Cameroon: Prattled by War, Seat of Wisdom College’s Legacy Lives On.

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

LEBIALEM, Cameroon – “I feel bad that a school of that nature, a school that has produced great men and women, is not functioning,” Ghilung Paul, Coordinator of Mutual Love Secondary School, the temporal new name for the Seat of Wisdom College Fontem tells me as we enter the site of the new campus.

Everywhere is quiet but for the noises of birds in the area. Ghilung tells me that the few children at the school have gone on break as they are presently sitting in for their examinations. The site of the new school dwarfs what many know of the famous Seat of Wisdom College.

“If you go over to the campus, you are going to see that things are crumbling in terms of education. Seat of Wisdom is one of the first schools that went operational in this place. We are hoping that one day God himself is going to do a miracle and we are going to have the Seat of Wisdom that we know of,” Ghilung Paul said.

A new name but the same mentality

Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College Fontem was created back in 1966 by the Focolare Movement, an Italian religious group within the Roman Catholic Church. Thousands of children from within and without this rural community benefited from cheap and moral education provided by these missionaries.

Before the outbreak of the ongoing Anglophone crisis, from 1966 to 2016, Seat of Wisdom College was an elite Secondary and High School in Cameroon offering co-education to boys and girls. Statistics from the Cameroon General Certificate of Education (GCE) Board show that Seat of Wisdom College was among the top 5 Secondary/High Schools in Cameroon. Before the crisis, it frequently registered 100% pass rates at the GCE Ordinary and Advanced Levels.

Despite having had a temporal change of name, the educational authorities are still aiming to maintain the standards that the Seat of Wisdom College is known for. And that includes providing quality education and running just three classes.

“We started with 42 students and today we count 44 in number. As days went by, other parents were encouraged and decided to send their children because of the work that we had been doing. We have just forms one to three. This is because we want to maintain a standard; we want the students should have standards so that their portfolio in future is going to be one of the greatest,” Ghilung Paul added.

Challenges are abound

Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College was not spared from this crisis: some buildings on the school campus were either partly burnt down or windows destroyed by unidentified gunmen. Students were physically assaulted during this event and even told to evacuate campus immediately or would be killed during the next encounter, an incident that unfortunately forced the closure of the school. The campus is reportedly also now infested by large reptiles and animals, not conducive for any human living.

"We could have been having a much higher population than we have now but the issue of the road is the problem. This means people cannot travel down here well and the cost of travelling to is very expensive," Ghilung Paul said.

"The second challenge comes from our campus. It is not that big, the benches in our classrooms and blackboards are small and inadequate. We are hoping for a brighter future for things to return the way they were before (before the outbreak of the crisis).”

LECUDO’s support has been a key factor

To solve some of the present challenges, new methods had to be devised. In terms of pedagogy, the school with the help of some sponsors like the Focolare Movement, and LECUDO has been able to provide the institution with didactic materials like boards and also made sure that the students study in a comfortable environment. LECUDO and the Focolare Movement also donated textbooks to all the students.

 “Each time we hold PTA meetings, I always tell parents that the first support I will need is from the community and the parents as well. If they do not decide that we should go ahead with the training, it is not going to go ahead. There are parents here who cannot even afford schools in places like Dschang, Santchou, Yaounde and others, but their children are not going to school. If they do not stand and say my child needs education, we are not going to have children here again for next year,” Ghilung Paul, Coordinator of Mutual Love Secondary School added.

"To our sponsors, particularly LECUDO, Focolare Movement, and Ex-students of Seat of Wisdom College who have always been by our side, I just want to say that they should keep on with the work. I am so overwhelmed with the work they have been doing. Students here school literarily for free, almost covering the expenses. With their support and what we are doing here with teachers, we believe that in the years to come, we are going to have one of the best education that can ever exist in the South West."