Consequences of school closure on the development prospects of Anglophone Cameroon1

Consequences of school closure on the development prospects of Anglophone Cameroon are devastating. The socio-political crisis that began in October 2016 in the Anglophone Northwest and south-west regions mutated into armed conflict at the end of 2017. Several attempts by the government to solve the crisis has led to futility, these paper will bring out the political, economic and social consequences of school closure and the ghost town phenomenon in the development prospect of Anglophone Cameroon.

• School closure has increase illiteracy rate in the towns of northwest and southwest region of Cameroon. The future consequences of this is the fact that the uneducated might one day pick up guns against the educated elites after the crisis and consequently retarding development in Anglophone Cameroon
• Unemployment has been recorded as a result of school closure. Some PTA (Parent Teachers Association)teachers lost their jobs as a result of the closure of schools. This has greatly affected their livelihood. The consequent of this is idleness which can cause criminality consequently affecting the economy of Anglophone Cameroon
• Another consequence of school closure is the fact that it has revealed the ineffectiveness and failure of the government to control some parts of Anglophone Cameroon. The government has lost legitimacy in these regions and this might go a long way to tarnish the image of the country at the international level. Since government have lost control over some parts of these regions, other countries that had investment in these regions might be force to leave the towns and reinvest in a different country thereby retarding the prospect of development in Anglophone Cameroon
• The closure of schools has prolonged restrictions on civil liberties which have become more pronounced since 2016: a ban on demonstrations, the arrest and beating up of teachers, journalists, lawyers and researchers. It has even served as a pretext for greater repression, with the use of anti-terrorist legislation for political ends, greater control over social media and threats against journalists.
• School closures has led to displacement as so many families have left their houses, towns to move to the francophone sector for greener pastures. There are sometimes that are deserted because all the people there have left due to fear and insecurity. Displacement have a slowdown development prospect in Anglophone Cameroon

Consequences of ghost town phenomenon on the development prospect of Anglophone Cameroon

• Numerous cases of illegal arrest have been recorded as a result of operation ghost town and school closure a case in point was the illegal arrest of Justice Ayah Paul Abine When Anglophone lawyers were beaten up and illegally arrested, support from the Bar was tardy and limited, leading some Anglophone lawyers to call for the creation of their own Bar.
• The ghost town operation has retarded access to justice in AnglophoneCameroon. This is because some divisions and sub divisions are ungovernable and lawyers and people no longer go to court on ghost town days. Some courts have been burnt down as a result of ghost town phenomenon; this has greatly affected the judiciary in Anglophone Cameroon in its quest for justice
• The ghost town phenomenon has also reduce the forces of demand and supply in Anglophone Cameroon markets, the consequent of this is an increase in the prices of good and services. The poor population are always victims of circumstances 
• A decrease in agricultural productivity in Anglophone Cameroon is a consequent of operation ghost town in these regions. Agricultural sector which is considered one of the main economic activities of the people in Anglophone Cameroon has witness a reduction in their output as a result of the ghost town phenomenon. A case in point is the Cameroon Development Cooperation (CDC). This has greatly affected the prospect of development in Anglophone Cameroon
• The ghost town phenomenon has led to insecurity in the towns of Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon. These insecurity have gone a long way to limit some poor business merchants from carrying out their day to day business activities and thus reducing the development prospect in Anglophone Cameroon

In a nutshell, it is good that one is able to appraise these consequences of school closure and ghost town. However, it should be noted that the reason for school closure and ghost town operation in Anglophone Cameroon is the Anglophone crisis which degenerated into an arm conflict in 2016. The justifiable reason for school closure is the lack of a conducive and secure environment. Worthy of note is the fact that the closure of schools and ghost town phenomenon has greatly handicapped the development prospect in Anglophone Cameroon. This is because the government seems to have lost control on some of these territories

Consequences of school closure on the development prospects of Anglophone Cameroon

Consequences of school closure on the development prospects of Anglophone Cameroon

Consequences of school closure on the development prospects of Anglophone Cameroon

Consequences of school closure on the development prospects of Anglophone Cameroon

Consequences of school closure on the development prospects of Anglophone Cameroon

Consequences of school closure on the development prospects of Anglophone Cameroon

Consequences of school closure on the development prospects of Anglophone Cameroon