The school year of 2023-2024 concluded positively for around 60,000 final-year primary students in Cameroon as they were able to acquire their birth certificates, referred to as the "first diploma" in their lives. This development significantly aids their transition to higher levels of education.
Lucresse, a student in the Adamawa region, doubted her ability to enroll in a bilingual high school due to the lack of a birth certificate, which is essential for educational progression. She is one of the many students within the 47.1% of primary-level pupils in Cameroon who didn't possess this vital document. Efforts by organizations like the World Bank and UNICEF aim to inform parents of the significance of obtaining birth certificates for newborns. However, as reported by the Ministry of Basic Education in 2023, about 1,250,000 public primary school students in Cameroon face educational setbacks due to missing birth certificates. This situation often leads to high dropout rates, especially when students reach CM2 or Class 6.
To address this, the Cameroon Education Reform Support Project (PAREC) in coordination with several government ministries and partners such as UNICEF and BUNEC initiated an operation. This effort focused on issuing birth certificates to late-registered students completing their primary cycle in April and May 2024.
Prof. Laurent Serge Etoundi Ngoa, Minister of Basic Education, stated that the initiative ensures "effective implementation of the sector strategy," promoting children's education and legal identity, aligning Cameroon with international child rights commitments.
The operation required coordination at various levels:
- National supervision commission and technical team at the central level by PAREC.
- Operational involvement of courts and mobile court sessions.
- Local involvement by education district commissions, school inspectors, principals, and parents.
Results from 544 mobile court sessions yielded 48,232 favorable decisions, allowing 98% of the targeted students to participate in end-of-primary examinations. Additionally, costs for drafting deeds were reduced by over 76%, from CFAF 9,500 to CFAF 2,015. Ongoing discussions with the Ministry of Health could further reduce age certificate fees significantly.
Encouraged by this success, a second phase plans to reach 1,450,000 students across Cameroon. This requires an estimated budget of CFAF 400,000 million, with ongoing discussions involving partners like UNICEF, AfDB, and UNESCO.
The special operation of 2023-2024 is deemed transitional. Necessary measures to address this issue long-term in the Cameroonian education system include:
- Making birth certificates more accessible.
- Lowering procedural costs.
- Establishing a simplified process to reduce loss risk.
- Increasing the role of school committees and parents in supporting students without birth certificates.