Multilingualism as Curriculum Policy in Cameroon Education System

Abstract

The concern on the effective inclusion of indigenous languages in the school curriculum has been central to educational discussions among scholars and stakeholders. It is true that language as a medium of communication is very vital for sustainable growth in any society. However, the level of implementation of the policy of multilingualism in classrooms in Cameroon poses so many pedagogical challenges. While the Government is collaborating with private agencies such as PROPELCA(Cameroon National Language Association) in introducing the teaching of national languages in primary schools, and though the Government through the Ministry of Basic Education has also created an inspectorate in charge of the introduction of indigenous languages in Primary schools, there still exist some resistance from stakeholders to introduce the teaching of native languages in the curriculum of schools despite recommendations made in the 1995 education forum and the provision in article 4 section 5 of the 1998 Education Law. The study argues that, since the introduction of multilingualism as curriculum policy in Cameroon, its implementation is still at the pilot stage. Using the Historical analytic approach, data was collected from primary and secondary sources in establishing the level of use of the curriculum policy of multilingualism as a guide to teaching and learning in schools in Cameroon.