Work placements to increase HE ‘professionalisation’

The higher education ministry has introduced a new system of university work placements to increase the ‘professionalisation’ of higher education through a partnership with businesses to improve the provision of work experience in university courses.

Higher Education Minister Professor Jacques Fame Ndongo finalised the agreement between universities and companies restructuring the professional element in higher education with the aim of tackling youth unemployment, reported the Cameroon Tribune of Yaoundé.

The partnership was the result of two days of negotiations between business managers and university directors, said the Tribune.

According to the ministry, companies seemed to have difficulty combining their internship strategies with the government’s objectives of reconciling theory and practice with a view to familiarising students with the professional environment, reported the Tribune.

In future, companies recruiting interns must respect a new requirement in the 2017 finance law. As well as benefitting from tax breaks they must devise a master plan for monitoring the students, “so the professional experience will constitute a challenge during the preparation of a degree and acquisition of the best possible experience to guarantee successful employment”, said Ndongo.

This article is drawn from local media. University World News cannot vouch for the accuracy of the original reports.