Publish at June 19 2024 Updated June 19 2024
It's rare to come across a testimonial acknowledging the contribution of security guards and other educational actors in schools in Cameroon or elsewhere. According to our research, they do not have a status predefined by the ministries in charge of education. They are often little-regarded by the educational body, yet contribute to the training of children at several levels. They therefore deserve more consideration.
In some countries around the world, depending on the context, this task is the responsibility of supervisors and teachers. In Quebec, for example, it is often teachers who take it in turns to assume this role in small schools. Elsewhere, we tend to speak of educational assistants, who intervene above all to prevent violence in the school environment. In Africa, and more specifically in Cameroon, they are involved in the training of learners, and this is the raison d'être of this reflection.
As guarantors of punctuality at school, their presence often dissuades some pupils from arriving late, enabling them to cultivate a spirit of punctuality. In fact, they are often the first to open the gate when it's still six o'clock in the morning. Some of them then assist the supervisor in opening the classrooms. If they come across any irregularities, they take it upon themselves to call the school management. With the arrival of the first pupils, they are vigilant about clothing, hairstyles and other matters. In the course of their duties, they don't hesitate to correct learners who don't conform. Sometimes, they have to put up with scornful words from certain students, who are not always bothered.
This role is regularly played by adults, who subsequently have a certain amount of life experience. In reality, they find themselves in this profession for a variety of reasons. Very often, difficult living conditions force them to multiply their professional activities to make ends meet.
On the other hand, some did not attach much importance to their studies when they were young. As a result, they can help children not to follow in their footsteps; at least for those who are prepared to lend them an attentive ear. They are always ready to offer advice whenever the opportunity arises. Here, they talk about their experiences, and sometimes even the consequences of not taking things seriously when they were younger.
We don't say it often enough, but security guards are also called in when a security incident occurs. Indeed, in other sectors, in addition to the presence of a security guard, there is a security agent (policeman, gendarme, private security agent) who plays the security role. On the other hand, in Cameroonian schools in general, it's the responsibility of the security guards to make sure that accessories don't leave the school in a haphazard fashion. They sometimes have to assist supervisors when it comes to restraining learners who display misbehavior.
In times of security or health crisis, they also need to be more active. For example, when Covid 19 was taking over the world, they were on the spot, making sure that everyone wore their nose plugs. They were also responsible for administering hydro-alcoholic gel. All these tasks point to the need to give them status and more consideration.
When a tree bears fruit, it needs to be nurtured. By doing so, it will bear more. We believe that these actors and educational assistants should have a well-established status. At school level, those in charge should encourage teachers, students and support staff to show more consideration for them.
Fortunately, some progress has been made in terms of security monitoring, with the nice + tool developed by ATT-M Sarl. It's a technological solution that security guards can now use to report situations at school. But first, they need to be better appreciated.
When you look at the status of civil servants in Cameroon's national education corps, there's no mention of security guards in schools. We propose to update this general provision in light of their various contributions. This proposal could also be applied to other countries in Africa or elsewhere, depending on the context.
All in all, security guards are truly players in the education system. As such, they deserve to be held in higher esteem. As such, they will be more involved in the education of African children and their future.
Illustration: Luis Molinero DepositPhotos
Sources
2011: Les assistants de l'éducation et la gestion des violences entre pairs au collège Education assistants and the management of peer-to-peer violence in secondary schools - HAL open archive
https://hal.science/hal-04527105v1
Décret No 2000/359 du 5 décembre 2000 portant statut particulier des fonctionnaires des corps de l'éducation nationale Microsoft Word - DECRET N° 2000-359 DU 05 DECEMBRE 2000 (minfopra.gov.cm)
https://www.minfopra.gov.cm/recueil/fichiers%20word/STATUTS%20PARTICULIERS%20WORD/DECRET%20N%C2%B0%202000-359%20DU%2005%20DECEMBRE%20%202000.pdf
2020: Fight against Boko Haram : more discreet security in secondary schools Cameroon :: Fight against Boko Haram : more discreet security in secondary schools :: (cameroun24.net)
https://cameroun24.net/amp/actualite-cameroun-La_securite_plus_discrete_dans_les_Etablissements_-1-1-25614.html
Decret_Presidentiel_n_2001_041_du_10_fev_2001_portant_organisation_des_Etablissements_Scolaires_Publics_et_fixant_les_Attributions_des_Responsables.pdf (minedub.cm)
http://www.minedub.cm/uploads/media/Decret_Presidentiel_n_2001_041_du_10_fev_2001_portant_organisation_des_Etablissements_Scolaires_Publics_et_fixant_les_Attributions_des_Responsables.pdf
Jean François Bassong, 2021, "stop violence in schools"(1) Our solution for managing violence in schools in Cameroon. | LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/notre-solution-pour-g%C3%A9rer-la-violence-dans-les-au-cameroun-bassong/
Educaloi - Quebec- The responsibility of educators, guards and supervisors
https://educaloi.qc.ca/capsules/la-responsabilite-des-educateurs-gardiens-et-surveillants/
You might also like:
Pour une philosophie en acte - part II - To philosophize is to die
How do you become a practitioner of your philosophy? How can we establish a contract of truth with ourselves?
A.I. to indicate when, how and where to intervene
The desire to implement Artificial Intelligence in education, without changing the way schools operate, will produce mediocre results, far from expectations. A.I.'s potential calls for simple but systemic transformations.
ESD - Education for Sustainable Development: the necessary transformation of the school
In recent years, the member countries of the United Nations have agreed on the importance of teaching the objectives of sustainable development in schools. An injunction however essential given the opinions of environmental experts. In order to ensure the sustainability of humanity, these teachings are rich in meaning for the following generations.
Living in Quebec without speaking French, myth or reality?
Can one live in Quebec without speaking French? Is this French-speaking Canadian province, which has been resisting the English invader for over 400 years, in the process of scrapping the French language?
Artificial Intelligence, an ideological tool?
A.I., in its very conception, is based on a vision of the world that can be apprehended in place of ideology. So, to what extent does it carry an ideology?
