Our History

GTC Kumba Architecture and Location

GTC Kumba was constructed by the Nanga Company. The Nanga company offices were located on Alaska Street at Buea Road at the time of the construction. Cameroon College of Arts and Science (CCAS) Kumba was the first school to be constructed by this company. Classes began in CCAS Kumba in 1973. The Technical college was still under construction when CCAS Kumba started classes. Both schools are geographically located within the same fence at Buea Road. Both schools are based in Kumba, the largest town in Meme Division which is within the Southwest Region. GTC Kumba was the second Government Technical College to be built in Cameroon west of the Mungo River. The first and only Government Technical College in West Cameroon at the time was at Ombe. There were of course other private Technical Colleges all over Cameroon.

GTC Kumba and CCAS Kumba had similar architectural structures. The technical school architecture at the time was composed of the following.

1. An Administrative Building. The administrative offices for the Principal, staff, directors, disciplinary officer, and a dispensary were located in this building. Also located in the administrative building was a typing pool. The typing pool was used by the students who were studying Secretary duty for their typing practice.
2. The structures used for classes at that time were composed of two huge buildings that were located to the left of the administrative building. Assume you are standing in front of the administrative building and facing it as your reference.
3. To the right of the administrative building were the laboratory, the Building and Carpentry shop, the Electrical shop, the Fitter Machinist Shop, and the Motor Mechanic shop. The fitter machinist shop was well-equipped with modern lathe machines, drilling machines, milling machines, grinding machines, shaping machines, etc.
4. There were also two buildings almost adjacent to the administrative building. One of those buildings was for housing the warden and the other was for housing the matron.
5. There were two buildings (dormitory) for housing the male students and two buildings (dormitory) for housing the female students. Out of those 4 buildings, only one was used as a dormitory. The other two were later converted into classrooms.
6. There was also a large and well-equipped refectory. That’s where the food for the boarding students of the dormitory was prepared.
7. There was also the washeteria where the boarding students could do their laundry.

The surrounding fence had two entrances. One was from Buea Road and the other was from the Kumba railway station (the famous Gare). Both gates had a gateman that would close them after a certain time. Latecomers were often reported to the discipline master or the matron, who would then assign a portion of the premises with grass to be cleared while classes were going on. That was the punishment. Remember that the school was constructed on farmlands in the middle of the forest. When this school started, there was grass everywhere. The students had to cut the tall grass down. That was the typical manual labor in those days. Unfortunately, some of the students had to miss classes to do their punishment.

GTC Kumba Start of School Year

The Government Technical College Kumba opened its doors for the first time in October 1974. That was about two months after the regular start of the academic year in Cameroon. During this time, the Nanga Company was still constructing the water tower on the campus. The college was constructed to house six departments. These departments included the Secretariat Duty, Accounting, Building Construction, Carpentry, Fitter Machining, and Electrical departments. Every department had about 25 students. You might be curious how these new students chose the department they found themselves in. When school started, the first batch was interviewed by the school authorities to choose the department they intended to study in. After the interview, a list was published with each student’s name and the department they belong to.

Administration

The Administration of GTC Kumba was composed of the Principal Mr. Peter Atashili, the warden Mr. Abondo Max, the assistant warden Mr. Ojong, and the matron Ms. Hannah Likali Ikome. The school also had the Director of the Industrial department, the director of the commercial department, and the bursar (Mr Chinje) who was responsible for the finances of the school and the teaching staff.

Classes

Classes began in October 1974. Immediately after classes started, we quickly realized that most of our teachers were French-speaking. When classes started, there was no syllabus. The English-speaking teachers who taught science and mathematics were preparing the students for the General Certificate of Education (GCE) O level. The Technology that was taught was below standard for the City and Guilds of London Institute examination. Only Engineering or Technical Drawing had the standard of City and Guilds because the teachers who taught it Mr. Wacka and Mr. Enow knew something about the City and Guilds syllabus for that class. The students had to research past questions of the City and Guilds Exam to know what to study for. The French-speaking staff had no idea what to teach the students without a syllabus coupled with the lack of English language power. In the third year, students quickly realized that some work had to be done to catch up with whatever exams had to be written. Around the third year, the students were informed that the final exam was going to be the CAP. The scheme of work for the CAP was disastrous because the students had no textbooks in English for the exams. What the French-speaking teachers managed to dispense as a lecture was insufficient. Most classmates had to divert to the GCE O level.

Boarding

It was during the third year that boarding was open. The dorms were furnished with double spring beds and mattresses. Before boarding, the pioneering batch had been informed that all of them were going to be admitted into the dorms. When the time came, only a fraction of the first batch of students was lucky. The administration admitted students from all levels of the classes and most of the first batch were left out. That did not sit well with the senior students. When school resumed during the 1977/1978 academic year, the student body revolted. The school was locked down. They had to bring the mobile wing from Ekondo-Titi to calm the situation down. Some of the students from the first batch were expelled from the school after the strike.

Examinations

In 1978, we started writing our professional examinations. Some of us wrote the city and guilds exams. Those who wrote the city and guilds did very well though they were not prepared for it nor did they have the syllabus. When it was time for the CAP, we expected all the exams to be written at GTC Kumba. To the surprise of the staff and the students in the commercial department, they were told that the CAP exams were to be administered in Douala on the same day. They had to rush to the GAR and took the train to Douala. Arriving in Douala, they found out that the exams were set in French. So, most of the students did not write anything. Those who did not write the CAP examination had to switch over to the GCE the following year. Thank God they wrote the GCE and passed. The industrial department wrote the CAP examination on the GTC Kumba campus. The translation was impossible but we did our best and passed.

Graduation

The first batch of GTC Kumba graduated in 1978. Since there was no Government Technical High School west of the Mungo River at that time, we had to join the industries. Some of the graduates went to work for the Parmol Company. Others went to work for the Railway Corporation. There were so many others, especially those from the commercial department who were preparing to write the GCE O level.

1978/1979

There was a gap between 1978/1979 when there was no Government Technical High School west of the Mungo River. Those who graduated in 1978 were lucky that the ParmOil Company and the railway corporation needed workers. They immediately found employment and were integrated into the Cameroon workforce which according to the vice minister of Education at that time Dr. Dorothy Limunga Njeuma told us that that’s what we were being prepared for.

1979/1982 GTHS

In the 1979/1980 academic year, the first Government Technical High School (GTHS) was instituted in West Cameroon. This was a three-year program. Two official examinations were to be written before graduation. The two exams were 1. Probatoire Technique and 2. The Baccalaureate Technique. The students who attended GTHS Kumba came from GTC Kumba, GTC Ombe, and other private technical colleges in Cameroon. During this period, Cameroon was at the height of industrialization. Cameroon Radio Television was being constructed. Companies like PECTEN Cameroon, Mobile Cameroon, and Elf SEREPCA Cameroon had just started drilling the oil fields offshore. The Sonara Refinery Company was being built just to name a few. There were just so many job opportunities for those who were to be graduating from this High School. When the first batch wrote their Probatoire Technique, some of those who were unsuccessful left and were recruited by these companies, those who succeeded in the probatoire went on to write the Baccalaureate Technique in the following years. Some of those who successfully passed the Baccalaureate Technique continued their further studies in the ENSET Douala which is a Teacher Training University for Technical Institutions. They eventually graduated and became the future staff for the Technical Institutions in Cameroon. Some of them went on to become directors, principals, etc. of the Technical Institutions. The first batch from GTHS Kumba graduated in 1982.

NOTE

It has been said that the original Government Technical High School Kumba which started as Government Technical College Kumba in 1974 went on to have a name change to Government Technical High School Barombi Kang. To those of us who attended this institution while it was GTHS Kumba, the original name will never change. It will always be known to us as the pioneers of GTHS Kumba. That is the school that made us who we are today. We are proud to be a product of that institution.

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