CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

 1.0 Introduction

The primary goal of the university reforms of 1993 were to decongest the University of Yaoundé and the professionalization of university studies intended to produce graduate who could be useful to the private sector and the country as a whole. One of its specific objectives was to provide a more conducive environment for teaching and research by creating a better atmosphere for teachers, students and research. In addition two broad conferences centered on the quality of our education have been held in Yaoundé, the political capital of Cameroon; The National Education Forum in May, 1995 and the Sector Wide Conference on Education in February, 2005 all in a bit to improve the quality of our educational system and learning environment.

It therefore becomes problematic when we do not fully understand what is going on with students while they are enrolled in Higher Education (HE). There are about 197 million higher education students today globally and UNESCO’s prediction is that this number will rise to 262 million by 2035 while Cameroon has approximately 2.5 million students in higher institutions (Draft Document of the Sector Wide Approach/Education, Section 1.2, p.1). The opportunity cost both for individual students and our economies are enormous if higher education institutions do not fulfill their promises of formative effects on students because they do not have sufficient information and knowledge of what, why, and how students learn and develop in the higher education context.

Student experience has become a central tenet of quality assurance in higher education and this is because; education which enables and strengthens is both a condition of a successful society and also one of the outcomes of it. Institutional decision makers and policy makers need to understand student experiences and behaviours in order to develop interventions that will improve them (Klemencic, 2015). Student support and services contribute to the quality of their learning experience and their academic success. Studies show that the most important factors in education quality assurance are: quality of teaching and learning and service systems and support for students (Hill, et. al., 2003). Therefore the importance of support activities for the students is obvious but also presents the management of services with difficulties due to the increasing number of students and their needs. They help to decrease the university dropout rate and increase the diversity of students’ experience. (Tinto, 1993). Without effective student services, students that do not have an academic, emotional and social connection with the institution, at cultural level are more likely to give up their studies.Among the services available to students, the most important are those which meet their academic, personal development and emotional needs (McInnis, 2004).It is based on this backdrop that this study seeks to investigate the experiences of Curriculum Studies and Teaching (CST) Economics students in the University of Buea.  For this purpose of overreaching interest are experiences with teaching, administrators, and learning. Chapter one will embody; the background of the study, the statement of the problem, the purpose of the study, the objectives of the study, the research questions, significance of the study, scope of the study, justification of the study and operational definition of terms.

1.1 Background of the Study

 The importance of higher education in a nation cannot be overemphasize, in Cameroon the basic mission of higher education is stipulated in Article 2 of Law No. 005 of 16 April 2001 to guide higher education as; the higher education realm shall be assigned a basic mission of producing, organizing and disseminating scientific, cultural, professional and ethical knowledge for development purposes. Higher education shall have the following goals;

1. The quest for excellence in all domains of knowledge
2. The promotion of science, culture and social progress

iii.        Social promotion, with the participation of competent national bodies and socio-professional circles, especially as concerns the drawing-up of programs as well as the organization of theoretical courses, practical and internship.

1. Assistance to development activities
2. The training and further training of senior staff
3. The deepening of ethics and national consciousness

vii.       The promotion of democracy and the development of a democratic culture

viii.      The promotion of bilingualism.

The above mentioned goals are the benefits or advantages a society can have from higher education if the goals are well implemented.

Evolution of Higher Education in Cameroon

An important landmark in the history of higher education in Cameroon, from its inception, the goals of higher education were tied to the vision of the newly independent nation that sought to develop locally trained human resources in order to manage its own affairs. By establishing an array of institutions, the government succeeded to a very large degree in limiting the cost of training Cameroonians abroad as well as stemming the associated brain drain. A decade after it started the attractiveness of the local university was no longer an issue. Today university is relentlessly sought after by the Cameroonian youths. Njuema, et. al., in Reforming a National System of Higher Education: The Case of Cameroon, identify the following main developmental period in the evolution of higher education in Cameroon.

Following independence in 1960, one of the crucial problems faced in Cameroon was the need for trained national cadres, especially for senior positions in the civil services. Before independence, most Cameroonians pursued university education abroad. But the education they received abroad was poorly adapted to the needs of Africa in general and of Cameroon in particular. To provide higher education suitable for the specific needs and realities of the newly independent nation, the government created in 1961 a university complex known as the National Institute for University Studies (Institude National d’Etudes Universitaires). Its activities started modestly in 1961 with the assistance of the French government.

In 1962 period the National Institute for university for universities studies evolved into the Federal University Studies which later evolved into the French University of Cameroon, created to take over the role of training senior cadres in Science, Education and Technology. This institution was composed of organizational units such as faculties, schools, centers and institutes, each assigned a specific mission.

Furthermore, the period 1962-1967 witnessed the creation of general education structures (faculties) while the period after 1967 was devoted to building professional and technological schools. These efforts were aimed at preparing graduates for immediate integration into the public service or government corporations.  Equally, during this period other establishments had been created and attached to the university of Yaoundé (new name after 1967), the principle ones worth mentioning are: the University Center  for Health Sciences (CUSS), In 1970 the International School of Journalism- Ecole Superieure Internalional de Journalisme de Yaoundé (ESIJY), In 1971, the Institute of Internal Relations (Ecole National Superieur Polytechnique – ENSP). With the creation of these capacities, the nation was finally poised to tackle the broad strategic problems of development.

The years 1960, 1961, moving towards independence and the unitary era to 1972, the trend in education was first to protect the inherited values from the colonial masters (Britain and France) with time increasing consciousness of Africanisation led to attitude change education content and its practices respond to contextual expectations. Issues of Ruralisation, Harmonization of the two systems and Bilingualism necessitated the training of new teachers and reorientation of old teachers.  By 1974, Cameroon therefore possessed at the structural level its two principal types of higher educational establishments: fundamental education and technical and professional education.

The National Education Forum was held in Yaoundé political capital of Cameroon in May, 1995 to discuss issues affecting education in the country. New trends in education arena emerged from the different international declarations including: The Millennium Development goals of education, the EFA goals and most recently Cameroons Vision 2035 which aims at making Cameroon an emergent nation by 2035. For the objectives of vision 2035 to be achieved it qualifies that the training of teachers must be geared towards enabling the teachers to be able to achieve the educational objectives of vision 2035.

In recent years government policy for education has advanced. In January 1994/1995 a Faculty of Education was opened at the University of Buea with the department of Curriculum Studies and Teachings, Department of Educational Administration and Educational Psychology with the aim of strengthening teacher education in the country and educating in ways that responds to the market forces making great demands on education offering. Finally each teacher training program ends with an end of course examination which permits the student teacher to graduate. In the University of Buea, student teachers must validate all courses prescribed on their FORM B and all university requirements. Upon graduation, they are being offered a B.Ed degree in their respective teaching subjects. With this degree, they are qualified to teach their respective teaching subjects in secondary and high schools.

Equally, Law No 005 of 16 April 2001 was signed to lay down guidelines to guide Higher Education in Cameroon. Also the Sector Wide Conference was held in Yaoundé in February 2005 to discuss issues regarding higher education in Cameroon. Furthermore, the Government of Cameroon has launched a strategic vision to become an emerging country by 2035 (Government of Cameroon, 2012). Such an ambitious development plan will need the necessary human capital to carry it out more than ever. Higher education institutions are primary producers of human resources and hubs of knowledge creation. Hence, catalyzing the higher education system to accomplish Vision 2035 seems to hold a much promise for a successful implementation of the vision.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Education is a journey in which many would love to enjoy, it is also a huge societal institution in which changes in life and smooth relation with others is important. There must therefore be a cordial relationship between stakeholders found in the learning environment. Upon graduation learners should get the required knowledge, ethical values and experiences which could be useful to the private sector and the nation as a whole. Institutional decision makers and policy makers need to understand students’ experiences and behaviours in order to develop interventions that will improve them this is because student support and services contribute to the quality of their learning experiences and their academic success.

Getting information directly from students on their experiences with those found in their learning environment is a starting point in understanding student’s experiences and the type of relationship they have with those found in their learning environment.  When student’s experiences are not known, scare and limited resources are misallocated, performance is negatively affected, teaching/learning practices cannot be innovated, reviewed or evaluated or it might be inadequate if at all it is done due to lack of/or insufficient information on students experiences, increase the rate of university drop out and finally the number of prospective students drops. The results of this study might help minimize the occurrence of such negative tendencies and the information provided on student’s experiences will give room for adequate innovation, review and evaluation of teaching and learning practices. It is based on this backdrop that this study seeks to investigate the experiences of CST in Economics students in the University of Buea.

1.3 The Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the Experiences of CST in Economics students of the University of Buea.

Objectives of the Study

The general objective of this study is to find out the experiences of CST in Economics students in the University of Buea.

1.3.1 Specifically, the researcher wishes to find out CST in Economics students experiences with;

1. Teaching
2. Head of Department.
3. Learning (activities students engage in, experiences with other students and experiences with learning resources)
4. To find out the problems CST Economics students encounters in the Department of Economics.
5. To propose solutions to problems CST in Economics students encounters in the Department of Economics.

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