Public schools in Cameroon lack teachers while at the same time thousands of qualified teachers are unemployed. This is a regrettable squandering of human resources, all the more so considering that qualified teachers are hard to come by in many other African countries.

Four teachers for six classes – this is the reality at the state school in Balepipi (some 300 km northwest of Douala). Made up of three adobe bungalows, it suffers from a chronic shortage of teachers, as do many schools in Cameroon. Such a situation – which some might consider “normal” for an African country – is particularly regrettable in view of the fact that, at the same time, thousands of qualified teachers are unemployed or have gone on strike to demand the payment of over 30 months' salary arrears.