So I am a beneficiary of a SINO-Cameroon Scholarship to study in China. That`s how I found myself studying maths and physics and computer sciences in Chinese. How did I do that ? Topic for another day. I will tell you all about the suicides, the students going crazy and how I managed to survive the harsh winters, subtle racism and the language you barely understood.
After Graduation we all went to different destinations: I got Admitted for a master`s program, my scholarship was renewed but I chose to use my savings to sponsor myself for my Cisco training. I later got a Job in China training network engineers then after passing my CCIE, moved to work in Nigeria. ( In all fairness, MTN was loking to hire me to work in Cameroon but I wasnt keen) . Azobi moved to Europe and I am not sure where the others went.
One thing I am sure of is there was no obligation for us or any of the batches that came before or after us to move back to our country and contribute towards its development as a means for repayment or gratitude for the opportunities we were offered through scholarship.
I know there were scholarships awarded to students to study in Europe, America, Latin America etc .I might be wrong but I never heard of any of such scholarships having as a condition that you must return home and work for a period of time before leaving. It was always a shocker when schoolmates from North KOrea , Japan, Thailand etc usually said their scholarships often required them to move back home. Some of my friends actually had to go back and join the army for some military services etc.
Does this laisser-faire attitude for African countries esp Cameroon adversely affect its ability to stop the brain drain, retain skilled labor needed for the economic devt and drastic improvements ? If the scholarships had a clause to ensure students returned how will the state enforce this? Will the returnees be guaranteed jobs? is it too late to start calling those guys to come back ?
Abeg make person no call my number! I have worked in Cameroon for almost 2 years before leaving, trained quiet a few guys and mentored many. I have paid my debt to society! All the Same : WE THANK THE HEAD OF STATE ππ