CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Geographically, modern Cameroon is bounded on the East by Central African Empire, on the North is Chad, Nigeria is on the West while on the South it shares the boundaries with Equatorial Guinea~ Gabon and Congo. With a population of about 25 million people (2005census).Cameroon has about 140 ethnic groups of which the most important include the Bamileke, the: Beti-Pahouin, Bas-a-Bakoko, Douala, Tikar, Kirdi, and the Fulani. The political evolution of Cameroon is very complex on account of the differences in the culture and political thinking of the three countries which ruled it. Germany ruled Cameroon from 1884-1915 as a colony and in 1916 Cameroon was divided between Britain and France following the defeat of the Germans in Cameroon in 1916. (V.J Ngoh 1979) Cameroon is a Central African nation on the Gulf of Guinea. Bantu speakers were among the first groups to settle Cameroon, followed by the Muslim Fulani until German domination in1884. After World War I, the French took over 80% of the area, and the British 20%. After World War II, self-government was granted, and in 1972, a unitary republic was formed out of East and West Cameroon. Until 1976 there were two separate education systems, French and English, which did not merge seamlessly. English is now considered the primary language of instruction. The task of transforming Cameroon from a divided colony into a united and independent state was not easy. The stability of Cameroon after independence reflects the political maturity of the peoples of the new state and the growing economic viability of the country (V.J Ngoh 1979).

The educational system in Cameroon is divided into primary (six years, compulsive), middle school (five years), secondary (high school, two years), and tertiary (University). Christian mission schools have played a significant role in educating children whose parents can afford them. But most cannot. Primary schooling has been free since 2000, but these are very basic, overcrowded, and parents must pay for all sundries. There are fewer girls than boys, mainly due to such things as early marriage, pregnancy, domestic chores, and traditional biases (Edith Stein, 20120). Two separate systems of education were used in Cameroon after independence: East Cameroon’s system was based on the French model, West Cameroon’s on the British model. Uniting the two systems was deemed a symbol of national integration between West and East Cameroon. The two systems were merged by 1976, but studies suggest that they didn’t blend well. Shortly after independence, French was considered the main language of the country, but with the rising of English as first commercial language in the world, the balance switched to the latter. Christian mission schools have been an important part of the education system, but most children cannot afford them and are forced to choose state-run schools. Education became compulsory up to the age of 12 years, when 6 years of primary schooling are complete. Primary school education is free (since 2000), but families must pay for uniforms, book fees, and sometimes even anti-malaria prophylaxis for pupils. Tuition fees at the secondary school level are high, and therefore unaffordable for many families. The country has institutions for teacher training and technical education. There is, however, a growing trend for the wealthiest and best-educated students to leave the country to study and live abroad.

The Constitution affirms that “the State shall guarantee the child’s right to education [and that] primary education shall be compulsory” “equality of opportunity for access to education’. According to data available for 2011, 47.7 percent of girls and 56.7 percent of boys attended primary school. The low school enrolment rate was attributed to cost, with girls’ participation further reduced by early marriage, sexual harassment, unwanted pregnancy, domestic responsibilities, and certain socio cultural biases (Edith Stein.20120). Participation of all citizens in formal political processes is fundamental for democracy. If a segment of the population is deprived of the right to vote or is disengaged, the representativeness and legitimacy of these processes is undermined. Education plays a key role in political participation and other electoral stakeholders have a crucial role to play in empowering individuals to participate in formal political processes. Indeed, the emerging consensus has seen many electoral assistance agencies adopt a women focus in their programming, Education has the transformative potential to build peace, and EMBs and other stakeholders, recognizing the educative role individuals can play in this process, particularly in conflict and fragile contexts, can collaborate with youth’s organizations to provide civic and voter education for responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision-making at all levels (Arnold Vedlitz, 2003) When it comes to political affairs, everyone seems to have an opinion. No matter the religion, cultural background, level of education, or age, most individuals have their own unique take on the relationship between people and politics. Within most areas of the western world, politics has been viewed as the realm in which we attempt to make real some of our highest aspirations: our desire for political freedom, our longing for justice, our hope for peace and security (What is politics, 2012). Specific key life factors like education are able to sway ones’ choice of choosing to exercise ones’ political right to cast their ballot (Jude C Hays, 2008).

One of the most important factors influencing citizens to participate actively in political Campaigns in the Americas is education, according to a survey conducted by Vanderbilt University. “Working for a political party or campaign is uncommon,” the researchers wrote in a report about the survey, issued June 25 by the Latin American Public Opinion Project of Vanderbilt’s political science department. “Therefore we wondered what factors help account for the small percentage of active, involved citizens.” The researchers found the higher a person’s level of education, the more likely they were to work for a campaign or party. The report also found that gender matters: women are less likely to participate. Another perhaps surprising result was that an individual’s level of wealth has a statistically insignificant influence on political involvement in campaign work in the Latin American and Caribbean regions. “This suggests that the intangible lessons and resources obtained through education are more important to involvement in campaign work than the material resources that wealth provides. “They wrote. “Education may instill a sense of duty, which may be a cause or effect of community participation and activism. “In other words  people  need to feel obligated to participate, and education may be one avenue through which individuals acquire this sense of duty” (N Patterson, 2012).

It is commonly understood that people who are more knowledgeable in political realm and who feel more efficacious to influence political decisions are more politically active. Although political knowledge may be considered a significant quality of politically active and involved citizens, most people’s knowledge about politics appears insufficient to meet the standards of a “competent citizen” (Delli Carpini & Keeter, 1996; Maier, 2000). Moreover, there is still a need to understand how political knowledge might be relevant to increasing political participation. On the one hand, action theory suggests that subjective feelings of political efficacy might be more relevant than factual knowledge when predicting actual behaviour. On the other hand, the aforementioned scholars also suggest that political knowledge be a vital determinant of political efficacy. Therefore, in order better to understand the mechanism of how political knowledge might influence citizen’s participation in the political realm, this article examines internal political efficacy as a potential mediator of political knowledge: Following action theory, it argues that political knowledge stimulates the individual’s sense of political efficacy, which operates as a mediator by transmitting a substantial amount of that knowledge’s impact on actual participation in politics. Political knowledge is “the range of factual information about politics that is stored in long-term memory (Delli Carpini & Keeter, 1996, p. 10). More extensive knowledge about polity, politics, and policy is presumed to enable and encourage people to participate in politics (Delli Carpini & Keeter, 1996; Galston, 2001).

Indeed, empirical evidence suggests that political knowledge contributes to more stable and consistent political attitudes, helps citizens achieve their own interests and make decisions that conform with their attitudes and preferences, promotes support for democratic values, facilitates trust in the political system, and motivates political participation (William A Galston, 2001). It is therefore not merely rational to acquire political knowledge for self-interest purposes, but political knowledge is also a motivational force. When we talk about “political participation”, we refer to activities undertaken voluntarily by a citizen to influence authoritative or generally binding regulations and decisions related to the political system (Van Deth, 2014). Behavioural intentions are strong predictors of actual behaviour (Ajzen, 2012); although the correlational relationship between both is by no means perfect (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1981; Gaiser & de Rijke, 2010). Even so citizens’ intentions to perform political behaviour are often conceptualized as political participation too. We may distinguish four kinds of political participation (e.g., Barnes et al., 1979; Steinbrecher, 2009): Voting in political elections does not require intense effort, nor is it bound to a strong commitment. The only constraint on voting is formal regulations (e.g., citizenship).

Conventional political activities are traditional, often institutionalized and party-related forms of participation (e.g., supporting an election campaign). These activities ask for a higher degree of commitment and a more extensive investment of time by its activists. Unconventional activities refer to a broad range of less institutionalized and usually less time-intensive or committed political participation located outside political parties (e.g., attending a non-violent political protest march) that often deal with rather narrow social or political issues or aim at solving a certain political problem. Alternatively, this kind of participation could be labeled “issue-based participation”, even though the present research employs the more traditional terminology. Non-normative political activities, such as participation in an unauthorized or violent political demonstration, are located outside the legal framework and will not be considered here.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Many studies have pointed out that, education is of central importance to participation in politics. Studies of political behaviour have shown that individuals with higher level of education participate to a larger extent in political activities than individuals with a low level of education. Verba, Schlozman and Brady explain that, education enhances participation more or less directly by developing skills that are relevant to politics. These skills include the ability to speak and write the knowledge of how to cope in an organization setting. Lewis Beek et al. points out that, with formal education comes a strong interest in politics, a greater concern with elections, a greater confidence in playing one’s own role as a citizen and a deeper commitment to the norms of being a good citizen. Therefore, education plays a causal role in political participation. As people’s level of education increases, they become more aware of politics and they develop a sense of political efficacy, a belief that they can have an impact on political outcome. Education increases skills and knowledge and equally affects political interests and triggers participation.

Converse in a Classic Text emphasize that education is everywhere the universal solvent and the relationship is always in the same direction. The higher the level of education, the greater the good values of the variable. This idea is explicitly or implicitly applied in political behaviour research and the relationship between the level of education and political participation that is perhaps the most well established relationship that exists in research in this area. However, a number of studies have handled the question of whether education is a direct cause for political participation or merely works as a proxy for other factors. The question of causality has become disputed in political behaviour research. An observation among people with different levels of education in Bali subdivision in the past twenty years seems to point in a different direction for the level of education and political participation theory. This observation provides grounds for a comparative interpretation in the difference in political participation among the highly educated and those with a low level of educations in Bali. Such an investigation could shade light on the question of why more educated people are participating in politics than those with a low level of education from the perspective of a semi urban area.

1.3 Research Objectives

1.3.1 Main Objective

The main objective of this study is to establish the relationship between the level of education and political participation in Bali sub division.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

1. To examine the causes of the difference in voting among individuals in Bali.
2. To evaluate the impact of the level of education on political participation in Bali
3. To determine if those with a high level of education participate in politics more than those with a low level of education in Bali.

1.4. Research Questions

1.4.2 Main Research Question

What is the relationship between level of education and political participation in Bali sub-division?

1.4.3 Specific Research Questions

1. What causes the difference in voting among individuals in Bali?
2. What is the impact of the level of education on political participation?
3. Do educated people participate in politics more than those with a low level of education in Bali?

1.5 Hypothesis

H0: Comparing individuals in Bali subdivision, they will be no difference in political participation between those with a high level of education and those with a low level of education.

H1: Comparing individuals in Bali subdivision, those with a higher level of education will be expected to participate in politics than those with a low level of education.