Inauguration of the "connect my school" e-container at the Mokolo primary school, Bertoua (east Cameroon)

At the invitation of Mr Grégoire Mvongo, Governor of the East Region, UNICEF and Cameroon's Ministry of Basic Education inaugurated the e-container at Mokolo Primary School in Bertoua on Tuesday, 5 March 2024, in the presence of the partner, IHS Cameroon, from the IHS Holding Limited (“IHS Towers”) group. 

Built with the financial and technical support of IHS Cameroon and UNICEF Cameroon, the e-container provides pupils and teachers with an educational space equipped with new information technologies and access to internet connectivity, including for out-of-school adolescents. Built from recycled materials and powered by solar energy, it has been designed to provide air circulation and thermal and acoustic comfort. 

"We are working with the regional authorities and the education teams to ensure that children are introduced to new technologies from the first year of primary school, and to help reduce the digital divide," says Nadine Perrault, UNICEF Representative in Cameroon. "While the African Union has declared 2024 the year of educational transformation in Africa, in Cameroon we intend to promote broad and inclusive access for children to innovation and enable them to find their place and play a role in an increasingly connected world", she continues. 

The e-container is installed in  the Ecole Primaire Publique d'Application of Mokolo in Bertoua. As part of the project, UNICEF has provided solar electricity for all classrooms in the school compound. 

It caters for 1,116 pupils aged between 6 and 12. 34 teachers were trained in the basic use of ICT in teaching and learning. In contrast, student teachers from Bertoua's ENIEG (Ecoles Normales d'Instituteurs de l'Enseignement Général) were trained in the use of ICT during their internship at Mokolo school.

IHS Cameroon, part of the IHS Towers group, one of the world's largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared communications infrastructure by number of towers, present in Cameroon since 2013, contributes to the development of Cameroon with a network coverage of nearly 2,350 towers serving 13 million mobile users. "This e-container project is aligned with our aim to help more people access mobile and internet connectivity, for the benefit of continued education," says Olufemi Arosanyin, CEO of IHS Cameroon. 

This innovative, digital hub project is part of UNICEF’s Connect My School initiative which seeks to narrow the digital divide, provide sustainable connectivity in all schools, and equip children with the skills they need to achieve their full potential and contribute to national socio-economic development. 

Delivered by UNICEF, in support of the Ministry of Basic Education, in 17 schools in the Eastern Region, one school group in the Central Region, and one school group in the Littoral Region, the Connect my School initiative has reached nearly 20,000 primary school pupils and 284 teachers to familiarize themselves with teaching and learning using ICT.

Connect My School is supported by the Global Partnership for Education, Canadian Cooperation, and the Spanish National Committee for UNICEF.