In line with universal educational requirements to provide for a school system that empowers learners to develop their latent potential to cope with increasing complexities of life, facilitate insertion into the job market and become autonomous learners, pursuing lifelong learning, the new syllabi are designed to reflect local knowledge culture and promote sustainable development by school leavers. To achieve the above and in line with the objectives of national educational policy (law no. 98/004 of 14 April 1998) [6] to lay down guidelines for education in Cameroon, the new pedagogic paradigm chosen is “the competency based approach with entry through real life situation” the new syllabi are in tandem with the provisions of the Growth and Employment Strategies Paper (GESP) (2010) [4] which specifies the minimum amount of knowledge, skills and attitudes each Cameroonian school child is expected to possess by the time they graduate from the first cycle of secondary education. Together with the accompanying Teachers Guides, the syllabi provide teachers an enabling framework to organize their pedagogic activities.

Upon the defeat of Germany during the First World War, Cameroon (a German territory) was divided and given to France and Britain as the spoils of war. Each introduced its educational system in its own part of the territory. Having obtained independence, the two parts decided to come together as one nation but now had to resolve this major issue to enhance national unity and integration. The existence of the separate systems generated a number of issues among which were quality of educational offerings, equivalence of certificates, group versus individual subject certificates, and the strong prejudices by members of each sub system who held and projected theirs to be superior to the other. This kept Cameroonians divided in this very important aspect of national life. Anglophones remained alert in protecting an educational subsystem they held in very high esteem from the machinations of the government (which has always been dominated by Francophones) which made several attempts to subsume the subsystem into that of the Francophones. Consequently, the creation of a common secondary school programme taught in French in the francophone regions and in English in the Anglophone regions and examined in relation to the specificities of each subsystem’s evaluation criteria is crucial to resolving one of the major national problems that Cameroon has been grappling with since independence.

This study is carried out using the Documentary analysis design. In this light, documentary evidence will constitute the main source of research data. Data will be collected from the following primary source documents. The published New secondary school syllabi for first cycle of secondary education in Cameroon, The Teachers’ guides for the syllabi, the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper, and the National Education Policy law.

An examination of the syllabi will enable the researcher identify and describe the general organization of the syllabi and the organization of the individual subjects of study. An analysis of the Teachers’ guides will bring out the pedagogical orientations of the syllabi. The Growth and Employment strategy Paper and the motional education policy documents will contribute to an understanding of their influence in the preparation of the syllabuses. All these are deliberate sources which in the view of (Elton 1967 p. 101 [6] [6] and Lehmann and Mehrens, 1971 p. 24) as cited in Bell (1993) [7] are documents deliberately preserved as evidence for the future to serve for purposes of self-justification or reputation enhancement. These are public records written for specific purposes but all interrelated as they share a common goal, which is the transformation of the Cameroon society from an agricultural to a semi-industrial one by 2035. The documents are, therefore, valid and reliable as they fulfil the conditions of authenticity, credibility, representativeness and meaning suggested by Scott (1990) [8].

Educational aims and objectives are the foundational elements on which the syllabus outline is constructed. While aims are broad statements identifying the general educational outcomes, the state wants students to display upon graduation from secondary school, objectives are the concrete measures through which the goals will be realized and are usually expressed as relationships between specific concepts. In preparing learner-centered syllabuses however, Diamond (1998) [11] argues for a clear statement of learning goals and student learning outcomes in the syllabus. He argues that such goals and outcomes should foster the creation of learner-centered environments and an atmosphere that will facilitate the development of positive personal and interpersonal relationships, higher-order thinking, creativity, take care of students’ ideas and opinions, address their individual needs and beliefs and promote self-regulatory learning as part of the syllabus expectations and goals. In this connection, Halpern and Hakel (2003) [12] conclude that the main reasons for education are the transfer of learning, using what one has learned to solve problems in other contexts.

The aim and objectives of primary and secondary education in Cameroon are articulated in the policy law no. 98/004 of 14 April 1998 [6], to lay down guidelines for education in Cameroon. The secondary school syllabi have been created using the aims and objectives contained therein and in related policy documents such as the Growth and Employment Strategy paper (2009) [4], Socle Nationale de Competence (2013) [13] and Vision 2035 (2009) [14].

In preparing a subject syllabus, it is essential to remember that we all learn at least through three of our fine senses with one being dominant. Learning takes place through hearing (audio) seeing (visual) and doing (kinesthetic) which may also involve taste and smell. This Audio, Visual and Kinesthetic (AVK) model of learning enables us to understand that we learn differently and therefore the syllabus needs to incorporate this into its fabric in order to help maximize the learning potential of each student.

Concomitantly, Diamond (1998) [11] posits that it is of great importance to communicate high standards for students which must be clearly articulated in the learner-centered syllabus. In this connection, the following objectives of a learner-centered syllabus are proposed:

1) Define the student’s responsibilities.

2) Define the instructor’s role and responsibilities.

3) Provide goals and student learning outcomes.

4) Establish standards and procedures for evaluation.

Students need to be aware of the role they will assume in the subject. Consequently, the purpose of defining student responsibilities is to assist them take control of their learning and to promote lifelong learning. This also requires that learning spaces be organized to focus on individual learning and that pedagogical strategies promote knowledge on how students learn.

The learner-centered syllabus should define clearly the role of the teacher because this paradigm positions the teacher differently from the traditional classroom paradigm and consequently, students and teachers need to know and understand that this classroom will function differently and this can be communicated in the subject syllabus. This becomes very important in a school system as that in Cameroon where some of the teachers have received rigorous training only in their academic disciplines without the essential and complementary pedagogic training in educational learning theories. In this light, Robertson (1999) [15] proposes a teacher development model in which such teachers move from a mastery of the content (egocentrism) through considering various teaching strategies to engage learners (aliocentrism) to when he or she critically reflects on practice ad acknowledges it as part of the growth process (systemocentrism).

All decisions made concerning content relate to the materials, the sequencing and the mode of instruction that will facilitate students’ efforts to achieve the objectives. In making decisions about the content, the author(s) will usually organize it in one form or another (chapters, modules or topics). Generally, sequencing content from simple to increasingly complex material is used but a different strategy will have to be used if content with roughly equal difficulty has to be covered. At the same time, sequencing ensures that the relationships between subjects and between subjects covered by the syllabus are articulated to bring out the holistic nature of the syllabus. The decision-making process here is brought to a close by the determination of the reading materials and textbooks for the subjects of the syllabi. As a general rule, the syllabus contents should be so clear that they are easily understood by learners (Habanek, 2005) [16] The syllabus should provide enough detail for students to understand what is expected of them and how the course proceeds (Diamond, 1998) [11]. In addition, the course syllabus should generate interest and motivate students to take responsibility to learn the contents of the course (Grunet, 1997) [17].

Students are aware that the grades one receives in class have a positive or negative effect on their overall performance especially in systems like the one in Cameroon where test scores have a high stake on the overall performance. The learner-centered syllabus is expected to not only evaluate procedures but also grading scales and student performance monitoring instruments. Consequently, the inclusion of all levels of the Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy (Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation) of educational objectives is highly encouraged by educational learning theorists in the evaluation of instruction in learner-centered classrooms (Peter K, Martin M, 2005) [18]. Given this perspective therefore, making provisions for students to exercise their preferences in the types of assessments to take can motivate them to increase performance since choices will be based on students’ interests and promote autonomy. Consequently, activities such as group work, projects, self-evaluation, portfolios, learning contracts, and presentations can serve as preferable and more valuable options to traditional evaluation strategies.

Social constructivism, in contrast to the individual constructivists, is based on the assumption that learning is collaborative with meaning negotiated from a multiplicity of perspectives. Vygotsky (1980) [19] felt social learning precedes development. As with individual constructivism, there is no general agreement on how this knowledge is in practice negotiated.

“Contextualism is buttressed by the assumptions that learning should occur in real life settings, and testing should be integrated into the learning tasks. Educators generally refer to learning related to a context as ‘situated cognition’ (Brown, Collins, and Duguid, 1989; Henning, 2004) [20]. Proponents of contextualism recommend that learning problems be presented to learners in situations akin to real life and common to everyday application. This type of learning is described as ‘authentic learning’ and the instruction related to the learning situation as ‘anchord’ in real life situations (Cognition and Technology Group, 1990; Streibel, 1989) [21] ”.

The subject introduction highlights the role of the subject area in national development, and explains the contribution of the subject in conjunction with others in the life of the learner. It also states the contribution, the subject is expected to make within the learning area to the further development of knowledge, knowhow and attitudes of the learner from the precedent stage of learning. It provides the purpose of the programme and the rationale for the subject in the curriculum.

The profile lists the expected learning outcomes in terms of the number of practical activities that the learner should demonstrate in various real-life situations. It explains why the design and teaching of the syllabus are centered on the competency Based Approach (CBA) and states that teaching should begin with the identification of a real life problem or situation which will find a solution, through the scientific process of defining the competencies needed to transform, modify or improve the situation, to the identification and mobilization of the appropriate resources needed to act upon it. This will challenge learners to use scientific methods to actively engage in the construction of their own knowledge, develop the knowhow and attitudes to seek solutions to real life problems in different settings. In the context of these syllabi therefore, competences are objectives since they link school knowledge to real live situations in the community or environments where the learner lives. The knowledge, knowhow and attitudes acquired by the learner are consequently, a means to an end and not ends to themselves.

The various competences that the learner is expected to develop by the end of the particular level in the subject area are outlined in relation to how the content knowledge of the subject is organised.

The syllabus for each subject presents a family of situations through which teachers will concretize the teaching and learning of the content of each module. These prescribed groups of situations are not exhaustive but provide a frame of reference to help teachers in adding other situations to the groups during the implementation of the syllabus as the context requires.

The teacher’s attention is drawn to the way the syllabus is presented, since this understanding is important in guiding the implementers on how the lessons will be prepared and presented. It is crucial because it marks a departure from the way lessons were prepared and presented in the former syllabuses. The syllabi are presented in a tabula matrix of three major columns each having its own sub columns. The main columns are termed, “contextual framework”, “competencies” and “resources”. The contextual framework is divided into two columns; one column carrying the group of situations through which content is to be taught while the other contains the corresponding examples of real-life situations where learning can be applied.

Teachers are expected to draw inspiration from these examples in identifying and defining others relevant to the local context. The competencies are made up of two columns; categories of actions and examples of actions. The suggested groups of actions are related to learner’s mastery of the competences expected to be developed through the study of the module and are supposed to be added unto by teachers in relation to the needs of their local situations.

The third column “resources” consists of four sub columns: context, aptitude, attitudes and other resources. This provides the core knowledge which provides the set of cognitive, affective and psychomotor resources needed by the learners to successfully treat a family of situation. Other resources are the teaching and learning media, financial and human resources needed for successful teaching and learning (see Table 4 below).

This section begins with a statement of the goal of the syllabus, followed by a listing of the knowledge, competences, (skills, abilities) and attitudes that will be tested, including specific guidelines where necessary about how to proceed with a test depending on its nature.

The syllabus for each class (Forms 1 to 5) is organized into 3 to 5 modules depending on the nature of the content to be covered. Each module is sub divided into topics which are in turn divided into chapters and then into daily lessons, though some chapters constitute a daily lesson. This section presents the level, class, module titles, families of situations and the stipulated number of hours that will be used in completing the syllabus. This allocated time is then subdivided into the number of lesson periods that make up the module covered by the syllabus, as can be seen in Table 5 and Table 6.

The role of the teacher has changed from that of dispensing knowledge to that of a facilitator of learning, facilitating the appropriation of knowledge and skills by the learners for addressing their daily challenges of life.

The role of learners has evolved from that of a recipient to that of an active participant in learning. He/she is therefore, required to: put in all necessary effort, cultivate a spirit of team work, set learning goals, review her/his learning through reflection and self-assessment and collaborate in peer learning and assessment among others.

Parents are called upon to participate in the education of their children by accompanying them in their learning, making the home a comfortable and motivating learning environment and by promoting acculturation and social interaction.

The community (all educational stakeholders) is called upon to make certain contributions as an obligation towards learners, teachers, school administrators and the school infrastructure and learning spaces. This includes the provision of learning spaces that inspires learners dream big, create opportunities for feedback, rehearsal, apprenticeship, and transfer of knowledge know how and attitudes.

Each subject has core competences it has to develop in learners. These competences define and describe the essential knowledge, aptitudes and attitudes learners will acquire. These core competences are dependent on each other and in the teaching and learning interaction teachers are required to place emphasis on critical thinking, creativity, initiative, innovation and problem-solving.

In addition to core competences that should be developed from the content of the subject syllabus and the other subjects of the specific area of learning are cross-curricula competences. Their development is dependent upon learners mobilizing resources from several related subjects and learning areas. The four cross-curricula competences are; intellectual (cognition, effective and psychomotor) personal and social, methodological procedural and communicative competences.

To enhance understanding and facilitate quality teaching, the syllabi propose to teachers’ a plethora of learner-centered teaching methods and strategies accompanied by detailed explanations on how to use them in preparing and facilitating instruction to deepen learning by learners.

The syllabi provide teachers the elements to be used in preparing lessons. This is followed by sample lessons which provide the structure of lesson plans and where the elements of a competency-based lesson find expression within the lesson plan format. Detailed explanations relating to how teachers should design lessons, deliver them and design the integration activities are also provided.

The nature of assessment in CBA is explained, the dimensions of teaching and the related weighting and assessment tasks provided, and how the competencies should be assessed explained accompanied by some sampled assessment instruments.

The syllabi prescribe the learner’s profiles by subject at the end of each year, level and cycle.

There is a glossary of the terminologies used in the syllabi.

The syllabi are divided into 5 areas of learning (language and literature, science and technology, social sciences, personal development and arts and natural cultures), each area contains a number of corresponding disciplines. Each area of learning is officially assigned the number of interaction time per year and the weighting in relation to the other areas of learning in the curriculum.

The families of situations through which the syllabuses will be taught and learned are prescribed together with the corresponding areas of life from which they are drawn.

Teachers have been given the responsibility of identifying and using in relation to the prescribed areas of life and families of situations, additional situations relevant to their local environments.