This century has fondly been called the android generation because of the explosion of technology in unprecedented dimensions. knowledge of and ability to use technological gadgets and information communication and technology(ICT) is almost indispensable in all areas of human life. Education and especially higher education, is one of those arenas where such technologies are rife. Graduates destinations could be variously affected or determined by the possession or not of ICT competences which have become some of the determiners of smooth transitions from higher education to the world of work. Using the University of Yaounde1, this paper finds out the extent to which the use of digital technology in the teaching/ learning process in Higher education in Cameroon, can affect graduate destinations in terms of finding a good paying job. The methodology consisted in using questionnaires constructed in the format of the Likert scale, to collect data. The data was analyzed using the Spearman correlation. The significance level was defined pge 0.05. Results revealed that students from the University of Yaoundeacute1 are likely to swell the ranks of unemployment in the country, if they are not recruited by the government.The paper proposes a rigorous implementation of the use of digital technologies and ICTs in state universities to professionalize students before graduation.

Technological Inputs in Higher Education and Graduate Destinations in Cameroon. The Case of The University of Yaounde I

Education is a trillion-dollar industry, with a growing population thirsty for knowledge. There has been tremendous influx of graduates in this industry, seeking self-reliance because obtaining a decent job upon graduation remains a nightmare in developing countries. Consequently, the surroundings of state and private universities in Cameroon are overcrowded with educational subsidiary enterprises created by graduates. Most of these enterprises intend to metamorphose into giant self-reliant enterprises while mitigating the problem of graduate unemployment. This rarely happens as most of the enterprises end at ground level, while others close down in less than 5 years. A question arises: What prevents these small and medium-sized education businesses from thriving? This study surveyed 210 small and medium-sized educational firms selected through clustering technique. The SWOT analysis technique was used to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to these firms. Results revealed little or no leadership or wealth creation education as a major weakness, that threatens these businesses from thriving. The multiple regression further confirms the absence of transformational leadership education as a statistical predictor to setbacks in these firms. Key recommendations call for mainstreaming pragmatic transformational and strategic leadership education in higher education courses, using the case of the faculty of education of the University of Yaoundé I. Learners should be introduced to the world of business through meaningful partnership with the world of work and quality entrepreneurship courses.

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Transformational Leadership and Wealth Creation in Educational Organizations: The Case of Higher Education in Cameroon

The growing need for the secondary education system to produce school leavers with capabilities in terms of skills and attitudes useful for solving youth unemployment challenges has prompted education reforms in Cameroon. Many school leavers, especially those from the secondary general education sector in the country after completing various levels are not easily integrated into the job market due to their lack of employable skills that were not imbibed into them during their training (Esongo, 2017). Despite the government’s efforts at restructuring the educational system and redefine its goals to address youth unemployment and social development, recent evidence suggests that Cameroon has achieved little success (Ibid). The ways in which vocational education can be incorporated in the curriculum of schools have been under-researched in Cameroon and stands as the need for vocational education, rather than a constitutive part of the curriculum development process. My research aims to fill the gap by exploring the perceptions of stakeholders in education for developing a broad-based curriculum that incorporates employability skills at the secondary school level. A qualitative case study approach through interviews and questionnaires was applied in this study. The findings indicated that there is a significant relationship between curriculum development, employability skills acquisition, youth unemployment and the efficiency of the school system. It is thus recommended that the government and education authorities should further refine their focus on needed skills to strengthen and enhance youth unemployment; and thus, provide additional positive outcomes for students by enhancing future curriculum development grounded in practice.

https://ijhss.net/index.php/ijhss/article/download/288/115

Skills acquisition in Cameroon: How well does the secondary school curriculum equip school leavers for employment?

The dynamics of the digital economy constitute the central thesis of every education policy within the context of the trending the fourth industrial revolution. This implies that the focus of every education and training policy should be geared towards the development of skills for the digital economy. Despite being cognizant of the above premise, it has been observed that the Ministry of Secondary Education lacks a strong technology policy and practice for teaching-learning geared towards the development of skills for digital economy. This study is set to evaluate the extent to which educational technology policy and practice develop digital economy skills on high school learners in government secondary schools in Cameroon. The methodology constitutes a mixed approach, with the purposeful sampling used for the selection of policy makers and planners at the Ministry of Secondary Education. The stratified random sampling was used to obtain information from high school managers, high school teachers, high school graduates pursuing studies at the University of Yaounde I. The data were analyzed with content analysis. The results revealed existing but poorly designed technology policies and plans for secondary schools in Cameroon. Policy implementation presented an unprecedented gap at all levels. As a result, recommendations have been made to policy makers and planners/education managers of ICT in education to bridge the said gap.

https://doi.org/10.12691/education-11-6-5

Critical Issues in Developing Skills for the Digital Economy: The State of Policy in the Ministry of Secondary Education in Cameroon

Certification Competency test is one of the requirements of VHS graduates and the gap between theory and phenomenon in this test evaluation is rarely carried out. The objective of this study is to evaluate the implementation of Certification Competency Test of VHS. A thorough evaluative method with Discrepancy Evaluation Model (DEM) was implemented through observation, and document study. Then, a questionnaire was developed to collect the data from 13 VHS as the population and sample. The data analysed descriptively fell into some categories as the finding of this research such as design, installation, process, product shared very good achievement with score 31.53 (100%), 57.4 (88.51%), 39.64 (87.52%), and 43.87 (89.22%) respectively.  The overall score denoted very good category with average gained score 172.44 (91.32%). In conclusion, the certification competency exam requires more maximum improvement despite the recent achievement. Good cooperation is needed from all parties, such as the provincial level national exam implementers, schools, partner institutions, supervisors, parents/community and students so as to fulfill the gap so that the certification competency test results will be even better.

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Discrepancy Evaluation Model on Certification Competency Test Implementation of Vocational High School

The 21st century job market has become very competitive and exigent, as it commands relevant and quality skills as the main prerequisite for graduates to obtain gainful job positions. It therefore becomes imperative for formal education and training institutions to rethink and reshape their skill development plans, strategies, and actions, in order to squarely respond to the challenging needs imposed by this permanently evolving labor market. This means that graduates smooth transition and being maintained in a gainful job position in today’s labor market could be hampered if they are not in possession of the right skills. Using Government Technical High school (GTHS) graduates undergoing further training at the National Employment Fund(NEF), this paper investigated the extent to which Technical, Vocational Education and Training(TVET) Inputs in GTHS Maroua and SALAK influence graduate employability in the Diamare division. TVET inputs were understood in terms of educational policy implementation, curriculum, infrastructures, and partnership. The methodology consisted of a mixed design, data was collected through likert scale questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. The multi-regression was used to determine the degree of association between variables. The results revealed that, at an alpha level of 0,05, all four TVET inputs are statistically significant predictors of graduate employability in the Diamare. This means that technical high school graduates will continue to swell unemployment and underemployment figures if TVET inputs in these schools are not revitalized. Suggestions called for the adaptation of policy definitions and curriculum to local realities, enforce policy implementation, increase finances to obtain quality basic and workshop infrastructures, and to engage in systematic volunteerism, and an equilateral partnership between government- training schools-business world.

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Sylvanus W. Ngu

Papers

Unlocking Graduates’ Employability: The Case of Technical High School Graduates of the Diamaré Division, Far North Region, Cameroon