The place to be was in a beehive mood yesterday as students and lecturers were in campus to begin the academic year.

The University of Buea (UB) effectively resumed the academic year 2017-18 yesterday (27 November, 2017). Resumption had delayed in this prestigious Anglo-Saxon institution due to adjustments made to ward off the perturbations of last academic year.

For a hitch-free take-off, the whole of last week had been devoted to orientation sessions so the new students could get better acquainted with the environment.

Met in his office yesterday afternoon, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Ngomo Horace Manga, assured that the take-off was without any major hitches. “We are resuming this year with over 5000 freshmen for both the major campus and its annex of the Higher Technical Teachers’ Training College (HTTTC) in Kumba”, he explained to this reporter.

Unlike last year when perturbations resulted in hundreds of students fleeing from violence, the campus of UB was busy yesterday with freshmen running from one office to another and one amphi to another to piece up information about the school year.

The corridor leading from the main entrance gate to the inner campus was being walked by hundreds of students. Many Lecturers held documents in hand to begin lectures. Documentation services were in brisk business supplying documents to freshmen.

The Vice Chancellor had held polishing meetings with the various departmental officials and given strict directives a few days before. For Professor Ngomo Manga, no errors would be tolerated as the year must have a smooth start and make the difference from the last agitated year.

He made the owner’s rounds in the campus to ensure discipline was on course and that classes programmed were effectively taking place. The UB had computerised many aspects of their administration and so students mainly needed to go on-line to look for most of the information they needed.

Amid the beehive movements at UB one could observe a sparkling clean campus with the hitherto tall grasses down for school to resume. The various offices we accosted were busy at peak receiving users and giving directives. The UB environment radiated an air of a fresh beginning and a promising academic year unlike the previous one.