Creation of Private Schools: Motivated By Gov’t’s Incentives, Liberalization

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Creation of Private Schools: Motivated By Gov’t’s Incentives, Liberalization

21 sept. 2021 14:14

Schools are today mushrooming in every nock and crannies in Cameroon especially in urban centres where there is high demand.

The educational sector in Cameroon is fast becoming a lucrative venture going by the number of schools (basic and secondary alike) being created in different neighbourhoods. The proliferation of these private establishments of learning in all nocks and crannies is a pointer to the economic undertones that comes with such investments. Though the July 2004 law laying down the rules governing the organization and functioning of private education in Cameroon states that “Private education shall be a social service provided by private partners in the public interest,” the reality in the field has tilted towards making gains for the proprietors or shareholders as the case may be.

The avalanche of private educational establishment in Cameroon is a function of the increasing rate of school attendance and the steady increase of the population. Thus, the education market is expanding without the proportionate expansion of government owned establishments. This pushed the government to liberalize the sector, opening it up to private partners in the provision of educational services to the public. If one goes by the 2017-2018 school map and statistics of the Ministry of Basic Education for instance, a total of 515,895 nursery school pupils attended 9,257 schools while 4,707,887 pupils attended 18,577 primary schools during the same period. The figures must have surged with the creation of new private schools every year. The figures without delving into those of secondary education gives an idea of the growing and vast market in the sector.

Another motivation for the creation of private educational establishments is the subventions and other incentives accorded operators. As partners, government subsidises the cost of private education annually. Grouped in differ...