“We had few and devastated classrooms, while the number of pupils rose considerably, causing overcrowding in the classes and making learning very challenging." Narrates Agnes Mbong, Headteacher of the St. Joseph Catholic School Mankon in Bamenda, NW Region. 

The St. Joseph School is situated at the heart of Bamenda town. It was built in 2013 By the Catholic Mission and has, for over 22 years, provided quality basic education to thousands of successful Cameroonians across the globe. Since 2019, the school has seen an upsurge in its pupil population as a result of the crisis in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon. The crisis has had a significant negative effect on the education sector. Over 700,000 children have been impacted by school closures because of the disruption of school activities and the destruction of school infrastructure in the two regions. Some families have fled the security-challenged areas to urban towns for education. This has put significant pressure on urban schools because of the explosion in the pupil population. This was the case with St. Joseph School, which was also vulnerable to intruders and threats due to the lack of a proper fence around the school.

“A teacher had to handle over 90 pupils all chucked up in a classroom designed for 40 pupils. This made it very difficult for the teacher to control or follow up with the children.” Agnes Mbong, the head teacher, adds. “With security being a major concern in the region, the absence of a fence exposed the children more to other forms of insecurity. This gave us parents sleepless nights.” Manka Geraldine, the mother of one of the pupils, explains further.