Case of the University of Buea
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State of University Research Governance in West and Central Africa: Case of the University of Buea Final Report: Cameroon By Yves B.SIGNING and Stéphane NGUIESSI Under the supervision of Clotaire KOUOMO November 2009 AGESFO (AUDIT – GESTION – FORMATION) Direction Générale BP. 12 977 Douala-Cameroun Tél. 00237 3342 76 78 FAX 00237 3342 69 87 AGENCES : Cameroun BP. 4500 Yaoundé - TCHAD BP 1644 Ndjamena RDC : 345 , Petit Boulevard LUMUMBA, 11ème rue LIMETE Industriel / Kinshasa Goma : Avenue des touristes Tél. (243) 081 196 58 36 [email protected] E-mail : [email protected] http : www.agesfo.com AGESFO Sarl, Douala-Cameroun Table of content LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................ 2 LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................................ 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 6 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 8 1. CONTEXTUALISATION OF UNIVERSITY RESEARCH GOVERNANCE .......................................... 8 1.1. THE LONG DRIVE OF RESEARCH IN CAMEROON ............................................................................................... 8 1.2. AN OVERVIEW OF THE ORGANISATION OF UNIVERSITY RESEARCH IN CAMEROON ........................................... 12 1.3. RESEARCH IN CAMEROON: WHEN FUNDS LACK THE MOST .............................................................................. 14 2. ORGANISATION OF RESEARCH WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY OF BUEA .................................... 16 2.1. SOME GENERAL DATA WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY OF BUEA .............................................................................. 16 2.2. RESEARCH MECHANISM WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY OF BUEA ............................................................................ 18 2.3. ACCREDITATION AND ORGANISATION OF RESEARCH UNITS ............................................................................ 19 3. INSTITUTIONAL STEERING OF RESEARCH ...................................................................................... 22 3.1. FUNCTIONING OF STEERING ORGANS ............................................................................................................ 22 3.2. DETERMINATION OF RESEARCH PRIORITIES .................................................................................................. 23 3.3. THE BMP REFORM AND UNIVERSITY RESEARCH ............................................................................................ 25 3.4. NETWORK OF PARTNERS AND RESEARCH FUNDING ........................................................................................ 26 3.5. MECHANISMS OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL EVALUATION ............................................................................... 30 4. OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT OF RESEARCH ................................................................................. 31 4.1. RECRUITMENT PROCEDURES AND WORKING CONDITIONS OF RESEARCHERS ................................................... 31 4.2. MOTIVATIONS TO RESEARCH ....................................................................................................................... 32 4.3. QUESTIONS OF ETHICS AND DEONTOLOGY ................................................................................................... 34 4.4. PROCEDURES AND MECHANISMS OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CONTROL ....................................................... 35 4.5. THE POLICY OF VALORISING RESEARCH RESULTS ........................................................................................... 35 5. MAJOR ISSUES, NEEDS AND PROMISING APPROACHES ........................................................... 36 1 6. RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................... 39 6.1. TO THE STATE ............................................................................................................................................ 39 6.2. TO UNIVERSITY AUTHORITIES ...................................................................................................................... 39 6.3. TO FINANCIAL PARTNERS ............................................................................................................................. 39 6.4. FUTURE ACTIONS THAT CAN BE UNDERTAKEN BY IDRC ................................................................................ 39 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................... 40 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................................... 41 APPENDIX 1: EXTRACT: THE UNIVERSITY OF BUEA RESEARCH POLICY AND MANAGEMENT GUIDE 2007-2012 ...... 42 APPENDIX 2: DECISION TO SET UP THE UNIVERSITY OF BUEA SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH COMMITTEE ......................... 51 APPENDIX 3: DECISION TO SET UP AN INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BUEA. ................... 53 APPENDIX 4: DECREE N°2009/121 OF APRIL 8, 2009 CREATING, ORGANISING AND SETTING THE FUNCTIONING OF A SPECIAL FUND ACCOUNT FOR THE MODERNIZATION OF RESEARCH IN STATE UNIVERSITIES. ............................... 56 APPENDIX 5: LIST OF LITERATURE CONSULTED .................................................................................................... 59 APPENDIX 6: LIST OF PERSONS INTERVIEWED ...................................................................................................... 60 1 Report on the State of University Research Governance in West and Central Africa: Case of the University of Buea AGESFO Sarl, Douala-Cameroun List of Acronyms and abbreviations IDRC International Development Research Centre ANRP Agence Nationale de Radioprotection APAD (french) Association Euro-Africaine pour l’Anthropologie du Changement Social et du Développement ASTI Advance School of Translators and Interpreters ADB African Development Bank BMP system Bachelor-Master-PhD C2D Contrat de Désendettement et de Développement CALAC Centre for African Literatures And Cultures CNDT National Committee for the Development of Technologies CNE Centre National d’Education/ National Centre for Education CRSAEE Council of Scientific Research and Applied studies and Survey CRSAEE (french) Conseil de Recherche Scientifique et Appliquée des Etudes et Enquêtes DGRST(french) General Delegation for Scientific and Technical Research DVC/RC Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Cooperation 2 DVC/RCB Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Research, Cooperation and Relations with the Business World FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation GRIAD(french) Groupe de Recherche sur l’Imaginaire de l’Afrique et de la Diaspora ICRAF International Center for Research on Agroforestry IFAN Institut Français d’Afrique Noire IFS International Foundation for Science 2 Report on the State of University Research Governance in West and Central Africa: Case of the University of Buea AGESFO Sarl, Douala-Cameroun IITA International Institute for Tropical Agriculture IMPM Institut de Recherches Médicales et d’Etudes des Plantes Médicinales) INC National Institute for Cartography IRAD(french) Institute for Agronomic Research for Development IRB Institutional Review Board IRCAM Institute of Scientific Research in Cameroon IRD(french) Research Institute for Development IRGM(french) Institut de Recherches Géologiques et Minières MESIRES(french) Ministry of Higher Education, Computer Science and Scientific Research MESRES Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research MINADER(french) Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development MINEPIA(french) Ministry of Breeding, Fishery and Animal Industry MINESUP (french) Ministry of Higher Education MINRESI(french) Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation MINREST(french) Ministry of Technical and Scientific Research 3 MINSANTE(french) Ministry of Public Health MIPROMALO(french) Local Materials Promotion Authority WHO World Health Organisation ONAREST(french) National Office of Scientific and Technical Research ORSTOM(french) Overseas Scientific Research Office UNDP United Nation Development Programme PRIES Programme for Research, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Service 3 Report on the State of University Research Governance in West and Central Africa: Case of the University of Buea AGESFO Sarl, Douala-Cameroun SECAM Société d’Etudes Camerounaises SIL (french) International Linguistic Centre UBSRC University of Buea Scientific Research Committee UNESCO United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation WWF World Wide Fund for Nature 4 4 Report on the State of University Research Governance in West and Central Africa: Case of the University of Buea AGESFO Sarl, Douala-Cameroun List of tables Table 1: Evolution of registered student’s (UG and PG) by sex from 1993/1994 to 2006/2007 Table 2: Number of teaching and research personnel and service and administrative personnel of the University of Buea Table 3: Research personnel of the University per faculty and ASTI Table 4: List of research laboratories Table 5: International Grants awarded up to 2008 Table 6: National Grants Table 7: Research funding at the