This brand new classroom block, complete with pupils benches and teachers’ tables and chairs, is set to significantly improve the outcomes of the 164 pupils already enrolled at the school.  Up until we undertook this project, CETIC Koupa Mengke had just 2 classrooms – so most students were learning in appalling conditions under the trees.

CETIC Koupe Mengke is the only bi-lingual technical secondary school serving 35 communities in the Koutuba sub-division of Noun Division in the West Region.  The four trade courses that are taught here, in addition to the normal secondary school curriculum (Building Construction, Home Economics, Tailoring and Electricity) are taught in both English and French.  The demands on the 13 staff members are immense.

Technical secondary education is very popular in Cameroon because a child who is skilled in a trade, as well as being literate and numerate, has a high chance of gaining well-paid employment.  In addition, the children on the Building Construction course here will have the opportunity to practise their skills in the construction of further classrooms at their school over the next few years and those on the tailoring course will be able to help produce school uniforms for new pupils who enrol.

The handover of this project, on December 12th 2025, was a cause for much celebration in the community.  It is anticipated that pupil enrolments will increase this year and levels of academic achievement will improve.  The project will be monitored by the SHUMAS team over the next 2-3 years to measure its impact.

In addition to the classrooms, the project also included the construction of a school office and a newly dug deep-pit latrine.