The influence of human resources on the effective implementation of the policy of automatic class promotion in public primary schools in the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon

Abstract

The policy of automatic class promotion was introduced in Cameroon primary schools in response to very high repetition rate of pupils in these schools. Statistics reveal that this policy is ineffectively implemented (MINEDUB, 2016). This study intends to show the extent to which the human resource capacity of these schools with respect to the quantity and quality of teachers account for the level of effective implementation of this policy. A survey was carried out wherein a questionnaire and an interview guide were used for data collection. Four hundred and fifteen (415) teachers returned completed copies of the questionnaire while 25 basic education stakeholders were interviewed. The data analysis reveals that the quantity of teachers in schools understudy is grossly inadequate. Although the teachers have adequate academic and professional certificates and perceive that they have acquired competencies for the implementation of the policy of automatic class promotion, they are not adequately qualified with respect to longevity in service and their attitudes. It is recommended that the government should recruit the adequate number of teachers and appropriately deploy them, as well as equip the teachers with competencies on the effective implementation of the policy of automatic class promotion through in-service training.

Keywords: Human resources, educational resources, quantity and quality of teachers, automatic class promotion, policy implementation, effective policy implementation.