Bobe yong Francis

In Success Stories today, we talk about Mr. Yong Francis, an educationist. This man is a veritable visionary and giant in the educational arena in English-speaking Cameroon. He is a self-made man, who, from the most humble beginnings, has risen to the summit by creating and offering educational opportunities to others.  He goes down in history as the man who has made the greatest contribution in educational development in English-speaking Cameroon.

Mr. Yong has spent his whole life creating and building schools. Thanks to his efforts millions of young men and women, whose lives might have been wasted, have had the opportunity to acquire an education. Today, they work gainfully in various sectors of life making a great contribution to nation-building. Some of them have risen to prominent positions.

No one can say if Pa Yong, as he is fondly called today, knew where he was heading to when he made his humble beginnings almost half a century ago. Deprived by financial constraints of the opportunity of acquiring a formal general secondary education himself, he never allowed himself to wallow in self-pity and resignation. He opted for what was affordable: becoming a typist. How he must have admired and envied his more fortunate mates who gained admission into prestigious secondary schools in those days! However, as it turned out, God had a better plan for him. He was destined to teach his fellow compatriots that ‘many roads lead to Rome’; that what matters in life is not where you are but what you do where you are.

Indeed, Mr. Yong’s decision to learn typing and take up a career in the field turned out to be the wisest decision of his life. After his studies, he gained a Government job as a typist.  Then, he had the wonderful vision of offering other less favored children the same opportunity that he had had. He created a Typing Institute. It did not take long for him to realize he was onto a big dream. His was a wise decision.  There was an influx of young boys and girls into his institute. Soon, the number of students was overwhelming. He moved a step higher by making it a commercial college. Even here, the numbers were overwhelming. He created similar colleges in Bambui and his home village, Anyajua. It has been a wonderful success story.

Mr. Yong has not ended at secondary level. He has been in higher education for years. He owns the leading polytechnic in English-speaking Cameroon-National Polytechnic Bambui, where thousands of young people from Cameroon and abroad have a wonderful opportunity in a unique setting to acquire sound, usable technical education.

By and large, Mr. Francis Yong is making an immeasurable contribution in the educational sector in Cameroon. He knows the man-power needs of the nation and the times and goes for the kind of education that will satisfy them. Hence, he has also created a school for the training of medical staff to contribute to close the gap that exists in that sector.

There is no way we can talk of education in Cameroon without the name Francis Yong. Millions of young people have been able to find a stand in life because they had the low-cost opportunity to acquire an education in one of his schools - The Yong Educational Establishments.

This man is a genius. There are many Cameroonians who have gone to the best universities at home and abroad specializing in education and have excellent qualifications in that field; but they are still to make a contribution equal to that of Mr. Yong in the development of education in Cameroon.  His vision, courage, hard work, faith, persistence and perseverance have carved out a unique place for him in the history of Cameroon's education.  His footprints are already on the sands of time.