Activists Advocate for School Resumption in Restive Anglophone Regions in Cameroon.

 

    Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor Balls, Mancho Bibixy Tse and Felix Ngalim have launched for school resumption in the crisis hitting North West and South West Region of Cameroon.
   The Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, CHRDA, led by Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla has joined the campaign for schools to effectively resume in Cameroon's troubled North West and South West Regions.
    In a document titled "Why Schools Must Resume in the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon", Agbor Balla's CHRDA says the school boycott played an "important role towards the socioeconomic and cultural advancement in, and indeed the future of Southern Cameroon
   Before the strike, CHRDA says more than 6,000 schools were operational within the region. "As at December 2018, less than 100 schools were operational; meaning nearly 5900 schools were closed down with over 40,000 students out of school and over 40 schools burnt down."
   As  June 2019, UNICEF reported that over 600,000 children are out of school in the Anglophone regions. More and more students have migrated to the French-speaking regions to pursue education.
   We at CHRDA value education as a fundamental human right. Any group that opposes education in any form is violating this right, recognized in a number of international conventions such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes the right to free and compulsory primary education for all and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in its Article 26.

   Equally the detained leaders of the ‘Coffin revolution’ Mancho Bibixy Tse and Felix Ngalim has launched a campaign to call for school resumption in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon.
   In a six-page document signed on June 20,  the leaders of the ‘coffin revolution’ who have been in detention for close to three years say their struggle was for a common man thus children should not be deprived of education.
Since the crisis in the North West and South West regions morphed into a full blown conflict, children have been unable to go to school in several localities.
   They stressed school boycott is an injustice against the children, especially those of  poor parents who can’t afford to send their children across to the other regions to study.
   Given that schools have been effective in some towns in the North West and South West regions like Buea, Bamenda and Limbe, the coffin revolution leaders said it is time schools resumed all over the North West and South West regions
    "We therefore are calling on parents in the two Anglophone regions to send their children back to school in September (2019). We are appealing to all political, religious and traditional authorities, development associations, Parent Teacher Associations, Civil Society Organiations, and human rights groups to join us in sensitising our parents, children and teachers and all those involved in the education of our children for a total resumption of school in September,”
   They concluded while also calling on international organisations like UNICEF, UNESCO and Plan to join forces.
"We also call on the government to enhance efforts toward ensuring the security of school infrastructure, teachers, and students in the Anglophone regions, while appealing to parents to overcome fear and send their children to school."