Creative Writing Contest Vol. 15 | Education: What do you think about the number of subjects and content of subjects students study in Cameroon? | by @rosita-nkefor

in Steem Cameroon3 years ago

Hello my dear Cameroonian steemians. Another beautiful contest has come courtesy to @thegreens. I want to give a special appreciation for this contest because it's subject matter is something very close to my heart; education.

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What do you think about the number of subjects and content of subjects students study in Cameroon?

Education is the backbone to any civilized society. In Cameroon, the Anglosaxon system of Education in the Secondary Schools gives rise to two levels: the Ordinary Level (O/L) and the Advanced Level (A/L).

We also have three different types of education; the general, commercial and technical education. I shall lay more emphasis on the general education in this post as it is what I am more versed with.

The O/L consists of the classes form one to form five. While the A/L consists of Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth. When it comes to the number of subjects taught, it depends on the class and the school.

It depends on the school because the school has the authority to add subjects based on what they think the students need. For example, all Catholic mission schools make Religious Studies a compulsory subject till LowerSixth and some require their students to learn basic Latin in the lower classes.

Another example is that schools whose existence is associated with another country's influence usually allow their students to learn that language as well e.g German, Chinese etc.

ClassNumber of subjects studied
Form one13 to 16
Form two13 to 16
Form three14 to 17
Form four10 to 14
Form five9 to 11
Lower Sixth3 to 6
Upper Sixth3 to 5

From the above table, you can see a trend in the number of subjects. Considering only the maximum or minimum numbers, the number of subjects remains the same in the first two classes, increases to its highest level in form 3 and starts to reduce in the next classes. Here is the reason why.


a. Form one and form two are the foundation classes in the Secondary School setting. It is in these classes that the children are given all the possible subjects that are available to students.

The number might seem to be a lot. This is where content comes in. What is actually done in these classes is more of introductory classes. Merely the basics of each subject is thought. The reason behind this is to open the children's minds to new concepts and theories.

These basics are also taught so that no matter what the child chooses to pursue in the future, the child has the basics in other subjects to increase their knowledge and enable them function well.

For example; if a student wished to be a journalist, they will still need the basics from mathematics such as basic counting and number theory, how to make graphs, etc, as this will help them out when gathering and putting together field findings.


b. Form 3 is the introductory class to the knowledge evaluated in the GCE Ordinary Level examination. A school is a formal organisation and as such, has its objectives and set goals. One of this is to prepare students for this National Examination.

This examination was put in place to ensure that indeed, students in all schools are acquiring the same knowledge as per what they think they need to know. This is why some subjects like Economics are introduced here, a subject who's prerequisite is Mathematics and Commerce, taught in the previous levels.

We can see how the knowledge is building up. The content here is a bit deeper than in the previous classes. This is also the class where students choose to do general education or commercial education. This is facilitated because the students are familiar with all the subjects and can now gear toward more specific fields of interest.


c. In form four, those in the general education now separate to their desired areas; either the Arts or the Sciences. Studying becomes more specific. This accounts for the decrease in the number of subjects as you won't find a science student doing Literature or an arts student doing Physics, etc.

Accompanying this decrease in the number of subjects is an increase in the content being taught. Teachers now go deeper when teaching each subject. The moderately high number of subjects is due to certain subjects which at the macro level (the ministry) are deemed necessary for students.

It is also because other subjects such as Logic, Additional Mathematics and Geology are being introduced.


d. In form five, the primary focus is to prepare students for the GCE O/L. The number of subjects now drop based on the regulations of the GCE i.e you can not sit for less than 9 or more than 11 subjects, where the eleventh must be religious studies.


e. In lower sixth, you experience a drastic drop in the number of subjects. This is because all the "compulsory" subjects have been dropped for more interest specific ones. Their grades in the examination results act as proof to the organization board that they have learned what needed to be learned.

Subjects like these include Mathematics, English, French, Economics, Geography, and Religious Studies in mission schools. It is also accompanied by a huge increase in depth of the content of the subjects.


f. This carries on to upper sixth in preparation for the GCE A/L. The sixth subject in lower sixth is accounted for by the fact that in Catholic mission schools, you must study Religious Studies in lower sixth.


From the above, you can see that the number of subjects studied in secondary schools per class is inversely proportional to the content depth of each subject. It should be noted that the number of subjects to be studied and content to be taught came about after serious deliberations at the micro (school administration) is and macro level (ministry). And these were after serious considerations of the goals of the organisation (school or ministry) and needs of the student to integrate seamlessly into society.

And it has been proven effective as no student can say he or she lacks the basic knowledge in areas that are not of their expertise. We all know a little bit of everything.

Thank you all for reading.
@majerius
@chiabertrand
@breeze.com

Sort:  
 3 years ago 

No one could explain this better than a teacher herself😘 my very own mommy GO

You have virtually brought me into the ministry of basic education and secondary education in the blink of an eye❤️
Thank you

 3 years ago 

Thank you @majerius. There is a lot of misconceptions about teaching and what goes on pedagogically so I felt the need to shed some light on the truth.

I am glad I was able to open the eyes of at least one person🙂.

 3 years ago 

Amazing write up my dear, from your analysis on the number of subjects and the content of subjects students study here in Cameroon really show that you are indeed a good teacher because only us teachers can do this detail analysis 😁😁✌️

 3 years ago 

Thank you @chiabertrand. I'm just trying my best to provide more information about certain things in education to the general public. If we don't do it, who will?

 3 years ago 

Perfectly said mom

 3 years ago 

Hello @rosita-nkefor my new friend...so happy to read from you this morning. From the way you have analysed i am suspecting your father is a pedagogic inspector.🤣🤣🤣🤣 You have made an in dept analysis of the subjects taught. That is so beautiful.

And it has been proven effective as no student can say he or she lacks the basic knowledge in areas that are not of their expertise. We all know a little bit of everything.

Yes we know a little bit of everything , but how helpful is it this to us when we grow older and need to pick up jobs They find out what you know not the subjects you studied right ? Don't you thing specialisation at the infant stage would have been better???

 3 years ago 

Thanks for reading. And no, my father is not a Pedagogic Inspector😅.

Concerning what you said, specialisation at an infant or younger stage does indeed breed more expert knowledge, but for lack of a better word, that person will lack basic general knowledge. Imagine that a child studied solely mathematics and physics from the basis to become an engineer, first of all, it will make things difficult for the teacher because though content increases in depth each year i.e horizontally, subjects are also interrelated. He will need other subjects like chemistry, biology and computer science. More subjects have already entered by necessity.

A genius that cannot properly express himself is wasting knowledge. Thus, English Language and French comes in due to the bilingual nature of our country. Several concepts in engineering are majorly affected by the environment from soil type to air composition. Geography comes in to settle this. The world now is regulated and controlled by the judiciary system. To prevent future injustices, Citizenship Education comes in to educate the child on his rights.

Suppose the child will want to open an engineering firm, he will need basic knowledge on running a business and taking care of finances. Here comes, Commerce and Accounting.

As an engineer, in order to get contracts he needs not only to be fluent, but to have charisma and be sociable. Here comes the Literature basis to the rescue. I can go on and justify every subject studied at the base.

So do you now see clearly why we study what we study? It's a foundation meant to carry your specialisation. You cannot specialise without having some basis because knowledge is interrelated.

And this is a very good thing. Imagine that you were very good at engineering but you knew nothing about ginances. You'll be forced to hire someone in that field. With your utter ignorance, there is a 99% chance that he will still from you. You know this. But if you at least had some basic knowledge, you will be able to make sure that you are not being cheated upon. Also, will you also hire somebody to take care of your salary and manage your home? Question.

Everything studied in school has its importance. It is a shame that people fail to see the application of what they study in real life. This is the problem that the CBA intends to rectify.

Let's even take fashion designing in the technical education. You need geometry to do that. People use things everyday and don't even wonder where they learnt it from. There is no skill without theory.

 3 years ago 

This is a beautiful analysis @rosita-nkefor , i feel we are in class...

Let's even take fashion designing in the technical education. You need geometry to do that. People use things everyday and don't even wonder where they learnt it from. There is no skill without theory

I totally agree with you with this. How ever i still strongly believe the main skills are gained when the individual indulges in more practical than theory.

But not withstanding , i understand your facts very clearly and your points are very welled explained and backed by real life circumstances .
I appreciate you for such and excellent explanation.
Maybe you will tell me more live😁😁😁.
As we speak i am currently putting something up for this contest i will tag you so you also see what i think .My views are little bit different from yours but the arguments i am bringing is just for educational sake .

No educational system is a waste of time the merits or demerits may out weights the other depending on personal thoughts ...

See you in a jiffy..
@breeze.com
#twopercent
#cameroon

 3 years ago 

I am glad you could see where i am coming from. I will personally come and look for you let us discuss nore on the subject.

I can not wait to read on your views and perspectives. I might get something new to think about.

 3 years ago 

I am glad you could see where i am coming from. I will personally come and look for you let us discuss nore on the subject.

High expectations from my end..
Exactly dear ..i am on it

 3 years ago 

And the teacher has dropped an analysis of the the different subjects studied in school. This is really beautiful.
Question, what about the content of these subjects? Are they yielding the expected results? Can we say the Cameroonian educational system is equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and resources to able to be able to meet up with with global demands?

 3 years ago (edited)

Thank you sir.

About the content, they are not exactly meeting the demands of global innovative change. But the CBA approach has been introduced. It lays more emphasis on practicals and less on theory. It will seriously uplift education in Cameroon.

Unfortunately, the implementation is not very successful despite it being introduced for more than two years. The reason behind this is that many of the teachers have not yet accepted this approach. And you can only teach the way you know how to. The ministry is on track by starting these changes right in the Teacher Training Colleges. I have personally been revolutionised on the teaching styles methods, and ethics, and my classmates can testify as well. The CBA approach needs a complete different teaching style to get the desired effects.

Also, there have been seminars to train experienced teachers in the field about these changes. But very few of the teachers bother to attend these seminars.

To effectively change the system of education, it has to start right from the field. What I think should be done is that very serious tests should be done on teachers before hiring them, especially in the private sector.

If someone who doesn't have the qualifications to teach, that is they rather have an academic degree without any training in teaching, wishes to teach, they should undergo a mandatory training seminar that will give them these skills. They should also have a certificate at the end. This would be presented before being hired.

Also, there should be mandatory seminars of one day per two months to revive and train teachers. And repercussions should be given to those who don't attend. This will make sure that all the teachers present in the field are properly trained and we can actually have a chance of revolutionizing the educational system in Cameroon.

 3 years ago 

Merde!. I feel like I was listening to a teacher or some sort of delegate. Your explanation is very vivid and it's well placed. Thanks for sharing

 3 years ago 

Eyaaa😅😅🤲🏼. It's just me abeg. Thank you for reading.

 3 years ago 

You are a teacher? I guess so! 😯 This write up is super impressive. You win lol!! The detail, the finnese merde, this is a plethora of imformation for me to take in. Hands down!! you win on this one👏👏👏👏

 3 years ago 

I'm more of a student teacher really😅.

Thank you @drumblac. Though I don't think it was a winning post😅😅. I was writing mainly to share my thoughts with others.

 3 years ago 

It is a contest though and I can say you gave in your best even in expressing your ideas. I enjoyed reading you post fam👌

 3 years ago 

Thank you @drumblac😊

 3 years ago 

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