State jumps to implement reforms to prevent protests

The Cameroon government has taken rapid measures to prevent a planned strike action on 16 May by researchers of the ministry of higher education and that of scientific research. Researchers have been demanding improvement in their working conditions and remuneration for years.

According to Cameroon’s Minister of Higher Education, Professor Jacques Fame Ndongo, the government has taken steps to tackle the grievances of researchers and is organising ongoing dialogue between the National Union of Public Sector Researchers (SYNAC) and the ministries of higher education and scientific research to accommodate other demands.

“The government understands the needs of researchers and are seeking ways to address them. The payment relating to the special allocation account for the modernisation of university research for the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, for example, has already started,” Fame Ndongo announced earlier in May 2025.

He assured researchers that the ministries will respond to their need to improve their professional working environment. However, researchers have been urged to continue upholding professional ethics.

Dr Madeleine Tchuinte, the minister of scientific research and innovation, told researchers at a discussion meeting in May: “As professionals, respect for integrity and protection of research values are fundamental. Abandoning the supervision of research students because of strike action will not be professional.”

Allowance to encourage innovation

On 28 April, 71 researchers were commended for grade promotion at a meeting of the Central Commission for the Evaluation of Researchers for Grade Advancement convened by Tchiunte, the state-controlled publication Cameroon Tribune reported. This is one of the measures already taken. According to the news report, the commission had not met for two years, leaving expectant grade-scaling researchers in limbo.

On 14 April, the National Union of Researchers in the public sector announced that a strike will start on 16 May to force the government to meet unresolved demands dating back more than four years, Journal du Cameroun reported.

The planned strike was to take place in three phases, involving the suspension of all student supervision activities, a halt to scientific activities in all ministry research structures, as well as peaceful and determined sit-ins.

The researchers are demanding a quarterly financial allowance to encourage innovation, as well as the enactment of a research orientation law, among other demands. Furthermore, the union laments that the increase in bonuses and the integration of researchers into a new special status announced by the government in 2023 are still not effective.

Benefit equality

The union also mentioned discrimination in the allocation of research benefits. Researchers in the ministry of higher education receive more benefits than those in the ministry of scientific research and innovation (MINRESI).

Officials in the ministry of scientific research said most of these complaints have been dealt with in recent government reforms. It is just a matter of time before the reforms are implemented, Professor Rebecca Ebelle Etame, secretary general of MINRESI, told University World News.

President Paul Biya’s October 2024 decree is another measure that was taken to accommodate the concerns, Etame said. The decree deals with allowances granted to research personnel in the public research institutions and higher education sector.

Under the new regulations, the monthly research bonus is set as follows: CFA140,000 (about US$240) for research directors, CFA130,000 for research supervisors, CFA110,000 for research officers, and CFA90,000 for research associates. The monthly technical proficiency bonus is CFA50,000 (about US$86) for directors, CFA40,000 for supervisors and officers, and CFA30,000 for associates.

Implementation of reforms needed

Academics have lauded the government’s response to the researchers’ challenges, but called for proactive measures that will prevent tensions and conflict detrimental to other stakeholders in the research sector.

“The government needs to avoid pushing researchers to the wall to ground their tools. Imagine the scenario of not supervising research and science students who are in examination sessions. They need to be proactive through meaningful planning,” Professor Beban Sammy Chumbow, president of the African Scientific Research and Innovation Council, told University World News.

However, the aggrieved researchers say they want both ministries to implement the reforms and fully meet their needs.

“We have been waiting a long time for the implementation of some of these reforms. We are in dialogue with the authorities to ensure that researchers get what they are should, and not just paperwork. Our grievances go beyond just partial payment of allowances and selective grade promotion,” Dr Alban Ngatchou, the president of SYNAC, told journalists after the meeting with the minister of scientific research and innovation.

Ngatchou said it was disheartening that the government was only applying reforms aimed at improving research quality and the well-being of researchers two years after the decree was passed. The dialogue is welcome, but action is preferred, he said.