How much school costs in Cameroon, from nursery to Upper Sixth

State primary school: free, but not without costs

The head of state announced free state primary education on 10 February 2000, for the 2000-2001 school year. The measure abolished the 1,500 CFA francs in compulsory fees set by an order of 13 May 1996. To make up for schools' lost income, the state introduced a “minimum package” of basic teaching supplies; a circular of 24 July 2000 stated that these costs fall to the state. Enrolment rose by 17.4% in the first year.

But free schooling does not cover uniforms, supplies or PTA levies. In September 2024 the press reported PTA levies of between 5,000 and 15,000 CFA francs in state primary schools, “pending harmonisation by the government”. In 2020 Ecomatin reported that state nursery school cost 30,000 CFA francs, including documents and smocks.

State secondary school: official fees and PTA levies

In state secondary schools, pupils pay “compulsory contributions” set by the state, plus the PTA levy. The official fee amounts date back to an inter-ministerial order of 13 February 1996. Since the 2024 school year they can only be paid electronically (Campost, Express Union, MTN, Orange, Afriland First Bank), using the pupil's unique registration number issued through the cartescolaire.cm platform; for 2025-2026, payment opened on 3 September 2025.

The 25,000 CFA ceiling on PTA levies was restated by the government before members of parliament in November 2021, after a school year that opened amid protests over increases. Until then levies ranged from 20,000 to 30,000 CFA depending on the school. At the Bilingual High School of Biyem-Assi in Yaoundé, Cameroon Tribune reported in October 2024 a PTA levy of 25,000 CFA (8,000 CFA for “hardship cases”), exam fees of 12,000 to 13,000 CFA and stamp duties of 2,000 to 4,000 CFA.

Unlawful charges: in October 2024 the Minister of Secondary Education called to order school heads who collect unauthorised fees (internships, photocopying, reams of paper, laboratory running costs, desks demanded at enrolment). In August 2024 the national consumers' network denounced sums of up to 100,000 CFA to “buy” a place in Form 1 or the first year of upper secondary, and called for the PTA levy to be scrapped altogether.

Official exam fees

Exam fees rose in 2023, after the 2023 finance law (promulgated in December 2022) raised the revenue stamp from 1,000 to 1,500 CFA. The exams themselves are covered on the pages devoted to the CEP, BEPC, probatoire, baccalauréat and GCE.

No recent official amount for BEPC and CAP fees could be found online at the time of checking; like the compulsory contributions, they are paid electronically with the pupil's registration number (deadline set at 15 December 2024 for the 2025 session).

Private secular and faith schools

There is no official schedule for private school fees: each school sets its own, and in 2024 the national consumers' network was still calling for the state to regulate them. Figures published in the press give orders of magnitude.

Extra charges are common: extra tuition (10,000 to 25,000 CFA, sometimes per month), “project” or building levies (10,000 to 30,000 CFA), late-payment penalties (10,000 CFA per month late at Collège Vogt in 2020). In the anglophone subsystem, Ecomatin reported fees of 10,000 to 25,000 CFA in state schools in 2020.

Textbooks, supplies, uniforms, transport

Since the 2018 school year, each subject has been taught from a single textbook per level, from nursery to Upper Sixth, chosen from an official list (303 approved textbooks in 2018). The national textbook policy adopted in 2021, backed by the World Bank, requires a lifespan of at least three years and free distribution of the essential textbooks (French, English, mathematics) in state primary schools. According to the World Bank, the average price of a textbook fell from $6.25 to $2.90 between 2013 and 2020, and provision went from one book for twelve pupils in 2016 to three essential textbooks for two pupils in 2023; the target for 2026 is one book per core subject per child.

In 2020 Ecomatin put the cost of a uniform at 7,000 to 10,000 CFA and motorbike-taxi transport at 10,000 to 30,000 CFA a month in Douala and Yaoundé. In September 2026 AllAfrica reported that the National Institute of Statistics puts average education spending at around 75,000 CFA per child per year, a figure consumer groups consider unrealistic.

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