The Catholic Church has not only been at the forefront of educational provision in Cameroon from the German colonial period; she has also been a trailblazer in the provision of quality education. However, for a long time, the Church offered her educational services from nursery through primary to secondary schools only. The Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda did not think this was good enough. They set up a Think Tank in October 2006 to consider the establishment of a Catholic University that would ‘complete’ the formation of the students whom they had nurtured from nursery to secondary school. This group, composed of Catholic and academic experts, worked from November 2008 to February 2009 on the vision and mission of the University and what it would take to realize the dream of the Bishops in terms of logistics and expertise.
On March 5, 2009, the Bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province submitted a request to the Minister of Higher Education seeking the creation of the University. The National Commission for Private Higher Education in Cameroon discussed the proposal during its 14th Ordinary Session and, by letter N.09/02561/L/MINESUP/DDES/ESUP/SAC/NJE/ebm of 6 July, 2009 from the Minister of Higher Education, the Bishops were granted the permission to create the Catholic University of Cameroon, [CATUC] Bamenda. On the 12th of January 2011, the Minister of Higher Education, Professor Jacques Fame Ndongo, signed an ordinance No.11/0047/MINESUP authorising the Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda, to operate the BMP system (Bachelors, Masters, and PhD).
The Catholic University of Cameroon offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses that lead to the Bachelors, Masters and PhD qualifications. From inception the University has worked hard to distinguish herself in the areas of academic and professional quality (through the provision of top quality teaching and learning, the enhancement of student and faculty research, well-structured internships and industrial placements, etc) and in the formation of Cameroonians of character, supported by a Catholic Christian ethos and an Anglo-Saxon tradition of discipline, integrity and hard work. For this reason, she is making her way to the top of university rankings nationally and internationally.
