Curriculum development at the African Regional Wildlife Colleges, with special reference to the Ecole de Faune, Cameroon

Abstract

Regional colleges in Tanzania, Cameroon and, recently, South Africa have trained some 4000 wildlife managers. Training need assessments called for major curriculum reforms, which were developed and implemented in the late 1990s. This is an analysis of the factors that influenced this curriculum reform in the colleges' endeavour to respond to new developments in African wildlife management. Since 1979, the curriculum of Garoua Wildlife College, Cameroon, has changed only gradually, whereas work placement subjects, selected by students and their employers, have quickly responded to developments in wildlife management, with an increase in the number of people-oriented subjects amongst other things. In the new curriculum, Garoua's mid-career students appreciated biology and inventory disciplines for their relevance, as well as courses in other disciplines tailored to conservation practice. The curriculum reforms implemented at Garoua depended on the presence of interested lecturers with an appropriate background, often obtained by additional training. The curricula of the regional wildlife colleges at Garoua (Cameroon) Mweka (Tanzania) and SAWC (South Africa) showed important differences, as a result of regional differences and differing visions of the wildlife management profession. All three colleges have struggled to establish a feedback system for continuous curriculum review. Increasing the exchanges between the colleges could further develop the curricula. While pursuing necessary changes in curriculum and institutions, care should be taken to avoid reducing the colleges' sustainability.