The new gate of Government Bilingual High School Bamenda Campus B opened on Wednesday morning, 2 September 2026, to a rather different school from the one many of its former students and teachers would remember.
Through the renovated entrance walked representatives of the Government of Cameroon, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the North West Regional Assembly, the Ministry of Secondary Education, the Presidential Plan for Reconstruction and Development (PPRD), the contractor Dreamland Connect PLC and other stakeholders.
They had come to witness the provisional reception of a school campus that has been given a substantial physical transformation after years of deteriorating infrastructure.
Led by the PPRD team, the officials moved from the entrance through the renewed campus, stopping at one block after another to see the work completed.
Freshly rehabilitated classrooms, improved walkways, renovated facilities and newly landscaped sections of the school provided the backdrop to the inspection.
The tour eventually led the delegation to the renovated dining shed, where the formal ceremony took place.
Established in 1978, GBHS Bamenda is one of the oldest bilingual secondary schools in the city. But the crisis that has affected Cameroon's North West and South West Regions since 2016, coupled with years of inadequate infrastructure, had taken a toll on its learning environment.
Leaking roofs, deteriorating classrooms, damaged doors and windows and ageing facilities had become part of the daily reality for teachers and students.
That reality has now changed, at least on Campus B.
Under the Presidential Plan for Reconstruction and Development of the North West and South West Regions, 27 classrooms spread across seven blocks have been rehabilitated.
Block A, comprising three classrooms and an office, has been restored. So too have the two classrooms in Block B, seven in Block C, six in Block D, two in Block E, five in Block F and two in Block G.
The rehabilitation went beyond simply giving the buildings a fresh coat of paint. Roofs were repaired, electrical systems improved, drainage gutters restored, ceilings and floors renewed, while writing boards, windows and doors were replaced or improved.
Modern male and female toilet facilities have been constructed and rehabilitated. A dining shed has been built, while the security post and discipline office have also been renovated.
The school fence and main gate have been rehabilitated, retaining walls constructed and paved walkways improved.
A new flag stand, stone cladding and environmental works, including tree planting, have further changed the appearance of the campus.
GBHS Bamenda, established in 1978, is one of the oldest bilingual secondary schools in Bamenda. Years of inadequate infrastructure and deteriorating facilities had affected the school's learning environment and created additional challenges for teachers, administrators and students.
“Those who have seen this campus before, when they see it now, it is just like they have reconstructed the school,” the GBHS Bamenda Principal, Ngwa David said adding that “We have moved from darkness to complete daylight.”
The improvements according to the Principal have address problems that had directly affected teaching and discipline.
Ngwa David, Principal
“The roofs were really, really leaking. So when you are teaching during rainy season, the student cannot even sit in class,” he said. “With this rehabilitation, everything is intact.”
He now faces the task of ensuring that the investment survives beyond the ceremony.
“I am going to put a committee in charge of securing these structures,” the principal said, adding that the administration would work with the PTA and other stakeholders to establish maintenance mechanisms.
The call for maintenance was echoed by Regional Delegate of Secondary Education Baijong Ezekiel.
But for the Regional Delegate, the renovated school comes with another message, particularly as the North West prepares for a new academic year.
“This structure is a structure of assurance to the education community in the region,” he said.
He appealed to parents and communities to ensure that children return to school.
“Every child of the Northwest is supposed to be back in school from the first day of school,” he said. “We need you helping the children of the Northwest to go to school.”
UNDP Regional Coordinator Mary Nyuyinui explained that the project was selected following assessments of infrastructure damaged or requiring rehabilitation across the two crisis affected regions.
“GBHS Bamenda was one of these projects, and it just came at the time at which it had to be rehabilitated,” she said.
“We expect that the children who will be benefiting from these rehabilitated structures will see in it opportunities for them to become better citizens,” the UNDP Coordinator said.
For Dreamland Connect PLC, the contractor responsible for the works, the project was completed significantly ahead of schedule.
“It sounds easy, but it was quite a challenging project,” Edison Fru Ndi said.
He said the company also made additional improvements beyond the contractual requirements, including modern staff toilets, a flag stand, extra stone wall works and landscaping.
“I thought I should give him a tribunal to make him the happiest person as he is,” he said, referring to the principal's desire to see the campus transformed.
The UNDP Regional Coordinator, in her speech during the reception, described the intervention as an investment in the future.
“Education remains one of the most powerful tools for the transformation of our society,” she said.
She urged the school community to protect the facilities and asked teachers to remind students that “the best way to express their gratitude for these improved learning conditions is through discipline, hard work, academic excellence, and responsible citizenship.”
The GBHS Bamenda project forms part of the wider PPRD recovery effort in the North West, which reports more than 71 schools and 31 health facilities rehabilitated, alongside water points, bridges, markets, farmland and other community infrastructure.
At the end of the ceremony, provisional reception documents were signed by PPRD focal point Marceliout Djunang, Rev. Hon. Prof. Anyambod Emmanuel Anya of the North West Regional Assembly, Regional Delegate Baijong Ezekiel and other stakeholders.
By Bakah Derick for Hilltopvoices Web
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