In Both public and private nurseries and primary schools, Wednesday classes no longer end at noon as usual. From now on, they end at 2pm in some schools and at 1:30 pm or 2:30 pm in others. School authorities sent out information notes to keep parents updated on the time change.

“This time change stems from a reform of the system of teaching and learning methods of the Ministry of Basic Education -Minedub-,” explained Mr Ella, who is in charge of harmonizing teaching in this ministry's department. He added that this new strategy aims to enhance the competency-based approach and meet UNESCO standards. “It also makes it possible to harmonize the Francophone subsystem with the Anglophone one, which already operated in this way,” he said. However, there is no official note requiring an extension of Wednesday school hours.

“I wanted to refuse the reform as I find it really exhausting for the kids. The director answered me: that's the way it is, ma'am! 13:30, from Monday to Friday,” said Marthe, mother of a little girl enrolled in Maria Goretti Kindergarten in Douala.

For employed mums, this is a great opportunity to keep their offspring occupied for even longer, far from television. However, some kindergartens keep the traditional Wednesday time. This is the case of the (Catholic) nursery school of Saint Claudine de Mendong, in Yaoundé.

Monique Ngo Mayag