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In my role as Director of Cooperating Missions for the Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC), I am asked to sit on a number of secondary school board of governors’ meetings. These meetings are held near the end of the school year and give a varied group of stakeholders the opportunity to review and appraise the school’s overall performance and future plans. Those attending the meeting include the CBC Executive President; the CBC Education Secretary; the CBC Director of Finance & Development; the school’s principal, vice principal(s), and chaplain; representatives from the regional government education authority; the parent–teacher association; the ex-student association; the local Baptist churches; and the local traditional (tribal) ruler, among others. Reviewed are staffing, enrolment, academic performance, spiritual activities, discipline, security, health/sanitation, and maintenance. There is a tour of the school compound. Also given attention are school clubs/groups, sporting activities, projects, and, last but not least, the school’s finances.
For the just-concluded academic year, I was part of the team appraising the following schools:
Saker Baptist College, Limbe – This is an all-girls boarding school on the Atlantic coast. (It is the alma mater of my wife, Florence.) This year, they had an enrolment of over 1,200 girls. During the school’s spiritual emphasis week, 245 girls accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour. The NAB women were appreciated for sending funds to bolster the school’s water supply.
Saker girls in front of the school chapel (built by the ex-students).
Baptist High School, Buea and Baptist Comprehensive High School, Buea – These are two schools side by side on the side of Mount Cameroon. Baptist High School is by far the older school and is fully boarding for both boys and girls. Total enrolment was just under 800. This year, the school community was grateful to have a renovated girls’ dormitory, cafeteria area, and classroom block. But there is a significant loan to pay off. Baptist Comprehensive High School offers both boarding and day student options. It uniquely offers commercial subjects. Enrolment came to 958 students. There are a lot of Christian clubs/groups in this school. The school has a lot of dire infrastructural needs.
Baptist High School, Buea students taking in a mental health lesson.
Baptist High School, Kang Barombi, Kumba – This school is in the tropical rainforest part of the country. Most of the students’ parents are cocoa farmers, so when the price of cocoa is good (like it is now), that is a good time to collect school fees. The anglophone crisis / civil unrest significantly hampered the ability of this school to function for several years. It was devolved to the local area churches to run but this academic year was reinstated to the CBC Education Department. The enrolment was still only 262 students. The good news is that 15 of those students accepted Christ as their Saviour.
Some students and teachers at Baptist High School, Kumba.
The full list of secondary schools run by the Cameroon Baptist Convention Education Department is as follows:
- Saker Baptist College, Limbe
- Baptist High School, Buea
- Baptist Comprehensive High School, Belo
- Joseph Merrick Baptist College, Ndu
- Baptist High School, Kang Barombi, Kumba
- Baptist High School, Yaoundé
- Baptist Comprehensive High School, Nkwen
- Baptist Comprehensive High School, Buea
- Baptist Bilingual College of Arts, Science & Technology, Bafoussam
While these schools all struggle with significant infrastructure and staffing problems, they are carrying out the mission of bringing Christ to the next generation, and that is something to praise God for.
Thank you for your support in giving me the privilege and responsibility to be part of the team that appraises the ministry through education in Cameroon. May we all do our part where God places us.