EXHIST University, Cameroon

 “There's an Unprecedented Upsurge of Anglo-Saxon Universities in Yaounde”

-      Director EXHIST University

By Francis Ekongang Nzante

Mr. Ngang Nelson Che, Director and Founder of the Experiential Higher Institute of Science and Technology, Cameroon has in a brush with the media recently in his Yaounde office intimated that the number of Anglo-Saxon Higher Institutions of Learning in Yaounde has reached an unprecedented high.

This transformation of the Education landscape he said is one of the fallouts of the Anglophone Crisis which has pushed many Anglo-Saxon Higher Institutions of Learning from Bamenda which he describes as the hub of Education in Cameroon to Yaounde and Douala. Mr Ngang said it was against this backdrop that EXHIST University opened the Yaounde Campus after the original Bamenda Campus.

He said what pushed the founders to create this Higher Institution of learning was the high level of unemployment among graduates from some State and Private Universities across the country. The founders of EXHIST he said noticed that though these graduates had beautiful degrees, they lacked the basic skills to compete favourably in the job market. They decided therefore to train Cameroonians who would not only have the certificates but the skills as well. This explains why the institution is referred to as Experiential which has to do with hands on learning. This he said is the basis on which the institution was established. 

Mr Ngang said since most of the founders were specialised in the Health domain, the institution when it was created focused only on the school of Health and Biomedical Sciences. For the first two years the school ran specialties such as nursing, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Nutrition and Dietetics. However with the rising demand the Founders decided to expand into other fields.

So apart from just the Health Sciences, the School is now also involved in Business, Finance and Management, Home Economics, Tourism and Hospitality Management. The Institution is also involved in Education and Computer Engineering and Networking.

“Before the crisis, there were very few Anglo-Saxon Higher Institutions of Learning in Yaounde. I would want to think that the need was not there since the North West and South West were booming with Higher Institutions of Learning. But with the onset of the crisis, the bulk of students have moved from the North West and the South West to Douala, Yaounde and other cities and the need for these schools is suddenly there. The number of Anglo-Saxon Higher Institutions are presently very high and it is the students now who have the task of making the right choice” Ngang Nelson Che explained.

  He further explained that being an institution registered under the Ministry of Higher Education, EXHIST works following a programme that was crafted by the titular ministry. Most often he said, these curriculums are developed to meet up with the needs of the communities.

“However, because of our desire to empower the students with skills, we enrich these curriculums. We are not just working with what we got from the Ministry. We have been able to make our own research and we have enriched the curriculum such that final products will be very useful to their communities” Ngang Nelson explained.

He said since they broadened their outreach in the third year of existence to other specialties, they had students coming in from other schools. Some he said came in with the HND while others came into level II. “That’s how we had our first graduation in September where we churned out 64 students” he said.

“We all know Bamenda to be the seat of Education but with the present crisis many of these schools including EXHIST have opened up campuses in Yaounde and Douala. Many students who would have normally wanted to study in the North West or South West Regions have now moved either to Yaounde, Douala or other cities.”

 

EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT NEWS

EMAIL: edevnewspaper@gmail.com

Tel:+237696896001/+237671262198/+237678401408