The survival of Catholic schools depends on parents

Interviewed by Livinus Tal Bam
Catholic schools and colleges in the Diocese of Kumbo recently took part in the Catholic Education week which ran from October 28, to Sunday November 4, 2007. To understand the reason behind the organisation of a Catholic Education Week L’Effort Camerounais had a chat with the Catholic Education Secretary of Kumbo, Rev. Fr Zephyrinus Y. Mbuh, who revisits the event and highlights its importance. Excerpts

Father, can you explain why Catholic Education officials have set aside a Catholic Education week?

Catholic Education is very important for Catholic Christians because Canon Law requires that Catholic Christians should bring up their children within the norms of the Catholic Faith. We, therefore, believe that this can only be is done properly in Catholic schools and also at home when Catholic parents take up their duties as first catechists and primary teachers of their children.

This year’s event was special, why?

First of all, the Diocese of Kumbo is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year. As we are celebrating the Silver Jubilee of the diocese all other events that fall within this year have received a special touch. Catholic teachers, students, pupils and all other groups that have taken turn to celebrate the jubilee, have taken advantage of the occasion to commune with the bishop. Besides that fact it is a jubilee year, the Holy Father recently recognised the enormous contributions that some of our teachers have made to the promotion of Catholic Education and the propagation of the faith. These two points have given this year’s Catholic Education Week a special significance.

Despite the sacrifices made by Catholic teachers they continue to earn poor salaries. After the attainment of the age of maturity, can Catholic teachers in the Kumbo Diocese expect brighter days ahead?

There is always hope for Christians because Christians are people who live in hope. Empty stomachs or an empty pocket is not what matters. What matters is the goodwill which, I think all, our teachers have. It is because of the good will that Catholic teachers have that they have continued doing their work even on an empty stomach even when people try to discourage them. They have been deaf to all sorts of discouragement as the bishop said in his homily. We are proud of our teachers because at all times they have been working to the best of their abilities.

You have been encouraging pupils in Catholic primary schools to attend Catholic colleges. Many, if not, all of them did not take an active part in this event. Will this not adversely affect enrolment into Catholic colleges in the near future?

Definitely, enrolment to Catholic colleges depends very much on the performance of Catholic colleges in public exams. The results have been excellent and this has brought our colleges to the fore. That is what is going to encourage children from primary schools to come to our colleges and what is going to encourage parents to send their children to our colleges. I think the trouble we have is with the nursery and primary schools, not with the colleges except for a college like St. John Bosco Catholic college in Ngarum in Ndu Sub division which is found in an area that is not accessible. Otherwise, our colleges do not have enrollment-related problems.

As the Catholic Education Secretary for Kumbo, how do you evaluate the state of Catholic Education in the Kumbo Diocese?

Personally, I think the parents have not taken up their role fully. In other words, they still look up to the bishop as the one who has to provide for the schools. They look up to the bishop who has to provide for the teachers and for everyone. But the point is that the bishop has no ready-made financial source. He depends on the fees paid by parents. He expects them to send children to the schools which they have asked him to open and run. He expects them to pay fees promptly after sending the children to Catholic schools to enable him to pay the salaries of teachers.

Any difficulties encountered during the organisation of the Catholic Education week?

I think that there is a difficulty of communication in the sense that it is difficult to get information to all the corners of the diocese. Again, that difficulty comes about as a result of the nature of the terrain. For example, you must have noticed that places like Mfumte, Ako and Sabongari were not represented here because they are far away. We do hope that even in their distant locations, they participated in the activities of the week fully.

What strategies are being put in place to improve on the general situation of Catholic Education in this diocese?

What we are interested in at the moment is to let parents to understand that the survival of Catholic schools depends entirely on them because in Cameroon the government does not seem to favour Catholic Education. The government has promised subventions to enable Catholic authorities run their schools and pay their teachers, but the money never comes, or comes too little, too late. So, we depend very much on the parents to take up the schools as their own, pay fees and be concerned about the schools, the teachers and of course the children..