Mounouna Foutsou visited some schools in Yaounde and its environs to assess the level of preparedness for upcoming certificate examinations.

Secondary and high schools in the country officially reopened for the Third Term on Monday April 20, 2014, alongside elementary education pupils. The Third Term is the shortest and decisive in the academic year as children prepare to take promotion and certificate examinations.

In order to ensure the effective take-off of classes, the Secretary of State for Secondary Education in charge of Teacher Training, Mounouna Foutsou, yesterday, April 21, 2015, paid surprise visits to 10 government and private secondary schools in Yaounde and its environs.

At the Government Bilingual Practicing High School, Yaounde, classes were going on normally. The Secretary of State was received by the Principal, Stephen Ncha Chia and his aides. Mounouna Foutsou visited some classrooms where the children expressed themselves in French and English.

What raised eyebrows among the Secretary of State’s team was that in one of the classes, the teacher for the first lesson (French) was absent. In another class, the students were not interactive, even though it was a Civic Education class.

At Lycée de Nkoabang on the outskirts of Yaounde, Mounouna Foutsou visited classrooms and the computer room that was broken into by thieves during the holidays. According to officials of the school, the act was discovered only on the reopening day. The thieves made away with three computers and a printer.

Speaking to journalists, Mounouna Foutsou said the purpose of the visit was to evaluate the administrative and pedagogic running of schools. He said the Ministry of Secondary Education wanted to assess the level of coverage of the curricular for this academic year. He disclosed that the Minister had instructed Regional Delegates to carry out the same exercise.

The information gathered will be presented today, April 22, 2015, at a meeting in the ministry. Apart from the normal curricular, two other aspects have been added. These are the organisation of catch-up classes and the hourly quota for teachers.

In all the schools visited, Mounouna Foutsou commissioned pedagogic inspectors who will evaluate the pedagogic and administrative output of teachers.