Buea Varsity VC Says 2015 GCE English Language Results ‘Horrible’

/By Macdonald Ayang Okumb/

      The Vice-Chancellor, VC, of the University of Buea, UB, Prof. Nalova Lyonga, has described as ‘horrible’, the percentage pass of students in English Language both at the Ordinary and Advance Levels of this year’s GCE session.

      She made this remark recently in Buea at a ceremony to launch two literary books written by the Chairman of the GCE Board, Prof. Peter Alange Abety.

What's wrong with English Language at the GCE, Mr. Registrar?

     The percentage pass at the Ordinary Level was 25% while at the Advance Level where English was written for the very first time as an independent subject, the percentage pass of students stood at 9%.

    Prof. Nalova Lyonga, herself boasting a fine mastery of the queen’s language, wondered how the students are able to pass in other subjects when they cannot perform well in English Language which is the communication currency of the exams.

     The VC thus saw Prof. Abety’s books as timely as she believed they’d go along way in helping students improve on their English language performance in the GCE as from next year.

The book Launch proper

     The event took place at the Buea mountain hotel and was an avenue where the literary intelligentsia was rallied. The two books are titled; “The Final First Step” and “An Approach to Poetry Appreciation.”

     The first is a collection of 86 finely written poems constituted into six parts in which the poet lambastes certain societal ills including corruption, moral decay, hypocrisy, laziness, and the vanity of wealth, to name a few.

     The other is a comprehensive guide for Literature and English language students, which according to the author, would assist enormously in leveraging students’ poetry appreciation capabilities.

      UB’s Arts Faculty Dean, Prof. Nol Alembong, who reviewed the books, sustained that the author’s use of variety in his books make for interesting reading.

      The UB VC, who together with Prof. Abety, were mentored by Prof. Bernard Fonlon in their university days in Yaounde, said the literati was excited to get one of the best writers in Prof Abety. She noted that he does fine poetry because his poetry has rhythm.

      To her, the books would not only be useful to GCE candidates but also to university students. That’s why she promised to buy hundreds of copies of the books for the UB library as well as announced her intention to make them Course books in some departments of the institution.

      Earlier, the Deputy Registrar of the GCE Board in charge of Examinations, Denis Ndasi Mofor, had promised to buy several copies of the books for the Board’s library and added that they were also going to look for possibilities of including the books in their prospectus.

      The Secretary General at the South West Governor’s Office, Clement Fon Ndikum presided over the event. And the kernel of his advice was for parents to encourage their children to grow up to be those of a generation that loves to read.