Covert attempt to undermine the institution and Anglophone education

1. After failing to cause the GCE to be written in 4-5days like the baccalaureate and other exams of the French subsystem, the same people are now pressing that the time for the exams to be written and marked should be drastically shortened and be published the same as the baccalaureate. These individuals forget about our subsystem, the scope of our syllabuses, our teaching and evaluation specificities, etc.
   What is disturbing about this destructive attempt is that anglophones, especially some top officials at MINESEC, are the ones being used to spearhead diabolical policy in gestation. These are anglophones whose insidious designs and motives for the Board are no longer covert. These are attempts aimed at watering down the GCE and consequently destroying the English-speaking Sub system of education.

2. The Board has always stood tall and proud of organizing credible exams, but for the past few years, there has been constant undue pressure from certain high quarters on the Board to have her exam questions and certificates produced by the national outfit, the National Printing Press, SOPECAM. This attempt not only spells disaster for the Board but also clearly indicates the imminent takeover of the Board. Printing at SOPECAM means massive leakages and the production of fake certificates. A commercial market will be put in place for GCE questions and certificates by people who know nothing about our exams but who must be the ones to produce them.
The Board has been printing questions and certificates without any mishaps. The security, discreetness, and authenticity of the processes are what give credibility and reliability to the Board.
Who then wants to destroy this established good order? Have exams and certificates become a business deal? Whose insatiable desire for money and power wants to destroy the Board? Do they want the GCE to be leaked massively as has been the case with OBC exams these past 2-3years?

3. Forced infiltration of the Board by some approved service providers claiming to be technical partners. They come, sent by hierarchy, to propose digitalizing working processes of the Board and authenticating certificates, meanwhile, for quite a long time now, almost all exams and other related processes of the Board had been digitalized with proper stringent mechanisms put in place to produce and authenticate certificates issued by the Board.
   Why are these communication service providers interested in taking up these functions of the Board? When service providers that are so concerned with marketing their products and making profits start struggling to be involved in handling delicate exam issues reserved for a technical body like the Board, there is reason to strike the alarm bell, cry foul, and stay alert.
4. Violation of coexistence. The 1998 law on education talks about the two subsystems, English and French, coexisting with each maintaining its evaluation and certification specificities. However, much seems to be imposed on the Board from the other subsystem. Teaching and evaluation of citizenship is there to testify. Now, there are signals to the Board to start preparing for Arts and Cinematography and even National Languages. German, Spanish, Chinese, Arab, etc are in gestation.
   But the Board is still struggling to draw up teaching and examinations syllabuses for Intermediate and Advanced Vocational and Technical Education.
   Some of these things should be done piecemeal. These syllabuses should be totally different from those of the French subsystem. It should not be a translation. It should be Anglo-Saxon by nature, for it is alleged that Technical teachers and experts of the French subsystem are eager to be part of the syllabus conference that should provide the English subsystem, teaching syllabuses for the next academic year. It’s already getting too late and causing a lot of prejudice against our children.
5. There are many forces trying to work against the Board. The Registrar and his team should be helped to work smoothly, with the necessary checks and balances put in place, especially at this period of end-of-course examinations, given the challenges peculiar in certain regions of the country.
   To stem away bitterness, unnecessary rancor, or any industrial action is as recently seen in other regions, the government should disburse subventions to the Board well ahead of time for the Board to organize hitch-free exams, promptly pay exam officials, and mark and publish results in good time.
   
   
   By Semma Valentine, NESG, CATTU