Report on Activities within the PPEA within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

20. May 2020

Following the publication of the PPEA Internal Plan against COVID-19 on Monday 13th April 2020, with the creation of WhatsApp work groups (OEPP CONTE COVID-19 for the French sub-system and PPEA AGAINST COVID-19 for the English sub-system), and as a complement to the measures already undertaken by various school management bodies and schools affiliated to the PPEA, there are several activities currently being undertaken to ensure the continuation of the teaching-learning process and the awareness campaign against the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to information obtained by the National Secretariat of the PPEA through the various work groups, we are pleased to present the first bulletin of the contribution of the PPEA:

Within the Anglican Church of Cameroon – ACC):
1. Teachers are visiting family homes to share out and correct learning tasks;
2. For families (parents) that (who) can afford android cell phones and communication data, question/answer sessions have been organised through WhatsApp groups between teachers and their pupils;
3. Parents have been forwarding their children’s questions to teachers and enabling them to receive answers in return;
4. As a way of continuing to prepare candidates, teachers of examination classes have been visiting the homes of their learners to coach them ahead of the examinations of the June 2020 session;
5. For homes equipped with television monitors, pupils’ parents have been encouraged to allow them follow-up lessons delivered over the national radio and television (CRTV) channels;
6. Teachers are taking all necessary measures to include State-recommended hygiene and health measures against COVID-19 in their teaching activities.

Within the Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC):
1. Barely a week after the suspension of lessons and well before the government closed schools, measures were taken, with regards to the secondary cycle, to lay down a mechanism for distance-learning, especially for the end-of-course classes (Form Five and Upper Sixth). It is a teaching, learning, participation and supervision plan for examination class students of the June 2020 session, referred to as “LEAD AND SUPPORT STRATEGY”;
2. Another document on the additional health and safety measures has been prepared, which school officials shall implement when schools reopen;
3. A supervision/monitoring plan has been drafted, which the Education Secretary (EDUSEC), Pedagogic Advisers (PAs) and Education Secretary’s Representatives (ESRs) shall executed to ensure the success of the strategy;
4. The Framework Document for the Reopening of Schools produced by the UNESCO, UNICEF, the World Bank and the Work Food Programme (WFP) has been made available to top school officials. It is a Global Education Initiative aimed at supporting governments strengthen distance-learning and facilitate the reopening of schools after the COVID-19 pandemic;
5. The Health Services Department of the CBC has put its expertise at the disposal of the Education Secretariat and has taken measures to ensure that health and safety gadgets are available in schools when school resumes on 1st June 2020 as envisaged by government.
Within the Evangelical Church of Cameroon (EEC):
1. A promotional video clip by children offering multiple advice on hygiene and preventive measures against COVID-19 to school kids.
Within the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC):
1. Teachers are working with parents of pupils and pupils using WhatsApp groups and other platforms;
2. Pupils and their parents have also been encouraged to follow lessons delivered over the national television channel and other radio stations;
3. School officials have also advised parents to secure the services of private teachers and monitors to continue coaching their children academically while respecting social distancing directives.
Pedagogic In-Service Training Programme (ISTP Cameroon):
1. This body charged with pedagogic training within the CBC and PCC Education Secretariats has published a video clip on the GPEN reformation website in which school pupils highlight hygiene and prevention measures against COVID-19.