Mission Statement:

The Mission of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon is to proclaim the good news of God, through Jesus Christ, in word and action. The proclamation of this good news includes THE PREACHING OF THE WORD, TEACHING, HEALING AND LIBERATING THE PEOPLE OF GOD FROM SIN. (Luke 4:18-19).

The Presbyterian Education Authority (PEA) is out to proclaim the Good News of God through Jesus Christ in the TEACHING MINISTRY, of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon. The Presbyterian Church in Cameroon is the historical and constitutional successor of the BASEL MISSION CHURCH IN KAMERUN, established in 1886 as an external arm of the Evangelical Missionary Society of BASEL (BASEL MISSION) in Switzerland. It maintains the spiritual and theological continuity of that Church, and upholds the Reformed Tradition.

The Basel Mission (B.M)

The Basel Mission is an Evangelical Missionary Society founded in Basel, Switzerland, in 1815. The main objective of it was the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the uttermost parts of the world. The Mission Society was already at work in India, Indonesia, North Borneo, Hong Kong, Ghana and Nigeria before Kamerun in 1886. In every station, mission stations and schools were built. When the Germans annexed Cameroon in 1884, the English Baptists, who had established in the Coastal towns and villages of Cameroon, found it very difficult to work under them.

The Basel Misison was persuaded to take over the work of the English Baptist Missionaries. This was reluctantly accepted and the first Basel Mission Missionaries arrived Cameroon on the 23rd December 1886. These were Gottlieb Munz, Yohannes Bitzer,Christian Dilger and Frederick Becher.

Photos Of Some Eraly Missionaries

Gottlieb Munz	Yohannes Bitzer	Christian Dilger	Frederick Becher

Photos Of The Early Mission Stations

The Mission Stations that were taken over from the English Baptist Missionaries included Bimbia, Douala and Ambas Bay

Bimbia	Douala	Ambas Bayr	Frederick Becher

Bonaberi	Buea	Lobetal	Nyasoso	Edea	Bombe

Between 1900-1914, stations were established in Bali in 1903, Foumban in 1906, Bagham in 1909, Bangwa in 1911, Besongabang, Ndogbea, Bandzun and Bana in 1913, Babungo in 1914, when the First World War broke out.

Bali	Foumban	Bagham	Bangwa	Besongabang	Ndogbea	Bandzun	Bana	Babungo

Education And The Arrival Of Early Missionaries

It should be well noted that before Missionaries came to Cameroon, many communities had operated systems of Education that were efficient and very useful even though informal. Various classes of people were produced such as Craftsmen, Artists, Poets, Traditional Doctors, Good farmers and Political thinkers who administered the people.

Formal Education began after the Missionaries had entered the Cameroon Society and were establishing stations. The Basel Mission took over four schools namely: Bethel, Victoria, Bakundu Banga and Mungo. After the take over, Basel Mission Missionaries began to open vernacular schools along side the stations. The first primary school patterned on the Missionary model was established by the English Baptist Mission at Bimbia in 1844, and the first by the German Government was in 1888. The Basel Mission Missionaries regarded Education as a necessity for effective Evangelization. They needed the new converts to be able to read and write, and to understand the Bible. Where a Congregation was formed, a school was also created. The schools were to train catechists, teachers, pastors for congregations, Christian clerks, traders, artisans and future leaders of Cameroon.

During the period of the First World War, school work as well as Church work suffered great set backs, and when the war ended in 1919, Missionaries were allowed to return to Cameroon.

By 1925, there were 114 vernacular schools, with a total enrolment of 3.207 pupils. In 1929, three English Primary schools were opened in Buea, Besongabang and Bali. In 1931, Nyasoso Basel Mission School was opened. As the number of English schools increased, that of the vernacular schools decreased.

The first teachers were Europeans. They were later on joined by teachers from Ghana, Nigeria and eventually Cameroon. The first Cameroonian teachers were untrained. After sometimes they were given a short In-service Training Programme called (E.T.C.) Elementary Training Course. They were trained to be teachers as well as catechists. They combined the functions of teaching with that of preaching.

The Colonial Government compelled the Churches to organize the school curriculum in such a way that the needs of the state were taken care of. The needs included moulding people for the various clerical jobs, such as Clerks, Secretaries, Messengers, Court Judges and many others.

Government opened a Teacher Training Centre at Kumba. The Basel Mission was allowed to train some of her teachers there. When the Second World War ended, the number of Basel Mission schools and untrained teachers increased tremendously.

In 1944, the Basel Mission opened a one year Teacher Training Centre called (PTC) Preliminary Training Centre at Nyasoso. A few of the teachers were given preliminary training on how to control and teach the pupils. The grade of teachers was “C”.

A Teacher Training Centre (TTC) was opened in 1946 in Bali and was transferred to Batibo in 1947. In 1961, the first Basel Mission Teachers’ Training Centre for women was started in Bafut and latter on transferred to Mankon in 1962. it was called Basel Mission Women’s Teachers’ Training Centre.

The need for a Basel Mission College has been expressed in many meetings since 1929. In 1949, the first Basel Mission College was opened in Bali, now called CPC Bali.

Between 1945 and 1961, many primary schools were opened in Cameroon by the Basel Mission. The schools were divided into two groups. Assisted and unassisted schools. Assisted schools were authorized by the Government to exist and were given Grants-in-Aid, to pay the salaries of the teachers, equip and build the schools.

Unassisted schools were those not authorized by the Government to exist and were not given any Grants-in-Aid. The Missionaries paid the teachers’ salaries and equipped the schools. They were not assisted by the government.

The Basel Mission started with Secondary school Education in 1949, when CPC Bali was opened. It was only for Boys. The need for a second Basel Mission College was high since girls were not accepted for CPC Bali. In 1963, another secondary school was opened in Kumba. Again, only Boys were admitted. In 1964, Girls were admitted into the Basel Mission College Kumba. It was the first co-educational institution in the former West Cameroon. In 1964, a third Basel Mission College was opened at Besongabang.

In 1964, the Basel Mission had three colleges with an enrolment of 540 students and 34 teachers. Between 1964 and 1994 secondary Education expanded as follows: In 1972, PTTC Batibo became PSS Batibo and in 1989, it became PHS Batibo. WTTC Mankon, in 1980 became PSS Mankon.

In 1988, PSS Bafut was opened and in 1989, PCHS Kumbo was acquired from late Pa Sakar. In 1990, PSS Andek and PSS Nkambe were opened. PHMC was opened in 1989 and in 2000 it became PGSST Bafut and PCSS Buea in 1994. For the year 1999, we opened a Girls’ Secondary School (PGSS) Limbe only for girls and Presbyterian Secondary school (PSS) Wum. In the year 2001 we opened PSS Nkwen.

Present Day Presbyterian Education System And Administration

ADMINISTRATION

In 1968, the Basel Mission schools were handed over to the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon. The Presbyterian Church in Cameroon then controls the school system by a Committee called Presbyterian Education Authority (PEA) and the Proprietor being the Moderator of the Church.

The administrative work of the Committee is carried out by the Education Secretary who is appointed by the Church.

EDUCATIONAL SET UP

The Table bellow illustrates the Basel Mission school that were handed over to the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon in 1968:

The table displays the Number of schools, Enrolment and Staff in 1949, 1968 and 2004.

The Managers are pedagogic animators as well as Inspectors of Education at their regions. They are all answerable to the Education Secretary.

Our Secondary schools for the 2006 end of course examinations did excellently well.

The B.M And P.C.C's Education Objectives

The objectives of the Basel Mission and thereafter the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, in Education are the same and are as follows:

• The transmission from each generation to the next the truth about God, the creator as she understands and believes.
• To bring such enlightenment that would save people from ignorance, want, prejudice and decease.
• To provide the necessary skills required for the development of the self and community in accordance with her greatest interest

With these objectives in mind, the PCC is charged with the commission, to make the truth entrusted to it available to each generation. Each new generation must be taught the truth that sets the mind free and be challenged to live at its fullest, and best, and so fulfill the purpose of God. The Church therefore stands at the very core and center of the Christian ménage bidding the Christians in obedience to Christ to seek truth and to see that the young are truly nurtured in His way.

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