Purple Robes in Njinmucho Signal Gradual Return of Old School Days

Purple Robes in Njinmucho Signal Gradual Return of Old School Days

For over two years, beginning from 2017, hundreds of thousands of kids across the two English speaking regions of Cameroon have been deprived of their basic right to education following a school shutdown call that was made by proponents of secession followed by attacks on teachers, pupils and students and at times kidnaps for ransom and arson on school buildings. In Mbengwi, schools like the Government Technical High School  located in Njindom, Government School Guneku and Mbemi plus even Catholic School Mbengwi and a host of others were torched.

Pioneer Batch of Graduating Pupils from St. Mark's Anglican Nursery and Primary School, Njinmucho, Mile 20 Mbengwi

By September 2020, following widespread condemnation of the tactic termed an abuse of human rights, some schools gradually began reopening their doors. Some teachers, peoples and students mustered courage to dare seat somewhere again for the teaching and learning process. Weeks and months and finally a full academic year successful passed by with little obstruction to education in Mbengwi. As such, at least 700 pupils and students out of the thousands the subdivision had in the yesteryears when there wasn't yet anything like Anglophone Crisis successfully sailed through the 2020/2021 academic year.

As many now go for the three months long term holiday, echoes gotten from across the subdivision indicate that performances were good. The newly established Presbyterian Primary School Guneku for example recorded a hundred percent pass for all its pupils that sat in for the Common Entrance Examination. Many students mostly in Presbyterian High School Mbengwi and Saint Joseph's College Mbengwi are currently seating in for the General Certificate of Education (GCE) examination that will see successful candidates progress to high school or university when results will be published. 

The phenomenon of "Graduation and Prize Award Ceremony" in schools is gradually returning. This month of June, many schools in Mbengwi have been organising such ceremonies for their kids and pupils. Even some referred to as Community Schools that came up as a remedial measure during this crisis period have been doing same. By Friday June 25th 2021, all schools in Mbengwi just like across the nation are expected to have closed for summer holiday.

Likely for the first time ever in the area, some 7 pupils likely for the first time also in their lives were clad in purple robes. This was on Thursday June 17 2021 as St. Mark's Anglican Nursery and Primary School, Mbengwi organised the pioneer graduation ceremony of its pioneer batch of kindergartens and pupils.

It was an exceptional day most especially for the kids who experienced what a graduation ceremony looks like at their own level especially the 7 kids that put on graduation robes and were handed Attestations. In addition, all the pupils received a souvenir gift of a soup bowl and some snacks.

Pioneer Batch of Graduating Pupils from St. Mark's Anglican Nursery and Primary School, Njinmucho, Mile 20 Mbengwi

Despite this, they were contented and their performances academically were good as in most of the classes, everyone passed. Talking to Mbengwi Online after witnessing the ceremony, Mami Monica Ayaba, a granny said, "I am so happy with this initiative because the children had been home for too long and were already losing knowledge. I'm happier because my grand child took the second position. May God bless the teachers and help us end the ongoing crisis"

Pioneer Teaching Staff of St. Mark's Anglican Nursery and Primary School

Pa Ndah Emmanuel Muki, a grand dad that also came to witness the event told us he was marvelled with the songs and rhymes performed by the kids. Just like Mami Monica, he too called on parents of the community that had sent their children to Bafoussam, Douala, Yaounde etc for studies due to the ongoing crisis that brought about a shutdown of schools to return home and enrol them at St. Mark's Anglican Nursery and Primary School considering that those who braved the odds this academic year to stay back and go to school sailed through successfully with little or no hitches and ended up graduating. 

Worst still, it's more costly and highly inconvenient educating one's children in the Francophone regions compared to home. It's for such reasons and many more including the need to develope one's own place that inhabitants of Njinmucho are envisaging a better school year in 2022 with improved enrolment, improved quality and quantity of teachers and improved results.

In the course of the ongoing Anglophone Crisis, one of the strategies that was implored by proponents of secession was school shutdown, a move that was highly condemned locally, nationally and internationally. Later, they shifted from their initial stance to permit non government schools to go operational and for community schools to be formed in areas not having any mission or private school but on conditions like no wearing of uniforms, no singing of Cameroon's national anthem, no participation in youth day, national day, FENASCO activities etc. 

Communities like Mile 20, Njinibi, Nyen, Mbemi and their neighbours had only government nursery and primary schools. The few mission and privately owned schools in Mbengwi subdivision are located within the central town. Not every parent had the means to cross over their children to the francophone regions for studies or relocate them to Mbengwi central. It was thus based on this setback that St. Mark's Anglican Church, located in Njinmucho, Mile 20, Mbengwi came up with the idea of opening a nursery and primary school to remedy the situation. 

The 2020/2021 academic year went on successfully with a teaching staff of four and an enrolment of over 30 shared in nursery 1 and 2, classes 1 to 4. Many other schools too within the subdivision have been organising similar graduation ceremonies though void of the fanfare that used to characterise such events before the advent of the crisis. There are indications there shall be a mass improvement in school enrolment in Mbengwi next academic year as many who had crossed over to the francophone regions are returning home already.