Financing for equity in primary and secondary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to schools
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Education in Cameroon is funded through a mixture of public budget allocations, external support/adaptations, household contributions, and targeted social programmes. The sector’s financing is embedded in national public finance systems anchored in the annual Finance Law (loi de finances), which is prepared by the Ministry of Finance (MINFI), debated and approved by Parliament, and executed across government ministries, including those responsible for education. The Ministry of Basic Education oversees the development and implementation of government policy on basic education, including financing from pre-primary through primary levels.
Cameroon’s education financing is fundamentally centralised, even within a decentralisation framework. The central government determines and transfers education funds directly to sub-regional administrative units (such as divisions and inspectorates) before they reach schools. Regional authorities, however, generally do not receive dedicated education budgets nor act as intermediaries in funding distribution to schools, which weakens local responsiveness to needs.
The decentralisation policy codified under Law N°2004/018 of 22 July 2004 stipulates that Decentralised Territorial Collectivities (CTD) should exercise devolved responsibilities with corresponding financial and technical resources.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
Cameroon’s public finance system has historically been centralised. Education funds are determined at the central government level, incorporated into the Finance Law (prepared by MINFI), and transferred down via ministries (Basic, Secondary, Higher Education) to inspectorial or division levels rather than directly to regional authorities.
Regional Delegations do not receive direct education funds for schools; financial transfers are typically operationalised through central government ministries, meaning regional governments have little fiscal autonomy over education. Centralised transfers do not differentiate based on specific educational needs.
The Ministry of Finance plays a central role in designing the national budget envelope, including transfers earmarked for education to subnational governance structures and ministries. It sets budget ceilings and expenditure rules and oversees compliance with the Finance Law.
There is no available information on funding mechanisms from the central government to local governments that consider equity.
2. Education resources to schools
In 2018, Cameroon received financial support from the World Bank to develop the Programme d’appui à la réforme de l’éducation au Cameroun (PAREC), aimed at improving education in crisis-affected regions (North-West/South-West) and in disadvantaged areas, including refugee-affected and rural regions. PAREC has three components: 1) enhancing access, quality, and education system management in disadvantaged areas; 2) improving education quality and increasing effectiveness and accountability at the school level; and 3) strengthening institutional capacity and management. The programme aims to improve access to quality public primary education, with at least 300 schools in regions with high refugee populations expected to receive direct support.
3. Education resources to students and families
Sahel Women Empowerment And Demographic Dividend Project (SWEDD)
The Sahel Women Empowerment And Demographic Dividend Project (SWEDD), financed by the World Bank and implemented by the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, began its operations in February 2022. The project targeted vulnerable adolescent girls aged 10 to 24 in the extreme-north region of Cameroon, aiming to empower 703,174 girls by providing school kits that included essential tools for schooling and covering schooling and exam costs. SWEDD officially closed in December 2024, but its efforts laid groundwork for subsequent initiatives to reduce gender inequality and promote educational inclusion in the Sahel region of Cameroon.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Since 2014, Cameroon’s Social Safety Net Project, co-financed by the World Bank, has aimed to establish a basic national safety net system by piloting targeted cash transfers economic inclusion, youth entrepreneurship and public works programmes. The programme seeks to improve the living conditions of poor, rural, and vulnerable populations through soft conditionalities linked to education, health, nutrition, and income-generating activities. Recipients are encouraged to use the transfers to ensure proper schooling and healthcare for their children.
5. School meal programmes
There are two major school feeding programmes—the WFP School Feeding Programme and the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Programme. However, both are donor-funded and do not reach all students. Targeting considers geographic context, school type, and individual and community characteristics.
The WFP School Feeding in Emergencies programme is led and implemented by WFP, but the home‑grown school feeding programme (HGSF) is financed by the Government of Cameroon through mechanisms such as World Bank funding and Education Cannot Wait funds. School feeding is placed under the Ministry of Basic Education (MINEDUB), which gives the programme a formal government framework and oversight role. WFP piloted the HGSF in the Adamawa region starting in February 2022, providing locally sourced items like yoghurt, cassava bread, and eggs to nearly 1,000 school children to boost enrollment and attendance. It primarily targets primary school children in public schools, focusing on regions with high poverty and low enrollment. The programme provides funds directly to schools for purchasing food from local producers, distinguishing it from the longer-running School Feeding in Emergencies initiative that began in 1978. Nutritionists are involved in programme design and implementation.
This profile was reviewed by Ewondo Mbebi Olivier, Associate Professor-National Higher Polytechnic School of Douala, University of Douala; and Tani Emmanuel Lukong, Professor.
