Country Case Study: Cameroon

Interview Report
EDTC 645
Professor: Dr. Joseph Wieczorek
Nanfack E. Nankeng
Introduction
Seeking to interview teachers in Summer is not enjoyable and easy. You have to cross your

fingers and pray so that someone can answer you. And it's even more difficult when the

interviewee is in an unstable developing country. Technology in many African countries is still a

luxury; that's why many people do not use it enough. I sent emails to two teachers in Cameroon

about the interview assignment, only one finally answered me. Cameroon is a country located in

Central Africa that is making enormous progress in the use of the Information and

Communications Technologies (ICTs) in the various development sectors, including education.

ICTs were officially introduced into education in 2001 by the president. Since then, major

achievements include establishing multimedia resources centers (MRCs). However, this

implementation is facing many barriers including lack of infrastructure and equipment,

Inadequate number of qualified trained teachers, and the unavailability of the budget. This

interview report provides a general overview of current activities and issues related to the

technology used in education in the country.

Interview invitation
Interview Questions and Rationale

1) Is there a technology policy that guides the integration of technology into the classroom?

Rationale: I asked this question because it is difficult to obtain information on the policy of

integration technology in the various ministries that oversee education in Cameroon. I also

asked this question because I wanted to have clearer information from someone who works not

only in the classrooms but also someone who has experience with administrative functions to

provide me with authentic information from the Department of Basic Education.

2) What are the ways the government is promoting the use of technology in schools?

Rationale: This question was asked to gain understanding of the strategies that the Cameroonian

government uses to promote the use of technology in schools. This question also allows me to

know the measures that the government has taken to popularize the technological tool in the

classroom.

3) What kind of technology is available in schools in Cameroon? au Cameroun?

technology in Cameroon. My thought is that despite the economic problems Cameroon faces, has

the government begun the process of technological integration in the classroom?

4) Do teachers have the technological equipment to teach?

Rationale: This question was asked whether the use of technology is effective in the classroom.

Even though students do not use the technology yet, do teachers have the technology to prepare

lesson plans?

5) What measures is the Cameroonian government taking to promote technology in the

classroom?

Rationale: This question is closely linked to the second one, which defines the strategies or

means that the government is implementing to promote the policy of integrating technologies

into the educational system,

Strategy Used

To communicate and obtain more information about technology integration in Cameroon we

used email to exchange information. At the beginning of our communication, teachers that I

contacted were not punctual, but the one who finally answered made efforts to satisfy me by

respecting the intervals of time that she had allocated to me. Also, while I was waiting for

teachers to reply, I found some useful resources online about how to integrate and use

technology in the classroom. those resources provided me with a better understanding of how

technology is utilized in school in Cameroon. Throughout emails, the elementary teacher gave

me a better insight of the technology in the Cameroonian educational system.

Person Interviewed
Merline began her career in Cameroonian education 10 years ago. she graduated from Normal

School of Teachers of General Education (ENIEG), After leaving school. Merline was first

assigned to a primary school in the Littoral Province. Four years later, she was appointed

principal at a primary school in the city of Bana in the West Province. Two years ago, she was

appointed to another primary school in Bafang still in the province of West Cameroon where she

worked together as a school director and teacher to overcome the prevailing teacher shortage in

schools in Cameroon.

Findings and Reflections

As Principal and teacher, Merline Fatchak provided valuable insight into some of the major

concerns surrounding educational technology in Cameroon. Agreeing with current research on

the topic, Merline independently identified teacher training, access, and infrastructure as major

issues for South African schools. Specifically, Merline strongly emphasized the importance of

training teachers on the use of technology. From her perspective, it appeared that Cameroon is

still struggling to adequately train end prepare his teachers to master the curriculum in

technology. The problem of integrating technologies into the classroom is very profound,

although there is a policy to implement the use of information and communication technologies

in schools. The Cameroonian education system is facing serious difficulties that allow it to stay

behind its neighbors in the Central African sub-region. Merline in the answers to the questions

she was asked, she pointed out several problems that block the integration of technologies in the

classrooms that I noted at the beginning of this reflection. Although Cameroon has signed

partnership agreements with several countries, the take-off of the integration and use of

technologies in schools is slow or non-existent. Also, most districts do not have a technology

plan to be able to put together an action plan to overcome technological problems. Merline also

mentioned many obstacles that block the integration of technologies in the classroom. To
eliminate these barriers, Cameroonian officials must impose strict measures that will allow all

those responsible for the implementation of these programs to raise them from the ashes. To do

this, these managers must, among other things, develop technology plans and technology training

plans, access and also build reception infrastructures.

Conclusion

While Cameroun remains a developing nation with several critical hurdles to overcome in

their quest to provide equitable access to educational technology tools and resources, they have a

unified collection of organizations and individuals who is pursuing this vision. These issues are

also known by nations across the globe which provide a variety of models to analyze and learn

from to create a best practice for Cameroon. It appears that moving forward will require a

continued strong and unified effort on the behalf of the Department of Basic Education,

Department of Secondary Education, Department of Communications, educators, administrators,

and policy-makers, as well as institutions of teacher training. The introduction of organizations

like the National ICT Agency (ANTIC) and New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD)

which is a non-Cameroon government organization are critical in connecting all these involved

parties to pursue Cameroon’s goal of Schooling. In partnership with the Cameroonian

government, the various organizations mentioned are bound to develop a strong foundation for

incorporating the ever-evolving use of technology within the education system.

Answers to Interview Questions

Interview report

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sLLZlMvJVKzvdPrbXQzU2k1ESU7-

McPZiSBGvWwwlfo/edit?usp=sharing

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