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Peter Tar
Parents were connected to their children safe and well
Students from North-West region have had their schooling in their parent's home.
The 78 boys and girls and three others were born early on Monday in the region's capital, Bamenda.
A driver was also freed, but the teacher is still being held.
The government and the English-speaking separatists have the other kidnapping.
After being released, the students were taken back to the Presbyterian Secondary School where their parents were waiting.
- Cameroon's English-speaking rebels
- What's happening in Cameroon?
It was a very emotional scene as they were tried by Peter Tar told the BBC.
One of those who had been kidnapped, a 15-year-old girl, told the BBC that she had been treated well by the kidnappers.
Those held captive had been given fruit, food and warm water to wash, she said.
The North-West and South-West regions are Cameroon's two English-speaking regions
She said they were separatist rebels, who are demanding an independent state of Ambazonia, by the way they looked and spoke.
Aim of the Anglophone Group, the Ambazonia International Policy Commission (AIPC), has denied that the separatists were behind the kidnapping.
The secessionist movement took up arms for the North-West and South-West regions – the two English-speaking regions.
How were the children freed?
According to the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon, the students were abandoned in one of its buildings in the town of Bafut, about 24km (15 miles) from Bamenda.
"The release was done peacefully … by unidentified gunmen," Rev. Samuel Fonki, Presbyterian Church Moderator in Cameroon, told the BBC Focus on Africa program.
"The first information we got from them [kidnappers] They are here to meet you [Tuesday] morning … but it rained so heavily that could not happen.
"So [on] the evening of yesterday, surprisingly and by God's grace, the children were brought back to us. "
Rev Samuel told the BBC that 78 students, not 79 as reported, had been released.
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Reuters
The freed students being helped by a paramilitary force in Bamenda
He also revealed that Sunday's kidnapping was the second such case at the school in less than a week.
In the earlier 31 October incident, 11 boys were taken and then released. It is unclear who the kidnappers were but the church paid a ransom of $ 4,000 (£ 3,000) to secure their release, he said.
The army had been deployed to the Sunday.
Who was behind the kidnap?
Rev Samuel told the BBC he was not concerned about who was behind the kidnapping, only "overwhelmed and happy" that the schoolchildren had been freed.
He said, "armed groups, gangsters and thieves" could be taking advantage of the insecurity in the region to sixteen people, and blame it on the government and separatists.
Cameroon's authorities have blamed the kidnap on English-speaking separatist militias – who's called for schools in English-speaking regions to be closed.
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Reuters
Parents gathered at the Presbyterian Secondary School in Bamenda after getting their children had been kidnapped
There have been a number of kidnappings in the English speaking regions at other schools but this week's incident involved the largest number abducted in a single incident, AP news agency reports.
It said that the separatists had set fire to at least 100 schools.
Why are English-speaking residents unhappy?
English-speakers in Cameroon have long complained that they face discrimination from Cameroon's Francophone majority.
They say that they are not included in the English language, but they are also an official language.
Cameroon – still divided along colonial lines
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Alamy
Africa's borders were "carved up" by colonial powers
- Colonized by Germany in 1884
- British and French troops force Germans to leave in 1916
- Cameroon is split three years later – 80% goes to the French and 20% to the British
- French-run Cameroon becomes independent in 1960
- Following a referendum, the (British) Southern Cameroons join Cameroon, while Northern Cameroons join English-speaking Nigeria
Read more: Cameroon timeline
