87602 January 2014 | Issue No 7 CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE REVISITING THE SOURCES OF GROWTH THE QUALITY OF BASIC EDUCATION CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE Revisiting the Sources of Growth The Quality of Basic Education January 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS.......................................................................................... V ACKNOWLEDGEMENT............................................................................................................. VII EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................... 1 RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS.....................................................................................3 2013 has seen some encouraging economic developments…. ............................................................. 3 …although the fiscal and external balances have deteriorated............................................................. 5 Medium term prospects are positive…................................................................................................... 6 …but substantial risks remain................................................................................................................. 7 Looking forward, the sources of growth need to be revisited. ............................................................... 9 BASIC EDUCATION IN CAMEROON..........................................................................................11 Cameroon has made significant progress in access to basic education…. ......................................... 11 …but important disparities persist…..................................................................................................... 13 …because of resource allocation and governance problems.............................................................. 15 Looking forward, tackling these issues would strengthen the basic education system.. ..................20 REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................23 CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE iii ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS CFAF CFA Franc CONFEMEN Conférence des ministres de l’Éducation des États et gouvernements de la Francophonie (Conference of the Ministers of Education of French speaking countries) CPI Consumer Price Index CTP Contract Teachers Program DENOs Dépenses engagées mais non-ordonnancées (expenditure committed but for which no payment order has been issued) DSCE Document de Stratégie pour la Croissance et l’Emploi (Growth and Employment Strategy Paper) ECAM Enquête Camerounaise auprès des Ménages (Cameroonian Household Survey) EESI Enquête sur l’Emploi et le Secteur Informel (Employment and Informal Sector Survey) EGMA Early Grade Mathematics Assessment EGRA Early Grade Reading Assessment EMIS Education Management Information System GDP Gross Domestic Product IMF International Monetary Fund INS Institut National de Statistique (National Institute of Statistics) MINEDUB Ministère d’Éducation de Base (Ministry of Basic Education) PASEC Programme d’Analyse des Systèmes Éducatifs de la CONFEMEN (Program for the Analysis of Education Systems) PTR Pupil-Teacher Ratio PTA Parent Teachers Association SNH Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (National Hydrocarbons Corporation) SONARA Société Nationale de Raffinage (National Refinery) UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNICEF United Nations Children Fund WB World Bank ZEP Zones d’Éducation Prioritaires (Education Priority Zones) CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Cameroon Economic Updates are produced gratefully acknowledged. Greg Binkert (Country by a Team led initially by Raju Jan Singh and now by Director for Cameroon), Mark Thomas (Economic Souleymane Coulibaly. Shobhana Sosale prepared the Policy Sector Manager), Peter Maseru (Education chapter on education. For this purpose, the Team has Sector Manager), and Olivier Godron (Country built upon the recently-completed Education Country Program Coordinator) provided guidance and Status Report for Cameroon (Le système d’éducation advice, and have been an invaluable source of et de formation du Cameroun dans la perspective de encouragement. l’émergence). Other Team members include Faustin Koyassé, Simon Dietrich and Sylvie Ndze. The World The Team has also greatly benefited from consulta- Bank GSDTI unit ensured the French translation of the tions with Cameroon’s key policy makers and ana- CEU. The photos in this report (including on the cover) lysts, who provided important insights, in particu- are to the credit of Stephan Bachenheimer, Consultant lar the following institutions: the BEAC, the Technical Sr. Videographer, ECRBM, World Bank. Monitoring Committee (CTS), the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Comments received from Birgit Hansl, John Litwack, Institute of Statistics. The Team is also grateful to their Cia Sjetnan, Ousmane Kolie and Abel Bove are colleagues at the International Monetary Fund. CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE vii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY With these Cameroon Economic Updates, the World Education is key to building skills, enhancing the pro- Bank is pursuing a program of short and frequent ductivity of workers, and contributing positively to reports which analyze the trends and constraints long term growth. At the individual level, education in Cameroon’s economic development. Each issue, increases earning potential and reduces the risk of produced bi-annually, provides an update of recent falling into poverty. There is a strong link between the economic developments, as well as a special focus education level of a household head and the proba- on a topical issue. bility of this household to fall under the poverty line. Studies have also shown important indirect effects of The Cameroon Economic Updates aim at sharing education, especially on health. Taking into account knowledge and stimulating debate among those differences in factors such as income and residency interested in improving the economic management (rural/urban), an increase in the level of education of Cameroon and unleashing its enormous potential. positively affects issues such as family planning, The notes thereby offer another voice on economic reproductive health and child health. issues in Cameroon, and an additional platform for engagement, learning and exchange. This seventh Cameroon has achieved significant progress over issue of the Cameroon Economic Updates is enti- the last decade in expanding access to basic edu- tled “Revisiting the Sources of Growth—The Quality cation. The number of students completing primary of Basic Education”. school, the primary completion rate, rose from 53 percent in 2001 to about 80 percent in 2011. School The average observed economic growth rate from life expectancy rose by four years over the same 2010 to 2013 is a mere four percent, one percent- period, a great improvement in relation to interna- age point below the ‘Vision 2035’ targets. Achieving tional comparators. The primary gross enrollment the official objectives set for 2020 would require rate rose from 102.8 percent in 2001 to 112.9 per- Cameroon to move to double digit annual growth cent in 2011. rates over the 2014–2020 period, compared to the 4.8 to 5.4 percent projected by the World Bank. This The increase in gross enrollment, however, does not calls for renewed attention to the sources of growth in seem to have been accompanied by better educa- Cameroon to identify policy areas that can help “mus- tion outcomes. Cameroon’s results on the standard ter all our energy to champion this cause and sum- test PASEC (Program for the Analysis of Education mon all our strength to ensure growth”, as emphat- Systems), a student achievement test directed by ically expressed by President Biya in his end of year the Conference of the Ministers of Education of 2013 address. This seventh edition of the Cameroon French speaking countries, declined between 1998 Economic Update looks at the quality of basic edu- and 2005 (latest year for which data is available at cation to ensure that the right investments are made the time of printing this report), although it is still in people to build human capital, a key ingredient for higher than in many other Francophone countries sustainable economic growth. in Africa. CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE 1 The improvements in access to education also mask The Economic Update suggests improving data col- significant differences in education performance lection in order to better monitor education ser- across and within individual regions, as well as vice provision, assess more systematically student between gender and income groups. The three north- learning, increase in budget allocation to educa- ern regions (Far North, North and Adamawa) and tion as a whole, reprioritize public spending to the the East lag behind in education outcomes despite ZEPs, ensure transparency in budget allocation, and an increased attention through the ZEP (“Zones revisit the textbook policy to ensure durability and d’Education Prioritaire”) program aimed at raising affordability. schooling access, attendance, and achievement. 2 CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 2013 has seen some encouraging FIGURE 2: Sectoral Contributions to GDP economic developments… Growth, 2007–13 (in percent) 6 Growth 4 In spite of a sluggish global economy, preliminary infor- 2 mation suggests that economic growth in Cameroon 0 could reach about 4.6 percent in 2013 (compared to –2 4.6 percent in 20121). The economy grew by 2.9 and 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Proj. 3.8 percent in the first two quarters, respectively (over Primary sector Oil Secondary sector (excl. otil) the same quarter in the previous year, Figure 1). Tertiary sector GDP Growth Sources: INS and WB staff calculations. As in recent years, the tertiary sector is the main driver of economic growth (Figure 2), telecommu- nications and transport being particularly dynamic. FIGURE 3: Export Performance, Q1–Q3 2013 In the primary sector, industrial and export-oriented (y-o-y change in volume) 60 agriculture has driven growth. Rubber and cotton 40 exports have continued to rise while cocoa exports 20 have reversed their downward trend due to better 0 prices (Figure 3). Coffee exports however have fallen –20 by about 50 percent, due to a combination of factors: –40 the slowdown in production due to aging plants and –60 a gradual retreat from the sector, was compounded Coffee Logs and Cotton Aluminium Cocoa Rubber wood products Sources: Customs and WB staff calculations.  DP Growth by Quarter, 2011–2013 FIGURE 1: G with exporters building up coffee stocks because of (percentage change over same quarter, previous year) low international prices. 7 6 The secondary sector has not been as dynamic as 5 in 2012. After a slump in the first quarter, industrial 4 production expanded by three percent in the second 3 2 quarter (year-on-year). The performance is partly 1 explained by shortfalls in electricity production caused 0 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 2011 2012 2013 1 The 4.4 percent estimate mentioned in the 2013 July issue of Source: INS National Accounts and WB staff calculations. the Cameroon Economic Updates was revised to 4.6 percent. CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE 3 by limited hydropower capacity during the dry season not as dependent on oil as other neighboring oil pro- (December–June) as well as delays in the commis- ducing countries (Figure 6). Oil GDP represented 8 sioning of the new gas fired power plant in Kribi. The percent of total GDP in Cameroon in 2011, compared plant, 216MW of installed capacity, began operating in to 38 to 48 percent in Angola, Nigeria and Chad. While February 2013 (available capacity around 30MW) to oil accounts for one fourth of government revenues progressively reach its total installed capacity in May and half of the exports in Cameroon, in the other three 2013. The plant was built to complement the seasonal countries more than three fourth of the revenues and production pattern of Cameroon’s hydropower plants. almost all of the exports stem from oil. Accordingly, it generated between 75 and 100 MW dur- ing the rainy season (July–December), when hydro- Inflation power was abundant and cheap, and has been run- ning almost at full capacity since December (between In 2013, prices rose moderately and the inflation rate 170 and 180 MW). It is planned to expand the plant’s ended the year well below the regional convergence capacity by an additional 114 MW and the transmission criterion of three percent (Figure 7). The overall price lines connecting Kribi to Edéa are already equipped level increased by 1.6 percent in 2013 (year-on-year), accordingly. However, while the gas plant is useful to compared to 2.5 percent over the same period the complement Cameroon’s energy mix, the grid trans- year before. Food prices, which have been the main porting power from Edéa to Douala and Yaoundé, the driver of inflation in recent years, rose only by 2.2 per- country’s main centers of electricity consumption, is cent, mainly because of good harvests (compared to overloaded and outworn. It urgently needs investment 4.2 percent over the same period last year). The con- to keep up with rising demand and ensure the power tinued freeze on retail fuel prices has also contributed supply of Cameroon’s main urban centers. to containing inflationary pressures. In the oil sector, the upward trend in production has continued, expanding to 17.4 million barrels in the first FIGURE 5: Quarterly Oil Production 2010–13 three quarters of 2013, compared to 17 million barrels (in mio barrels) 7.0 over the same period last year (Figure 5). However, this 6.5 expansion is slower than that projected earlier this year 6.0 because of delayed activities in new oil fields. Total oil 5.5 production for 2013 is estimated at 24.3 million bar- 5.0 rels, compared to the 27 million barrels projected in 4.5 April. Overall, it is important to note that Cameroon is 4.0 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 2009 2010 2011 2012 Sources: SNH. ndustrial Production Index, FIGURE 4: I 2010–2013 (y-o-y change in FIGURE 6: Share of oil in GDP, revenues and percent) exports, 2011 (in percent) 10 8 100 6 80 4 60 2 0 40 –2 20 –4 –6 0 Oil GDP/total GDP Oil revenues/total gvt Oil exports/total –8 revenues exports Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 2010 2011 2012 2013 Angola Nigeria Chad Cameroon Sources: INS and WB staff calculations. Source: IMF and WB staff calculations. 4 CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE FIGURE 7: S  elected Prices, 2007–13(y-o-y subsidies to the national refinery SONARA and taxes change in percent) owed by the latter), which is 0.4 percentage points 14 below July projections as well as estimated perfor- 12 mance in 2012 (Table 1). Despite high oil prices and 10 8 an increase in production, oil revenues are down due 6 4 to rising operating costs. 2 0 –2 At the same time, current spending is expected to –4 –6 exceed the budget by about one percent of GDP. The main reason for this is the under-budgeting of the fuel Jan-07 Jun-07 Nov-07 Apr-08 Sep-08 Feb-09 Jul-09 Dec-09 May-10 Oct-10 Mar-11 Aug-11 Jan-12 Jun-12 Nov-12 Apr-13 Sep-13 subsidies, which are projected at 450 billion CFAF Total (headline) CPI Food price index Fuel price index (3.3 percent of GDP) compared to only 220 billion Sources: INS and WB staff calculations. scheduled in the budget. Investment spending, mean- while, is projected to reach 6.5 percent of GDP, com- …although the fiscal and external pared to 6.9 percent budgeted. This performance can balances have deteriorated partly be explained by the recent reforms in public pro- curement and the introduction of the program budget. Fiscal Overall, lower than budgeted revenues and under Projections on the basis of the fiscal performance budgeted expenses for fuel subsidies lead to a wid- observed over the first three quarters of the year indi- ening budget deficit, expected to reach 3.7 percent cate an underperformance in fiscal revenues. Total of GDP. The non-oil primary balance is projected to revenues (including grants) are projected to amount increase to 8.9 percent of non-oil GDP, compared to to 18.4 percent of GDP (after cross-cancellation of 7.2 percent in 2012. TABLE 1: Fiscal Performance, 2012–13y (in percent of GDP) 2012 2013 2013 2013 Est. Budget July Proj. Proj. Revenue and Grants 18.8 19.2 18.8 18.4 Oil Revenue 5.4 5.1 5.2 5.0 Non-oil Revenue 13.0 13.6 13.2 13.1 Direct taxes 3.6 3.6 ­— 3.5 Special tax on petroleum products 0.8 0.8 — 0.8 Other taxes on goods and services 5.6 6.3 — 6.6 Taxes on international trade 2.3 2.2 — 2.4 Non-tax revenue 0.7 0.8 — 0.8 Grants 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.4 Total Spending 20.4 21.5 22.4 22.1 Current Spending 14.0 14.6 16.0 15.6 Capital Spending 6.5 6.9 6.3 6.5 Overall Balance* –1.7 –2.3 –3.6 –3.7 Non-oil primary balance** –7.2 –7.7 — –8.9 Source: Dashboard of public finances (Ministry of Finance) and WB staff calculations. *does not include payment of arrears. **in percent of non-oil GDP. Recent Economic Developments 5 External to projections by the National Hydrocarbons Association (SNH), oil production could reach The trade deficit is expected to have grown in 2013 to 57.0 million barrels in 2016, compared to 24.4 mil- 1.6 percent of GDP, compared to 1.1 percent in 2012 lion barrels in 2013. The SNH expects oil production (Table 2). This is mainly due to rising imports of inter- to decrease thereafter, but natural gas could fill the mediary goods for the realization of large infrastruc- gap in the long run. ture projects and low prices for some of Cameroon’s major export products, especially coffee. Non-oil The first generation of large infrastructure projects exports are expected to have dropped from 11.1 per- is scheduled to be completed over the coming years. cent of GDP in 2012 to 10.5 percent in 2013. At the These include the new deep-sea port in Kribi, expected same time, the current account deficit is projected to to start operations mid-2014, the Memvélé and Lom amount to 4.9 percent of GDP in 2013, which is about Pangar hydropower dams, as well as the second Wouri the same as the year before, but more than one per- bridge. These projects could alleviate key infrastruc- cent above 2011 figures. Foreign reserves dropped ture bottlenecks and contribute positively to economic by about 63 million USD (30 billion FCFA) to 3.3 bil- growth. A second generation of large infrastructure lion USD. projects is already being planned by Government and includes road and rail transport corridors. Medium term prospects are With regards to economic developments in advanced positive… economies, there are reasons to be cautiously opti- mistic for 2014. According to the Economic Sentiment Oil and Gas production are expected to increase Indicator, economic confidence, while still below the significantly over the coming years. In 2014, the oil long-term average, is slowly rising in the euro zone sector is estimated to continue its expansion with a (Figure 8). At the same time, the IMF, in its October projected 24 percent increase in production. In the edition of the World Economic Outlook, projects a medium term, oil production could more than double growth rate of one percent in the Euro zone after two thanks to the exploitation of new oil fields. According years of contraction. TABLE 2: Balance of Payments, 2011–2013 (in percent of GDP) 2011 2012 2013 (proj.) Trade balance –2.3 –1.1 –1.6 Imports 24.4 23.8 23.4 Non-oil exports 10.6 11.1 10.5 Current account balance Excluding grants –3.8 –4.8 –4.9 Including grants –2.9 –4.0 –4.0 Financial account balance 1.5 4.3 3.7 Official capital 1.0 1.6 1.7 Long-term borrowing 1.5 2.1 2.4 Amortization –0.5 –0.6 –0.7 Non-official capital (net) 1.0 2.2 1.9 Oil sector 0.4 0.6 0.7 Non-oil sector 0.6 1.6 1.2 Overall balance –1.3 0.3 –0.2 Source: IMF. 6 CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE  uro-zone-Economic Sentiment FIGURE 8: E FIGURE 9: Actual and Projected Import Indicator, 2010–2013 (long-term Volume, Main Trading Partners, average = 100) 2012– 2014 (variation in percent) 110 Spain 105 Netherlands 100 95 China 90 France 85 Italy 80 Jan-10 Mar-10 May-10 Jul-10 Sep-10 Nov-10 Jan-11 Mar-11 May-11 Jul-11 Sep-11 Nov-11 Jan-12 Mar-12 May-12 Jul-12 Sep-12 Nov-12 Jan-13 Mar-13 May-13 Jul-13 Sep-13 –10 –8 –6 –4 –2 0 2 4 6 8 10 2012 2013 2014 Source: European Commission. Source: IMF World Economic Outlook. In line with these projections, Cameroon’s main TABLE 3: Government Arrears and other trading partners are expected to import more than Obligations, 2011–2013 (end of year in recent years (Figure 9). After two years of falling levels, in percent of GDP) imports, the volume of imports in Spain and in France, 2013 Cameroon’s first and fourth most important trading 2011 2012 (proj.) partners, are projected to rise by 2.8 and 2.4 percent, Audited arrears 1.4 1.1 0.9 respectively, while Italy’s imports are projected to DENOs 1.1 1.4 1.9 stabilize. At the same time, imports of China and the Obligations to SONARA* 1.4 1.6 2.0 Netherlands are expected to grow at the same rate Obligations to importers 0.0 0.5 0.9 as in the previous year. Residual obligations 0.0 0.0 1.0 Total 3.9 4.6 6.7 Sources: IMF and WB staff calculations. …but substantial risks remain *Takes cross-cancellation of taxes and obligations to SONARA into ac- count and assumes no further transfer between late September 2013 and end 2013. Domestic risks Three domestic risks are looming: accumulating issued) and residual obligations. In the 2014 budget, arrears, delayed execution of public investments and the cost of fuel subsidies remains under budgeted, deteriorating business environment. which will further aggravate the problem. A continued freeze on retail fuel prices would require an estimated The stock of Government arrears and other payment CFAF 450 billion (about three percent of GDP), but obligations has increased from 3.9 percent of GDP only CFAF 220 billion have been budgeted for 2014. in 2011 to 6.7 percent in 2013, a worryingly high level This limits the effectiveness of the budget as a realis- (see Table 3). These are, however, tentative figures tic policy making instrument to prioritize growth-sus- and the results of ongoing audits are needed to clarify taining and poverty reducing expenditures. the situation. The main reasons for the rising arrears and payment obligations are the constant under The execution of the investment budget has been budgeting of fuel subsidies, building up obligations increasingly delayed. In 2013, investment spending to SONARA, the national oil refinery, and shortcom- is projected to reach 6.5 percent of GDP, compared ings in cash management, causing DENOs (Dépenses to 6.9 percent budgeted. On a cash basis, these num- engagées mais non-ordonnancées, expenditure com- bers mask a significant delay in the execution of the mitted but for which no payment orders have been 2013 investment budget. In the first three quarters of Recent Economic Developments 7 the year, only 35 percent of the budgeted investments Cameroon is vulnerable to volatile commodity prices. financed through internal resources were executed A drop in international oil prices would put pressure (Table 4). This performance can partly be explained on public finances, as about a fourth of Government by the reform of public procurement with the creation revenues stems from the oil sector. The latest World of a Ministry of public procurement and the introduc- Bank Commodity Price Forecast projects oil prices to tion and implementation of the program budget. As a be relatively stable in nominal US Dollars, but steadily consequence, the Government extended the comple- decreasing in real terms (Figure 10) due to growing mentary budget period by two months, until March supplies of unconventional oil, efficiency gains, and 2014. If these delays become persistent, the growth (less so) substitution away from oil. Coffee, another dividend of these investments might be diluted. sector that contributes to the Cameroonian economy, is also dependent on international prices. In 2013, The business climate in Cameroon remains dis- coffee exports halved, due among other things, to couraging to new investment. In the 2014 edition exporters building up coffee stocks because of low of World Bank’s Doing Business Report, Cameroon international prices. A fall in prices of other impor- lost six positions compared to the 2013 ranking , 2 tant agricultural export commodities, such as cot- and now ranks 168th out of 189 countries. In order ton, rubber, wood or cocoa, would severely affect to make Cameroon more attractive to investors, the primary sector. the Government adopted a new investment law in April 2013. The law offers exemptions and reduc- The cost of financing represents an indirect source tions on the majority of taxes to new businesses as of external risk. Financial conditions in developing well as to existing ones under certain conditions. countries over the past six months have been roiled The law’s impact on Government revenue is uncer- by a portfolio adjustment that was set in motion by tain but might be substantial and should therefore speculations over the timing of a US Federal Reserve be closely monitored. The text remains vague on the administrative procedures necessary to bene- fit from the tax exemptions, which might raise trans- FIGURE 10: Oil Price Forecasts, 2013–2025 parency concerns. (in USD per barrel) 110 100 External risks 90 On the external side, oil price volatility and increasing 80 financing costs on internal markets should be care- 70 fully watched. 60 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Nominal USD Real 2010 USD TABLE 4: Execution of Investment Budget Source: WB Commodity Price Forecast January 2014. Q1–Q3, 2013 (in CFAF billion) % Budget Execution Executed Internal Resources 676 239 35.4 The Doing Business (DB) 2014 ranking is not compared 2 to the published ranking for DB 2013, but to a comparable External Resources 281 232 82.6 ranking for DB 2013 that captures the effects of such factors as data corrections and the addition of 4 economies (Libya, Total 957 471 49.2 Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan) to the sample in Sources: MINFI, MINEPAT, CAA. 2014. 8 CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE withdrawal of some of the measures put in place to FIGURE 11: Actual and Projected GDP Growth support growth, despite no actual change in the long- Rates compared to Government term asset purchases. The yield on 10-year United Objectives, 2010–2020 States Treasury bills rose by 100 basis points, spark- (in percent) ing a significant portfolio readjustment as investors 12 increased the share of now higher-yielding US bonds 10 in their overall portfolios. This portfolio adjustment 8 6 caused a temporary—but significant—reversal in 4 capital flows from developing countries to the United 2 States. On a cumulative basis, investors withdrew a 0 net total of US$64 billion from developing country 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 mutual funds between June and August. Gross cap- Vision 2035 Scenario Reference Scenario Actual/Projected ital flows to developing countries fell by half and the Sources: DCSE and WB staff calculations. currencies and stock markets of several major devel- oping economies declined by as much as 15 percent. FIGURE 12: GDP Growth Rate necessary to Such movements can have an indirect impact on the reach Government Objectives Cameroonian economy through its increasing trade (in percent) flows with emerging markets. Now that the Federal 12 Reserve has announced a slowdown of its quantita- 10 8 tive easing program for 2014, the impact of financing 6 costs of the emerging economies that increasingly 4 trade with Cameroon should be closely examined. 2 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Catch up Vision 2035 Actual/Projected Looking forward, the sources of Sources: DCSE and WB staff calculations. growth need to be revisited The developments laid out above could negatively This situation calls for renewed attention to the affect capital accumulation or preclude the reallo- sources of growth in Cameroon—to identify policy cation of production factors to their most effective areas that can help Cameroon reach the economic uses and hence maintain growth below the targets growth levels that are needed to sustainably devel- formulated in the 2009 Document de Stratégie pour op the country and reduce poverty. Given the im- la Croissance et l’Emploi (DSCE), absent a timely portant impact of education on long term growth, policy response. Cameroon needs an acceleration a revision of the sources of growth should start by to meet the 2020 reference scenario objectives laid looking at the quality of human capital. out in the DSCE. The average observed growth rate Endogenous growth theories have been tested over from 2010 to 2013 is 4.1 percent3, one percentage decades in a wide range of countries and confirmed point below the ‘Vision 2035’ targets (and 0.8 per- that human capital plays a critical role in achieving centage points below the DSCE reference scenario; economic growth. In this regard, education, to- Figure 11). Achieving the objectives set for 2020 would require an annual growth rate of 9.5 percent dur- ing the 2014–2020 period, compared to the 4.8 to 3 Actual growth rate for 2010–2012, projected growth rate 5.4 percent projected by the World Bank (Figure 12). for 2013. Recent Economic Developments 9 gether with health (covered in the previous issue of chapter looks at the quality of basic education to the “Cameroon Economic Update”), contribute in ensure that the right investment is made in people an important manner to Cameroon’s aspiration to to build human capital at an early age, a key ingredi- becoming an emerging economy by 2035.The next ent for sustainable growth and development. 10 CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE BASIC EDUCATION IN CAMEROON Education is key to building skills and enhancing labor Cameroon has made significant productivity and to contribute positively to long-term progress when it comes to access economic growth. Education is key to building skills to basic education… and enhancing labor productivity and to contribute positively to long-term economic growth. Cameroon has achieved significant progress over the last decade in expanding access to basic edu- At the individual level, education increases earning cation. The primary gross enrollment rate rose potential and reduces the risk of falling into poverty. from 102.8 percent in 2001 to 112.9 percent in 2011 There is a strong link between the education level of (Figure 13). This ratio reflects total enrollment in pri- a household head and the probability of this house- mary education, regardless of the age of the children, hold to fall under the poverty line. A 2013 Education to the population of the age group that officially cor- Country Status Report shows important indirect responds to the level of education. The rate can thus effects of education, especially regarding health. exceed 100 percent, providing insights into improved Taking into account differences in factors such as access, while also showing the possibilities of high income and residency (rural/urban), a higher level repetition rates and over-age students in the educa- of education positively affects issues such as family tion system. planning, reproductive health and child health. The share of students completing primary edu- Against this backdrop, the lack of improvement in edu- cation—the primary completion rate—also rose cation outcomes in Cameroon, despite better access during this period, from 53 percent in 2001 to to education, is a cause for concern. Furthermore, about 80 percent in 2011. School life expectancy, important disparities exist in education performance the number of years of education a child of school across and within regions, as well as between gender and income groups. The poorest benefit less from public spending in education as they primarily live in disadvantaged areas, suffer from the chronic under- FIGURE 13: Primary Gross Enrollment Rate, funding of the primary sector, and are hit especially 1991–2011 hard by high out-of-pocket spending for education. 120 110 This chapter draws on the recently-completed 100 Education Country Status Report for Cameroon (Le 90 système d’éducation et de formation du Cameroun 80 70 dans la perspective de l’émergence). It describes 60 Cameroon’s education profile, discusses resource 1991 2001 2011 allocation to education and governance issues in the Cameroon SSA Low income Middle income education sector, and suggests some options going Sources: Education Country Status Reports (2003&2013), UNESCO forward. Institute of Statistics. CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE 11 entering age can expect to receive during his or her the Program for the Analysis of Education Systems life-time, increased by four years over the same (PASEC), a student achievement test directed by the period, a great improvement when looking at inter- Conference of the Ministers of Education of French national comparators (Figures 14 and 15). The expla- speaking countries (CONFEMEN). Although still nation is due in part to the abolition of school fees higher than in many other Francophone countries in primary education in 2000 which spurred some in Africa, Cameroon’s results on this standard test increase in total enrolment and to improved service declined between 1998 and 2005 (Figures 16 and delivery through the contract teachers program dur- 17). On the 5th grade PASEC student assessment, ing the period 2007–2011. Total secondary enrolment only Gabon achieved a higher average score over more than doubled in the past two decades, reach- Cameroon in French, and only Madagascar did better ing nearly 1.3 million total students in 2009. Overall, than Cameroon in mathematics. Data from the 2010 children spend 2.5 more years in school than two PASEC results are not yet available. Cameroon will decades ago, totaling an average 10 years of educa- participate in the next PASEC student assessment tion, well into secondary school. in 2014. Results from these would help to construct comparative time series data on student learning But some contradictions exist. These improvements outcomes. There currently exist no other compara- do not seem to have been accompanied by bet- tive learning assessments. It is important to note that ter education outcomes. Cameroon participates in Cameroon’s performance over time has declined slightly, although from a comparative perspective the results are higher than in comparable African  rimary Completion Rates, FIGURE 14: P countries. In 2010, the Ministry of Basic Education 1981–2011 (in percent) (MINEDUB) conducted a national Early Grade 100 Reading Assessment (EGRA). The results show that 90 49 percent of 3rd grade students had great difficulty 80 in reading, and 27 percent could not read at all. 70 60 Furthermore, important disparities persist: The 50 improvements in access to education mask signif- 40 1991 2001 2011 icant differences in education performance across and within individual regions, as well as between gen- Cameroon SSA Low income Middle income der and income groups. Sources: Education Country Status Reports (2003&2013), UNESCO Institute of Statistics. FIGURE 15: School Life Expectancy, FIGURE 16: Evolution of PASEC Results in 2001–2011 (in Years) Cameroon, 1996–2005 12 (scale 0–100) 11 70 10 60 9 50 8 40 7 30 6 20 5 2001 2011 10 0 Cameroon* SSA Low income Middle income 1996 2005 Sources: Education Country Status Reports (2003&2013), UNESCO Average score French 5th grade Average score Maths 5th grade Institute of Statistics. *RESEN does not contain year of Cameroon data. Source: PASEC. 12 CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE FIGURE 17: PASEC results in all African FIGURE 18: Change in Primary Education Countries tested since 2005 Attendance, 2001–2007 (scale 0–100) (in percentage points) 80 20 15 60 10 40 5 0 20 –5 0 –10 Gabon Cameroon Madagascar DRC Burundi Senegal Togo Burkina Faso Congo Chad Comores Côte d'Ivoire Benin North Far North Center South Adamaoua Yaoundé South West North West West Douala Littoral East Sources: ECAM 2&3, WB staff calculations. Average score French 5th grade Average score Maths 5th grade Source: PASEC. FIGURE 19: Change in Adult Literacy, 2001–2007 (in percentage points) … but important disparities 30 persist… 25 20 15 Regions 10 5 The Government has identified the three north- 0 ern regions (Far Nor th, Nor th and Adamawa) –5 together with the East and pockets of underserved –10 North Far North West Littoral Center Adamaoua South West South Yaoundé Douala North West East areas around urban centers and close to borders, as “education priority zones” (“Zones d’Éducation Prioritaires”, ZEP ). These ZEP are subject to tar- Sources: ECAM 2&3, WB staff calculations. geted Government support to raise schooling access, attainment, and achievement. In recent years, as a result of this focalization, the northern regions FIGURE 20: Primary Completion Rates by have shown some progress in education indicators Region, 2011 (in percent) (Figures 18 and 19). 100 80 Despite the increased attention and progress shown, 60 these regions still lag behind in education outcomes. 40 Comparison between regions shows that in 2011, primary completion rates in the ZEP regions ranged 20 between 46 percent (in the Far North) and 81 percent 0 South South West Littoral West North West Centre East Cameroon Adamaoua North Far North Urban Rural (in the East), compared to more than 94 percent in each of the other regions (Figure 20). The disparities in adult illiteracy are even more pronounced, where Source: Education Country Status Report (2013). the Far North, the North, and Adamawa figure sig- nificantly above the national average of 35 percent (Figure 21). Between 55 and 76 percent of the pop- respectively, compared to only 10 and 13 percent in ulation are illiterate in Adamawa and the Far North the Littoral and Center regions, respectively. Basic Education in Cameroon 13 FIGURE 21: Adult Illiteracy Rate by Region, FIGURE 22: Gender Parity Index for Primary 2011 Completion Rate, 1981–2011 80 1.0 70 60 0.9 50 0.8 40 30 0.7 20 10 0.6 0 1981 1991 2001 2011 Far North North Adamaoua Cameroon North West South West East West South Center Littoral Rural Urban Cameroon* SSA Low income Middle income Source: UNESCO Institute of Statistics. *no data for 2001, so 2000 data is used. Source: Education Country Status Report (2013). As the above figures show, there is also a strong and urban areas. In rural areas, primary net attendance rural-urban divide in basic education performance. for girls is only about 65 percent, compared to 79 per- In urban areas, 91 percent of the students complete cent for boys. In urban areas, where school attendance primary school, compared to only 68 percent in rural is high for all children, the gender gap is narrower. areas. The adult illiteracy rate in rural areas is 57 per- cent, more than three times higher than in urban areas (about 17 percent). These figures mirror general Income/Wealth poverty rates, where the same regions are subject to There are significant differences in educational higher levels of poverty as well as chronic poverty. achievements between income groups in Cameroon. While almost all (97 percent) students belonging to the richest 20 percent finish primary school, only 40 per- Gender cent of the poorest quintile do so. Figure 23 shows the composition of the student body in each of the educa- Gender parity in basic education in Cameroon has not tion subsectors by wealth quintile. While enrollment in improved since the 1990s. Once enrolled, fewer girls the primary sector is more or less equally distributed, complete primary education than boys. The gender the distribution becomes increasingly unequal as we parity index for primary completion rate is the ratio of move up the education ladder. In the first cycle of the the female primary completion rate to the male primary completion rate, a value of 1 indicates gender parity. In Cameroon, the index value was at 0.86 in 2011, the FIGURE 23: Share of Enrollment in Education same level as twenty years earlier (Figure 22). Over the Subsectors by Wealth Quintile, same period, many other countries have made signif- 2011 (in percent) icant progress towards gender equality in education, 100 while Cameroon has made little progress and has as 80 such fallen behind international comparators. 60 While the overall gender gap remains significant, its 40 magnitude differs according to location. For example, 20 the net primary school attendance rate for girls, which 0 Primary Secondary 1 Secondary 2 Tertiary is the ratio of primary school age girls enrolled in pri- mary education to the total number of primary school Q1 (poorest) Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (richest) age girls, reveals important differences between rural Source: Education Country Status Report (2013). 14 CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE secondary, 58 percent of students are from the two … because of inadequate and richest quintiles, compared to 21 percent from the two inefficient resource allocation, poorest quintiles. In the second cycle of the second- utilization and governance ary, as well as in the tertiary, the two richest quintiles problems. represent a large majority of students (81 and 97 per- cent, respectively), while there are almost no students from the poorest quintiles. Public and Private Spending From a policy point, basic education is “free” in Why are there such great variations in education out- Cameroon. In spite of this, basic education repre- comes across geographic locations and socioeco- sents relatively important costs to families—in terms nomic status? Part of the answer can be found in the of activity and examination fees, fees for additional allocation of resources. Although Government spend- (non-government paid) teachers, textbooks, school ing in education has increased from 1.9 percent of uniforms etc. The current pricing structure of primary GDP in 2000 to 3.3 in 2003, it has since stagnated, enrollment introduces intra-regional inequities in the remaining below the regional average of 4.3 percent system. Parents are bearing a disproportionate cost of GDP (Figure 24). of primary education and their preference function has resulted in sending some children to school and Furthermore, the distribution of these limited pub- not others (especially girls). Poorer households are lic resources is unequal. In 2011, secondary edu- unable to bear the cost. The analysis of allocative inef- cation received a significantly large allocation than ficiencies across sub-sectors of education is beyond what was allocated to primary or higher education. the scope of this report. Overall budget for education In contrast, governments in Sub-Saharan Africa put, needs to be increased and allocative efficiency needs on average, most of their resources in primary edu- to be reviewed based on quintile analysis. cation (Figure 25). Basic Education in Cameroon 15 FIGURE 24: Public Expenditure on Education, being more expensive per student than for primary 2010 (in percent of GDP) education. Yet, given that students from poor family are 5.0 less likely to reach these higher levels of education (the second cycle of the secondary or tertiary), this pattern 4.0 somehow contributes to an unequal distribution of edu- 3.0 cation spending between income groups. 2.0 1.0 The low Government contribution to primary educa- 0.0 tion results in high out-of-pocket expenses for parents Cameroon Low income Sub-Saharan Middle income countries Africa countries (Figure 27). Also, parents of children enrolled in pri- Sources: Education Country Status Report (2013) and WB Education mary school need to pay for textbooks, uniforms, exam Statistics. fees, transportation and sometimes extra fees for extra home classes. Private financing is also used to pay for FIGURE 25: Current Education Spending by teachers through Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) Sub-sector, 2011 (in percent of fee collection at both primary and secondary educa- total education spending) tion levels (about 18 percent of primary school teach- 50 ers are paid by parents). Hence, although primary edu- 40 cation is officially free, in practice it is not. 30 The resulting high cost of primary education means 20 many families cannot afford to send their children to 10 school. According to the latest survey on employment 0 Primary Secondary Tertiary and the informal sector, lack of financing ranked as the main reason for children dropping out of school Sub-Saharan Africa Cameroon (Figure 28). Source: Education Country Status Report (2013). Weak governance and accountability further under- FIGURE 26: Current Education Spending per mines the efficiency of theses limited public resources Student by Sub-Sector, 2011 invested in education. In 2013, Transparency (in CFAF thousands per student) International ranked the Cameroonian education sys- 300 tem as being perceived as the fifth most corrupt in Sub- Saharan Africa (Figure 29). The same study revealed 200 that 72 percent of the population think the educa- tion sector is “corrupt” or “extremely corrupt” (Sub- 100 Saharan Africa average was 57 percent, while the global average stood at 41 percent) and that 36 percent of the 0 people in contact with the education system paid a bribe Primary Secondary 1 Secondary 2 Tertiary in the last 12 months (Sub-Saharan Africa average was Source: Education Country Status Report (2013) and WB staff calcula- tions. 31 percent, while the global average stood at 16 percent). Disparities in public spending are also significant when Data availability looking at education spending per student in the differ- ent sub-sectors. Per student spending in the second Access to reliable and timely data on sector perfor- cycle of secondary and in the tertiary are more than five mance hampers accountability. The current edu- times higher than in primary education (Figure 26). This cation management information system (EMIS) is partly a result of secondary and tertiary education in Cameroon is fragmented, with five ministries 16 CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE responsible for education collecting data for their FIGURE 27: Share of Parent’s Contribution own sub-sector and with considerable variability in in National Expenditure for data quality. Education, 2011 (in percent) 50 In 2011, the Ministry of Basic Education introduced the 40 School Report Card, a database containing informa- 30 tion collected for the traditional statistical yearbook. 20 The School Report Card contains three indices, a con- 10 text index (taking into account availability of electric- ity, water supply and type of toilets), a resources index 0 Niger Senegal Chad Mali Congo Cameroon (pupils per teacher, textbook, classroom and desk) Source: Education Country Status Report (2013). and a performance index (pass rate, drop-out rate, rate of repeaters), that allow a comparison of needs and performance by school. Contrary to the central- FIGURE 28: Reasons for Drop-outs, 2010 ized statistical yearbooks, the new tool also allows all (in percent) actors of the system (institutional or communities) to Lack of finance obtain information regarding their level of interven- Pregnancy/marriage tion (school, sub-division, region etc.). However, so far Work this information is not yet transferred to the actors on Distance the ground and its use still has to be institutionalized. Failure Illness Other 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Performance Monitoring Girls Boys Source: EESI 2. A study on governance in education (World Bank 2012a) focusing on three regions with different profiles (North West, Littoral, and Far North) found that the better school performance. The work of regular civil current monitoring system for teachers and schools is servant teachers in basic and secondary education weak and lacks clearly defined standards and expec- is evaluated via confidential reports, which are unre- tations. The existing system of sanctions and incen- lated to sector activities. Although the work of contract tives is not always applied and lacks rigor in promoting teachers hired by the Center for primary schools are  ducation Sector Corruption Perception Index, 2013 FIGURE 29: E (Score scale 1–5, where 1 means not at all corrupt, 5 means extremely corrupt) 5 4 3 2 1 Liberia Mozambique Tanzania Zambia Cameroon DRC Malawi Ghana Sierra Leone Zimbabwe Sudan Madagascar SSA average Burundi Nigeria Senegal South Sudan Uganda Global average Ethiopia Kenya South Africa Rwanda Source: Transparency International. Basic Education in Cameroon 17 more closely monitored, this has little impact on their FIGURE 30: Pupil-Teacher Ratio, 2011 performance. The monitoring of school and teacher 60 performance is particularly weak in basic education, 50 while there seems to be more accountability in second- 40 ary education—likely a result of the nation-wide exam- 30 inations that are required to be passed by any student 20 before he can move to the next level of education. 10 0 Since accountability for performance in basic educa- Cameroon* Low income Sub-Saharan Middle income countries Africa countries tion, especially with regards to improving quality, is Sources: MINEDUB Statistical Yearbook and WB Education Statistics. imperfect at the school level, the next level, the sub- *2012 data for Cameroon. division inspectorate, needs to play a critical role in monitoring school performance. Inspectors are expected to visit each school several times during the FIGURE 31: Pupil-Teacher Ratio by Region, year and surprise visits are encouraged. However, in 2012 practice, inspectors face severe constraints in trav- 80 elling to schools. They often do not have transport 70 60 and, if they do, the roads are often bad. Most impor- 50 tant, this administrative level is seriously under- 40 staffed, making effective performance monitoring 30 a difficult task. 20 10 0 Far North North Adamaoua East Cameroon North West West Center South West South Littoral Teachers There is a severe shortage of teachers in Cameroon, 2016 national target which affects the quality of services rendered in Source: MINEDUB Statistical Yearbook. schools. On average, the pupil-teacher ratio is about 53, which is high in international comparison them female. This resulted in improving teacher (Figure 30). Geographical disparities are pronounced availability in the ZEP. In its new education strategy with the northern and eastern regions above the the Government aims at reducing the pupil-teacher national average (Figure 31). ratio to 51 by 2016. A follow-on World Bank super- vised Global Partnership for Education funded proj- To address the teacher shortage, the Government ect would support the conversion of approximately introduced the Contract Teachers Program (CTP) in 7,253 PTA teachers to contract teacher status and the context of a freeze in civil servant recruitment in Cameroon in the 1990s. Initially the program was not well defined and suffered from inequitable deploy- The salary of contract teachers was set at approximately 4 three times the average GDP per capita and two-thirds of ment, high attrition and uneven performance. In regular civil servants salary. The Government of Cameroon 2000, the system was revamped. The new policy also established a career development strategy for contract teachers, including several levels of promotion. The Govern- outlined salary scales, benefits, and a career path ment provides an additional payment to contract teachers in for contract teachers.4 Through a World Bank super- lieu of a guarantee of a pension. Contract teachers are also given similar benefits as regular civil servants, such as 18 vised Global Partnership for Education funded proj- days of leave during the school year. Teachers with children ect with Agence Française de Développement co- are entitled to two additional days of leave per child. If leave is not taken during the school year, contract teachers are al- financing a total of 37,200 qualified contract teachers lowed to cumulate the leave (civil service teachers, however, were hired between 2007 and 2011, 60 percent of are not allowed to cumulate leave). 18 CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE about 1,747 new recruits as contract teachers over the next four years. Nevertheless, the level of teacher attrition among CTP teachers remains high. Attrition has been par- ticularly high (about 18 percent) among female con- tract teachers from the south who were deployed in the northern part of the country, particularly when deployed to the ZEP and rural areas, where life con- ditions for young and educated teachers are difficult. Attrition has also occurred as contract teachers have migrated to other ministries after being registered as civil servants in the Ministry of Basic Education. In addition to wide regional disparities, there are wide differences within regions, with a pronounced urban/ rural divide. High overall pupil-teacher ratios in the northern regions mask the fact that certain, mainly urban areas, exhibit relatively moderate PTRs while in some remote rural areas there is only one teacher students can write in them requires new books to for 150 students or more, making effective learn- be purchased every year. Such a design prevents ing virtually impossible. At the same time, in regions a cheaper textbook provision system, which would with low overall PTRs, pockets with severe teacher mean the Government could more easily deliver on shortages continue to exist. Figure 32 illustrates the the promise of free provision. Furthermore, pressure sub-divisions with the highest and the lowest pupil- from publishers has been reported forcing Ministries teacher ratios in each region. All regions, except the to make marginal changes to the curriculum each South, contain sub-divisions with PTRs above and year, requiring in turn the printing of new editions of below the national average of 53 and in six regions books. As a result, the children who have books are there are sub-divisions with PTRs of 150 and above. those whose parents can afford to buy them. The Teaching materials FIGURE 32: Intraregional Differences in Pupil-Teacher Ratios: Sub-divisions Primary education is also affected by a shortage with Highest and Lowest PTR by of teaching materials. Cameroon has the lowest Region*, 2013 pupil-textbook ratio of all the countries surveyed 300 250 by UNESCO in Sub-Saharan Africa: on average 200 only one out of twelve students had access to text- 150 books in 2011 (Figure 33). Here again, the national 100 average masks significant regional differences. In 50 many disadvantaged areas, there are no textbooks 0 Far North North Adamaoua East North West West Center South West South Littoral in classrooms. The lack of textbooks in schools in lined to the sup- Sub-division with lowest PTR Sub-division with highest PTR ply of textbooks—a process that is controversial. Sources: MINEDUB School Report Card and WB staff calculations. The current practice of designing textbooks so that *Public schools only, does not consider teachers paid by PTAs. Basic Education in Cameroon 19 FIGURE 33: Pupil-Textbook Ratio, 2011 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Seychelles Mauritius Guinea Benin Gambia Mali Cape Verde Eritrea Swaziland Burkina Faso Niger STP Rwanda CAR Mozambique Malawi Congo Zambia Togo Uganda Liberia Burundi Chad Cameroon Source: UNESCO Institute of Statistics. rest of the children—the vast majority, especially being collected on refugees, disabled children, in the northern regions—are deprived of access to and minority populations (e.g. Baka, Mbororo). textbooks. The data would include district and school level information by gender thus allowing deeper analysis on gender disparities, and serve as a Looking forward, tackling these tool for improved planning and tracking of the issues would strengthen the basic most vulnerable children (girls, ethnic minori- education system ties, refugees). Political will is essential to improve the EMIS, partic- Improving data collection ularly at secondary education level, and the financial and technical means to maintain an adequate EMIS. Improved accountability will require a solid and The lack of comprehensive, reliable and recent data reliable education management information sys- on education cannot be resolved by external inter- tem (EMIS). The current status of the EMIS is rela- ventions alone. tively weak and of poor quality. In this context, the Government and its partners are taking the follow- ing actions to strengthen production of education statistics: Rationalizing resource allocation and improving systemic efficiency i. UNESCO is supporting Government efforts to create and link regionally comparable data. The ongoing improvement in education data provides the Government with an opportunity to increase the ii. MINEDUB is planning to mainstream the use of budget for education, introduce efficiencies in resource its School Report Card database as part of the allocation and use, and align public spending more eas- efforts to decentralize the education system. ily to needs. With respect to rationalizing the distribu- Additionally, it is envisaging the geo-referenc- tion of resources budget analysis shows that there ing of schools and linking this data to the School is continuous bias towards the Center and Littoral Report Cards. regions primarily explained by political considerations. iii. UNICEF is undertaking a pilot data collection Targeting investments in disadvantaged areas (rural and school mapping exercise in the ZEP to cap- areas, the three northern regions and the East, pock- ture information on various equity indicators ets of under-served areas around urban centers and from schools. The pilot would result in new data close to borders) would contribute to greater equity 20 CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE and equality of opportunity to education. The data a national Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA). would also allow the administration to identify schools The Government is keen to administer the ECRA once in difficulty and take action to help these schools again and an Early Grade Mathematics Assessment improve. (EGMA). It will be important to place such assess- ments within a more systematic national assess- The Education Country Status Report shows that pri- ment framework that emphasizes the development mary education has the biggest development impact. It of national technical capacity for assessment, wider is key to fight illiteracy and accounts for the biggest share sharing of assessment results, and improving the of education’s positive effects on income and health. feedback loop from assessment results to those Primary education is essential to accessing higher lev- responsible for curriculum and teacher training. els of education. Cameroon is aspiring to consolidate its status as a middle-income country. Therefore, continued emphasis on primary education is essential to ensure Increasing budget transparency education for all. At the same time, the primary sector in Cameroon is chronically underfunded. The 2012 World Bank study on governance in edu- cation revealed that public school resources are not Greater numbers of students are graduating from transparently allocated and that there are instances primary to secondary education. This is the reason of inefficient resource management. Against this for relatively higher allocation to secondary educa- backdrop, the role of stakeholders at the regional tion. Furthermore, secondary education curriculum level will be crucial to engage in collective actions is relatively large. This has required more numbers of that will promote good governance and increased specialized and less polyvalent teachers. This makes accountability. Local communities will need to play secondary education quite expensive. At present an important role in demanding schools to pub- Government depends on external grants for primary lish and publicly announce the level of state funding education. However, Government has committed to received, the time of receipt of funding, and the pro- increasing the budget for education and for primary posed uses of the funds. In addition, parents-teach- education specifically over the course of the next few ers’ association (PTA) contributions and use should years. A portion of additional resources for primary be made public. education could also be generated by improving effi- ciencies in public spending. The policy actions require political willingness and a supporting political econ- Revising textbook policy omy environment. Finally, any additional resources to primary education should be targeted to inputs that The national textbook policy is currently under revi- improve learning achievements. sion by Government and publishers. The administra- tion plans to gradually move from a privately financed system to a state-funded system in which the admin- Assessing more systematically student istration supplies textbooks. This reform would sig- learning nificantly improve the availability of textbooks, which is considered one the most cost-effective way of There is no national assessments framework with for- improving the quality of learning. mative student learning evaluations. Student learn- ing achievement is mainly tested at the end of the Within this framework, the issue of durability of text- primary and secondary education cycles through books would need to be addressed. In order to make high-stakes exams. Cameroon has participated in a Government-financed system feasible, textbooks at least three rounds of the Program for the Analysis will have to be reused for at least three, preferably of Education Systems (PASEC) and has carried out four years. This means that (i) the books cannot Basic Education in Cameroon 21 be designed so that the students write in them; and a similar manner for a minimum of three years. They (ii) that the school must preserve the books so they must therefore be physically durable enough to last can be issued to the next year intake, and reused in three to four years. 22 CAMEROON ECONOMIC UPDATE REFERENCES Institut National de la Statistique (2008), ECAM République du Cameroun (2013d), Tableau de 3. 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