INSTITUTE FOR HOTEL CATERING AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT BONABERI ANCIENNE ROUTE DOUALA

 

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EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT NEWS

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THE TRANSFORMING TOURISM INDUSTRY IN CAMEROON

Cameroon is a country endowed with lots of Tourism Potential. Unfortunately the accompanying Quality Services and infrastructure that should accompany and better project this potential have for many years been limping behind.

This problem has been compounded by the Public Sector Mentality in Cameroon. The tendency to always believe that any initiative has to be carried out by the Government or the Public Sector.

Furthermore, attempts by individuals to venture into the Tourism Industry have always proven to be very challenging due to the absence of an enabling environment thus justifying the complain that the Ministry of Tourism has not been living up to expectations in terms of meeting up with the standards that are required for the sector to move forward to become a major income earner for the nation.

These challenges not withstanding, private initiatives have been steadily increasing in the sector. The Hotel Sector in Cameroon which timidly started shortly after Independence and Reunification with Hotels dominantly run by the Public Sector and foreign investors has experienced a transformation of unimaginable dimensions.

Individuals have invested heavily in the Sector in the Major cities in the country notably in Yaounde, Douala, Limbe, Kribi, Bafoussam, Bamenda, Dschang, Garoua amongst others.

However, while the Hotel Sector has been growing, the need to train personnel to work in this thriving sector became necessary. It was noted that most of the managing personnel of the Three, Four and Five Star Hotels were either foreigners or European Trained. Related infrastructures like Restaurants and associated services like Chefs or Cooks suddenly needed trained personnel and there were almost none in sight.

Today there has been that increased awareness of the necessity to collectively work for the growth of the Tourism Industry  in Cameroon.

Trained Individuals who have worked in the Sector for years are gradually waking up from slumber and throwing their weight behind that collective effort to push the sector forward.

One of such individuals that this reporter caught up with was Mr Nfor Thaddeus of the Institute for Hotel Catering and Tourism Management. 

AT THE INSTITUTE OF HOTEL CATERING AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT AT BONABERI: ANCIENNE ROUTE IN DOUALA

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This establishment is found at Douala specifically at Ancienne Route (Old Road).

This seasoned Tourist worker and Hotel Manager explained that the Institute for Hotel Catering and Tourism Management trains professionals in the domains of Hotel Catering and Management, Tourism Management, Bakery and Pastry amongst others. 

The advantages of studying at this Institute are that students are trained in salable skills required in the job market.

This initiative clearly falls in line with what is needed for the sector to improve upon the quality of it’s services and finally occupy the important place that it deserves on the list of National Priorities.

By Francis Ekongang Nzante.

Education And Development News: Edev Web News

Email: edevnewspaper@gmail.com

Tel: +237696896001/+237671262198

Saint Thierry Professional Training Institute Bamenda

 "We are Presently Offering Scholarships to Students in different fields"  -Dr. Tassang Thiery

Dr Tassang Thiery, Director of Saint Thiery Vocational Institute of Business Management, Science, Technology and Agriculture VIBMSTA, has in an exclusive interview with "Edev Web News" declared his intention to offer Scholarships to young Cameroonians wishing to pursue studies in Professional fields. In this brief interview which took place at his Bamenda Campus, Dr Thiery begins by shedding light on the present spread of the school on the National Territory. 

“The Institution has a branch in the West Region specifically in Bafoussam. We have a new campus at Feu Rouge in Bafoussam. We have another branch in the South West Region of Cameroon located at Tiko Road Mutengene.”

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What exactly is offered at Saint Thiery?

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If you look at the Sociopolitical Crisis that we are facing, you will see that we actually need to bring a kind of reformation in education in Cameroon. We need to bring in things that will take us to the next level. We have a new vision which is to bring in professionalism in education. To bring in skills acquisition. It’s not just about talking. It’s not just about training people who will go home and contribute nothing towards the development of their societies. The main objective of Saint Thiery is to make the best out of the little that we have. It is to take people who could not believe in their own talents and capabilities and show them how they can use the little that they have to impact on society. We show them that with the little that they have they can be very useful in shaping and participating in the development of their Communities and in this way improving upon the economic situation of their regions and the economic situation of the country as a whole. 

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Can you itemise the Courses offered at Saint Thiery?

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Saint Thiery is authoutised by the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training in Cameroon. Under this ministry we run strictly the Professional National Diploma Programmes. We are also affiliated to State Universities and other private higher Institutions of learning. One of these is the Havard University Institute Bamenda and Kesmond International University which is located in Ngoundere and in many African Countries like Kenya, Zambia,  Somalia, Uganda amongst others. We use all our partners and affiliates to see how we can improve upon the outcome and the certification of our students.  If a student for example is studying for a Diploma in Pharmacy, upon graduation the student will get the National Diploma as a Pharmacy Assistant from the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training and at the same time get an equivalent certificate from Kesmond International University.

So we make sure that our students have dual certificates which can permit them to have opportunities not only in Cameroon but internationally as well.  So under the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training we have Pharmacy Assistant which is a one year Programme. The entry requirement is the GCE Ordinary Level. We have Physiotherapy Assistants  which is also a one year Training Programme and with an entry requirement which is the GCE O Level. Other one year Programmes with the GCE Ordinary Level as entry level include Laboratory Assistants, Medical Secretariat and Agriculture and Pasture. By Agriculture and Pasture we are talking about all the fields in Agriculture like Poultry Farming, Animal Farming, Crop production etc. We also have Medical Delegates which is a branch of Pharmacy which has to do with the Marketing of Pharmaceutical Products.  So we train Medical Delegates to master their Pharmacology and to master the marketing of Pharmaceutical Products and Equipments as well as to keep the Doctors and the Health Personnel in our hospitals updated on the new products and equipment. We also have Geriatrics which is a specialised field in Nursing that has to do with the care of the elderly. 

We have Computerised Accounting and Management as well as Computer Hardware and Software Maintenance. The Programmes are many and we can’t mention all of them here.

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What about your HND Programmes?

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In our HND Programmes we collaborate with the Havard University Institute Bamenda to offer HND in Nursing, Pharmacy, Laboratory Sciences, Midwifery, Physiotherapy, Management, Marketing, Accounting amongst others.

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We would like you to put across a message to prospective candidates and parents..

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We understand the situation that we are all facing now so we are offering scholarships in different fields so we are encouraging students to come and apply for Scholarships so that we can select those that can be granted Scholarships.  

Interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante

Edev Web News

Email: edevnewspaper@gmail.com/ francoeko@gmail.com

Tel: +237696896001(WhatsApp) +237671262198/ +237678401408

 

Higher Education:

 

“Students  Should be trained to Provide Indigenous Solutions to Problems”

 -Dr Tata Elvis Fon 

By Francis Ekongang Nzante

Dr Tata Elvis Fon, Coordinator of the Bachelor Degree Programme in Medical Laboratory Sciences at the Florence Nightingale Higher Institute of Health and Biomedical Sciences has emphasised that for education to be meaningful, students have to be empowered to provide indigenous solutions to Problems facing the society in which they find themselves. He was speaking recently during the Defense Session of Bachelor Degree students of Medical Laboratory Sciences and Nursing at the Florence Nightingale Higher Institute of Health and Biomedical Sciences in Bamenda. Characteristic of this Defense Session was the innovativeness of the students both in Nursing and in Medical Laboratory Sciences. This reporter caught up with Madam Ambola Rodha who coordinates the Bachelor Degree  Nursing Programme. She said what caught her attention during the Defense Session was the innovativeness of the students. This appraisal is made weighty when one considers the fact that this lady who holds a Bachelor Degree in Nursing and a Master Degree in Education has practiced as a bedside nurse for eleven years and has been teaching for the past six years in a nursing school. 

Team of Supervisors During Defense

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“Defense is one of the very important exercises that we do in Academia. What the students have presented this far has been very wonderful. Students have been very innovative and have ventured into areas that no one has ever done before. This indicates that there’s a bright future for nursing because we see students not just copying what has been done in the past but venturing into unexplored domains. 

The quality of the students is really good. In similar situations, you will find students simply consulting what others have done just to fulfill the requirements of the Academic year. This is not the case here. At Florence Nightingale, we see students who want to improve upon nursing by venturing into things that have not been earlier touched.  This is just the first year and we are still struggling to put things in place. That not withstanding, they've done all their courses and the University of Bamenda has been here for supervision.”

 She called on those aspiring to do a degree in Nursing to think about Florence Nightingale Higher Institute of Health and Biomedical Sciences. 

Dr Tata Elvis Fon who coordinates the Bachelor Degree Programme in Medical Laboratory Sciences on his part said they had been examining Research Theses done by the students for the final year of the Bachelor Degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences. 

“Topics covered by the students touch a wide range affecting the general welfare and health of the population.” 

The entire research he said was focused on looking for indigenous approaches to solving problems that are faced in society. “It has actually been very positive and most of the solutions they proposed are actually available, affordable and sustainable for our communities. With respect to quality, I will say it’s been excellent. The students have demonstrated a mastery of what they’ve learnt. Both the Technical and the Theoretical know how is there. By the time we consolidate our Technical and Theoretical know how, then we will expect immediate solutions to our indigenous problems.”

Dr Tata Elvis Fon said though the students were defending for a Bachelor Degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences, the topics presented cut across Dermatology, Bacteriology, Parasitology and a host of others “which measure the problems that face our community especially within the domain of Infectious Agents. In the past the Government has gone through a lot of trials and after Children are trained they go around knocking doors to look for employment. However we have empowered our graduates in such a way that they can look for solutions to their own problems and the society as a whole. This means that we expect them to create employment and jobs for others” he said.

Edev Web News

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francoeko@gmail.com

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