Tracing the Evolution of Decentralization Policy in the Ministry of Basic Education in Cameroon, an Overview of the History and Challenges of the Process

This paper explored Cameroon’s decentralization policy in the context of educational reforms which entails the adoption of universal legal framework which aims at universalizing free primary education such as that from the1990 Jomtien Conference on Education for All EFA by 2015 and the Dakar 2002 Action Framework. Basically, the government strives to provide free education to pupils, so as to support the underprivileged and enable them read and write in a bid to reduce illiteracy and to bring education to the people. This paper is also anchored on the observation that every major decentralized education throughout the world has to involve some legislative changes to the law. In the case of Cameroon, decentralization constitutes a legal, institutional and financial means through which regional and local authorities operate to foster development with the active involvement of the population. Assessing the legal framework and implementation by various stakeholders shows that the decentralization laws passed over the years in Cameroon have local development and governance as their main thrust. But this review posits that the process for the adoption and implementation of the decentralization policies is slow, partial and seemingly unserious thus barricading the smooth functioning of Basic Education in Cameroon. Unfortunately too, empirical science has narrowly escaped the decentralization process as it pertains to Education primary in Cameroon. As such, this paper acts as a clarion call for more studies to understand how the process unfolds in Cameroon and how it affects the primary education sector. Ngong Gaius Mufua "Tracing the Evolution of Decentralization Policy in the Ministry of Basic Education in Cameroon, an Overview of the History and Challenges of the Process" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-3 , April 2020, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd30620.pdf