18.39 out of 20. That is the score obtained by Happy Kouamou Niels Claudy, a student at the Lycée bilingue d'Édéa, in the 2026 baccalauréat série C — the best result in the country, across all streams.
This is no isolated flash of brilliance: two years earlier, the same student had already finished as regional top scorer of the bilingual BEPC for the Littoral region, with 15.81 out of 20. A track record of consistency rather than a stroke of luck.
His school, a public institution, is nothing like an elite establishment known for producing national top scorers. That is precisely what turned his result into a widely shared symbol: proof that Cameroon's public school system, despite its often limited means, can still produce excellence.
Recognition followed quickly. On 29 August, Happy Kouamou was honoured at the Sanaga-Maritime Excellence Days, organised by the La Main Tendue Foundation on the esplanade of Édéa's prefecture — an event that recognised more than 700 learners, from primary school to higher education.
In concrete terms, he received a 100,000 FCFA cheque and a 200,000 FCFA education grant, renewable until he enters the workforce; other amounts, including a further study grant, were also mentioned by local sources without detailed official confirmation.
The next step is already mapped out: he is aiming for the École nationale supérieure polytechnique de Yaoundé. As the school year begins, a new stage — even more demanding than the baccalauréat — starts for this top scorer from a public school in Sanaga-Maritime.
