and women for Christian ministry”.
CBTS is located in Ndu, one of the towns located at the heart of the Anglophone Crisis but as a non-political institution that preaches the Gospel to all Cameroonians, this is a well-deserved honour and a recognition of the school’s commitment to educating theologically-sound scholars at a time when many false preachers abound in Cameroon and beyond.
The Association for Christian Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA) which accredited the seminary is based in Kenya and is set to soon send a mission to Cameroon as the Baptist seminary prepares to soon start offering PhD programs in various theological disciplines.
The CBC takes theological training seriously and recently, there were issues in the denomination regarding a number of PhDs which were issued to some members of the CBC with the denomination’s Executive President, Rev. Dr. Nditemeh Charlemagne saying the school which offered these ‘honorary doctorates’ is not accredited.
A South African actor Sello Maake KaNcube was recently in the spotlight as well after South Africa’s Higher Education minister said Trinity International Bible University which offered him an ‘honorary doctorate’ was not accredited and hence, he (KaNcube) was not qualified to call himself a ‘Doctor’.
Accreditation is a serious issue in higher education and being unaccredited means the holder of the title can be stripped of his rights and cannot teach in a tertiary institution.