IMPLEMENTING PARTNER: Action Group for Democracy and Good Governance
YEAR: 2011
GRANT AMOUNT: $21,300
THEME: Education
Improving governance and fighting corruption remain the main critical factors in increasing growth and broad based development in Cameroon to the levels necessary to significantly reduce poverty and improve livelihood. The challenges to improve governance and curb corruption remain huge in a country context where efforts to improve accountability and service delivery in education are little.
By diverting scares resources intended to improve the quality and service of secondary education delivery in Cameroon; corruption is a major obstacle to the success of long-term development initiatives and growth. In contrast to other sectors, the largest group of people affected directly or indirectly by corruption in the education system constitute children and young people. While the School Management Board and Parent Teacher Association are provided with the mandate to ensure an atmosphere and environment of education that is fair, transparent and exemplary, many continue to neglect this noble duty to achieve unjustified benefits which have far reaching effect and impact in the way the students they teach and the community perceive service delivery and reward.
To increase education outcomes and improve on service delivery, Action Group for Democracy and Good Governance collaborated with the school principal of Government Bilingual High School Limbe to monitor service delivery and introduce in-house measures designed to counter corruption and improve on the resource management of PTA and SMB funded activities and programs in GBHS Limbe.
In line with the Government’s national strategy against corruption in education a series of activities were planned and delivered with the sole purpose of preventing a further loss of PTA funds and ensuring proper use of school resources.
In the beginning of 2011, Action Group for Democracy and Good Governance in a consortium with the International Peace Commission for Cameroon approached Partnership for Transparency Fund to support its proposal to significantly strengthen the internal capacity of school management committee and PTA to ensure proper use and application of material, financial and human educational resource of GBHS Limbe. This action was supported in June 2011 and became the first of such citizen against corruption approaches in the secondary education sector across the country. The activities of the project were accepted by the Regional Delegate for Secondary Education in the South West who represented the Ministry of Secondary Education at the projects’ opening and at the final forum where a code of conduct for PTA and school management board was enforced and made public.
The GBHS Limbe secondary school resource management model has proven to be responsive and innovative in tackling the challenging practices of corruption and poor management that often go undetected in the administration of PTA and SMB funded activities in GBHS Limbe. The strong commitment and involvement of the school principal in the exercise created an enabling environment to mobilize and build stakeholder support for the improve performance that was needed.
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