Officials of the Ministry of Secondary Education met on May 9 in Yaounde.
Officials of the Ministry of Secondary Education (MINESEC) gathered on Friday, May 9, 2014 in Yaounde for their annual meeting, held that the 987,388 candidates registered for various examinations in secondary education will enjoy a hitch-free exercise. While 492,000 candidates will sit for examinations organised by the Directorate of Examinations in the ministry, the Baccalaureat Board will host over 334,599 candidates writing the Baccalaureat and Probatoire while the General Certificate of Examination (GCE) Board will cater for 164,789 candidates in all GCE examinations.
The annual conclave of MINESEC officials that was chaired by Secondary Education Minister, Louis Bapes Bapes, was organised to not only ensure the smooth termination of the 2013/2014 academic year but also to ensure a hitch-free running of official examinations. In his presentation, the Director of the Baccalaureat Board, Zacharie Mbatsogo disclosed a 4.27 per cent increase in registration as well as two major innovations that consisted in decentralising the printing of examination material to Douala and Bafoussam as well as introducing other personal data on candidate registration files to curb fraud.
On his part, the Director of the GCE Board, Humphrey Ekema Monono, also noted a six per cent increase in registration and the Board’s readiness despite the challenges faced in dispatching examination material to various areas due to the difficult terrain. “The GCE has already started with practicals on May 6 while written examinations will last from May 21 to June 21, 2014. 6,361 examiners will then take over with the marking exercise,” he reassured.
While congratulating all officials involved in the exercise, Minister Bapes Bapes called on the entire education family, especially parents, to put their hands on deck to guarantee a smooth exercise and the improvement of performance standards.
In effect, some of the presentations made during the meeting highlighted weaknesses observed during the current academic year such as a drop in overall pass rate to 57 per cent from 62 per cent in 2013 as well as the persistence of corrupt practices, influence peddling and abandonment of posts by teachers, amongst others.
