The University of Bamenda will in the days ahead organise a ceremony to hand over certificates to the outgoing final year students in the institution.
The ceremony has been programmed to take place on Saturday, December 19 at the Esplanade of the institution’s Central Administration.

In a press release dated Friday, December 11, 2020, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Therese Nkuo Akenji emphasised that the ceremony is meant for students who have successfully completed their end of year programmes in the institution.

Professor Therese further disclosed that the ceremony is to be organised under strict respect of the Cameroon government’s prescribed measures towards the fight against COVID-19. “All students must put on face masks to be allowed into the campus…the event is not open to the general public,” the release partly reads.

According to an outgoing Development and Communication student, Djiele Lenise, the announcement took them aback. “Most of us had already given hope on graduation. Compared to last year, graduation was on the 11th of December. This year, the Ministry of Higher Education had indicated that there would be no graduation. So, we had given up on graduation. However, when the Vice Chancellor’s communiqué came out, it actually put joy our faces,” she said. “Today, we are happy that we are going to graduate and celebrate even though the ceremony will be a close one. At least, we are happy that we would be officially recognised and we are going to wear our robes and celebrate with our loved ones. We just hope that on the D-day, let everything go on well,” She wished.

Insight News24 got in touch with another Development and Communication student who says he is disappointed because his name did not feature in the final graduation list of the institution. According to Livanus, when the first and second graduation list came out, he did not see his name. However, in the third and fourth graduation list, Livanus asserted that his name was there. Livanus said he was surprised when his name was omitted in the final graduation list. “They called me in the office and told me that I owe some two courses. Actually, there two courses. In one of the courses, I have a “D plus” and in the other I have an “F” .My name has not feature in the list,” Livanus lamented that he could not validate the courses due to the current crisis in the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon.
“It is not easy for me to go back and spend another year again, after spending five years in the institution. When I came to the University, I was admitted in the Faculty of Arts where I spend one year before moving to communication where I have spent 4 four years. Imagine the stress,” he laments.

By Neville Mesumbe