IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: International Governance Institute-Focal Integrity Team for Cameroon
YEARS: 2010-2011
GRANT AMOUNT: $34,000
THEMES: Education
The International Governance Institute (IGI) is involved in a series of activities based on its objects and functions with the sole purpose of improving governance in public administration. The IGI programs are formulated and implemented by the Focal Integrity Teams (FITs) in various countries and are closely monitored and assisted by the Technical Management Unit (TMU) of the organization.
In April 2010, the IGI-Focal Integrity Team for Cameroon (IGI-FITCAM) received financial support from PTF to replicate the experience of the 2009 Buea State University project at the University of Siantou Complex (One of the most influential Private Higher Education Institutions in the country). The effort was a means to capture and spread the momentum for transparency and accountability to other mainstream higher education institutions throughout the national territory and thus pull political pressure to bear on the administrators of these educational institutions to clean up corruption. Siantou University Complex was a major lead towards this direction for IGI-FITCAM.
The University Complex is an extension of the Siantou Group, which is comprised of Siantou Secondary, Siantou High School and Siantou University Complex. This Private Institution shares education exchange partnership with other major providers of higher education in the country such as; the Buea, Douala, Dschang, Ngoundere and Yaounde II State universities. Considered as one of the pioneers of private higher education in Cameroon, Siantou University possesses the sort of critical network through which the promotion of ethics and fight against corruption in the educational sector in Cameroon can be widened.
The project at the University of Siantou Complex enabled IGI-FITCAM to work more closely with the relevant government authority responsible for higher education as well as with the Minister’s principal collaborators and representatives in Cameroon universities; an added breakthrough in the course of the exercise which help increase commitment to clean up corruption at the University of Siantou Complex and other State universities.
Siantou University Complex stands out as one of premiere higher education institution under this initiative in Cameroon, to have agreed to develop and implement an institutional departmental code of conduct for its staff following problems of corruption identified during its corruption survey exercise. By strengthening the internal capacity of the institution to encourage transparency and defend ethics, levels of awareness were raised to support good practice and to undertake early blocking measures. Through its involvement and devotion to forge ahead the anti-corruption fight in private higher education as exhorted by the Cameroon Government, Siantou University Complex has instilled an added public recognition and confidence in quality private education in Cameroon in the years ahead. The activities, lessons learnt and other successes of the Siantou University Project are described in detail in this report.
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