They are suspected of having abandoned their posts and left the country to find better elsewhere.
The government of Cameroon is intensifying the hunt for state personnel absent from their posts and who continue to receive their salaries. An operation led by the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Airports of Cameroon (ADC) has led to the census of 3 442 teaching staff under the Ministry of Secondary Education. They are identified as civil servants who have traveled out of the country in recent years.
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To ensure that they have left to stay abroad, the Minister of Secondary Education, Pauline Nalova Lyonga, summons them to appear at door 507 of the building housing her services with supporting documents. Beyond the 14-day deadline starting from February 23, 2026, “the concerned individuals will be purely and simply removed from the state payroll file,” the minister warns.
For several years, Cameroonian authorities have pointed out several absences or desertions of posts in schools and other administrations. In January 2025, Minesec published the list of 1 226 teachers who had deserted their posts. It summoned them to justify their presence at the risk of being removed from the workforce. Since 2023, approximately 5 000 teachers have deserted their posts and the government has decided to remove them from the workforce. The situation persists despite measures taken to limit the brain drain.
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Among the reasons noted for this desertion of posts are the recurring tensions between teachers and the government, as well as travel to Canada in search of better living and working conditions.
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