Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute has urged tighter security around schools in Cameroon’s North‑West and South‑West regions after a spate of attacks early in the academic year left 223,749 children still out of the classroom.
Ngute chaired a security‑review meeting on 17 September 2026 to assess conditions for the resumption of classes in the two Anglophone regions. The Prime Minister directed administrative authorities to keep pushing children back into school and to ensure teachers and other public employees return to their posts.
In the North‑West, Governor Adolphe Lele Lafrique said the situation was “generally under control” with security forces positioned around schools, yet several incidents have occurred since classes resumed. On 8 September, a police commissioner was killed in an attack on the Government Teachers’ Training College in Wum, and five teaching staff were abducted before being freed by security forces. Additional incidents were reported in Bamenda, Bui and Benakuma. The governor noted that 53,000 primary and 26,000 secondary pupils were registered; attendance rates above 60 % were recorded in Donga‑Mandung and Mezam. He also highlighted teacher shortages and the circulation of vehicles without traceable licence plates as ongoing challenges.
In the South‑West, Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai announced that by 15 September, about 68,000 students had returned to public and private schools and that roughly 300 of the region’s 400 schools were operational. Ngute called on traditional leaders, local elected officials, religious leaders and civil‑society organisations to join the effort to restore normalcy.
The broader picture remains stark. A UNICEF report dated 11 September 2026 cited 2,463 schools that remained non‑operational across the North‑West and South‑West, with 2,005 in the North‑West and 458 in the South‑West. The same report confirmed that 223,749 children were completely out of school in the two regions.
With security concerns and community engagement at the forefront, the Cameroonian government faces the dual task of safeguarding schools and ensuring that the education system can resume its normal function for the country’s children.
<small>Source: Cameroon Concord News — read the original story there.</small>
