By Nancy Ngenge
Bilingualism Day celebrations have pulled through in Bamenda hitch-free despite the very uncertain security situation in the region. A total of six schools were represented at the ceremonial ground to celebrate Cameroon’s bilingualism.
Convening at the campus of GBHS Bamenda, the students and teachers were celebrated under the theme, “Bilingualism: A binding force for national integration, a springboard to peace and development”.
The colourful ceremony which took place on Friday February 1 was aimed at rounding off celebrations of the bilingualism week which began on Monday January 28 in the different schools within the region. The event that was chaired by Moussa Saidou, representing the governor of the North West Region saw the presence of a handful of students and teachers drawn from a cross section of schools in the region. This turnout was relatively low, compared to previous years. Another aspect that could not go unnoticed was the fact that only a small portion of the students were dressed in uniforms, compared to the proportion of students dressed in assorted wears.
Due to the socio-political crisis, many students are unable to attend schools and those who do so, face a lot of challenges.
“I love to study. Even though every day it’s challenging because, you are afraid that anything can happen at any time. Like today, I had to put on an assorted wear when I reached here, I changed into my uniform, after the ceremony, I will change into my assorted before going back home,” said a Form 4 student of GTHS Nkwen.
Speaking to The SUN, Awah Blessing a student teacher from GBTTC Bamenda expressed her joy celebrating the bilingualism day. “It is important for us to be here because the theme is about binding national integration. I am happy that I have taken part, we won and the day is very important for me because I am a parent and student teacher. This is what I am going to bring to the younger ones who are growing”.
The Bilingualism Week in Bamenda featured activities such as debates/round table discussions on the theme of the year which included topical issues such as, national meals, patriotism and living with people from other villages.
Fon Pearl, a student of GBHS Ntamulung, echoed the words of many students saying that, “the French classes in our school are very effective but it is not easy to learn and understand French. I believe everything works well with practice. If it ends at the level of theory, it will not last”.
Out of the ten schools selected to participate in the bilingualism week, six effectively participated with GBTTC Bamenda emerging the overall best.
The representative of the governor of the North West region, in his closing remark, taking reference to the Head of State’s end of year speech, urged the secessionist to drop their weapons and come for integration into the society “no society can be built with disorder or violence,” he said. Moussa Saidou ended by congratulating the teachers and students for their double effort for making the day a success.