Université De Maroua (Cameroon) – Association of Commonwealth Universities

The Rector  of UMa elected into the Board of Administrators Prof.  Ako Edward Oben was elected member of the said Board in July 2015, in London. The mandate is from 2015 to 2017. Professor Ako Edward Oben, Rector of the University of Maroua, thus joins the group of 15 members of the Board of Administrators of Commonwealth Universities for the next two years. As such, in this Board, he will represent Zone 4 (West Africa) which comprises Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra – Leone.  This election is not Prof. Ako Edward Oben’s first experience in a Board of Administrators at the continental level. Since 2013, he was made   member of the Board of Administrators of the Association of African Universities at the end of the 13th General Assembly that held in Libreville, Gabon. His new election into the Board of Administrators of the Commonwealth Universities is an honour firstly to Higher Education, and to Cameroon as a whole.   Given its history, its geographical position, and its belonging to two linguistic groups, (Anglophone-Francophone), this election will make it possible for Cameroon to be member of different institutions charged with higher education development. The consequence is that the country will benefit from all the advantages accruing therefrom.

The Association of Commonwealth Universities founded in 1913, is the oldest of all the organizations that foster higher education development. The best universities in the world like Oxford and Cambridge are also members. The Association has 535 universities as members, representing 37 countries. The 37 countries represented are subdivided into zones : East Africa zone (Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda), Southern Africa (Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Mauritius Island, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia). Cameroon belongs to the West Africa zone, which has over forty universities.  Nigeria alone has over 30 universities. The University of Maroua, University of Yaounde I, University of  Buea, and the University of Dschang are the 4 Cameroonian universities that are members of  the Association. Among its objectives, the Association of Commonwealth Universities proposes training, research and scholarship programmes for teachers, students and support staff of member universities. It has brain-storming groups which examine current   problems.  Examples include the internationalization of higher education, sustainable development and ITCs in higher education, the problem of adequacy of training vis-à-vis employment requirements. Given these opportunities offered by the Association, Professor Ako Edward Oben plans to echo Cameroon’s voice, and contribute to the development of higher education in the Commonwealth member countries.