Way forward in transforming education for a better future

Education is central and has the power to transform the world, human life, human activities, events, beliefs and interests. This is why the UN decided in 2018 to dedicate January 24, of every year to celebrate the positive contribution of education in the world.

Education has also played a great role in societies in managing and maximizing their human and economic resources, in ordering societal welfare and socio-political affairs, in preserving cultures, ideologies, traditions and histories, as wel as in avoiding, controlling, and resolving human and structural conflicts.

In a nutshell, education, an essential human right, has been paramount in making the world a better place, even though layman’s old-school debate of “money is better than education” will not readily succumb to this informed deduction.

The theme of the 2022 International Day of Education, which was yesterday, is really transformative, it says: “Changing Course: Transforming Education.”

Adjusting to modern demands

Considering the reality around us, as a global community, we really need this now. The pandemic has impacted the regular systems of education that we have long safeguarded, and there are possibilities that the change that has been brought, especially in the modes of learning is going to remain with us. The technology that has been developed worldwide to help make education possible cannot just be thrown away.

Together with that, there are global concerns that really need to be incorporated in the delivery, the content, the material component, and the entire objective of the education that is provided.

These include, the tussle to save the planet from emission of greenhouse gases, excessive and unrecyclable industrial wastes and goods, controlled obsolescence, unfair trade, as well as fluidity of theories regarding human worth and value as weighed by the scales of scientific curiosity. With these changes being so obvious, there really is a need to reconsider what has been put in place as guiding policies, both locally and internationally.

The role of language

Retired professor Fikeni Senkoro, at the Institute of Kiswahili Studies in the University of Dar es Salaam, highlights the use of indigenous languages in imparting education. As language is a communication tool, without which no effective interaction can take place, empowering and intellectualizing African indigenous languages, and admitting the same into the mainstream through their use as languages of instruction, enhances involvement and confidence of their custodians.

“The need to use indigenous African languages as media of instruction can simply be stated thus: both teachers and students benefit and enjoy the teaching and learning process if and when they understand and they are comfortable with the language that is used in the process,” he explained.

“They become more resourceful, creative and perceptive, as they are able to encode, manipulate and explain concepts that are otherwise difficult in a foreign language. They can relate to the culture that is embedded in the language used, and in so doing they premise the teaching and learning within their environment.”

In short, Senkoro asserts, as we are all aware, knowledge is power, and its issuance through another people’s languages in which are embedded the cultural values and inclination of the imperial, colonial powers, ensures continued domination, dependence and non-creativity because, indeed, learning in a foreign language suppresses scientific discoveries, while also killing linguistic-based talents, like poetry, creative writing, drawing and painting and other imaginative arts. It kills the innovative industry that would otherwise flourish if it were expressed in, and through a language that is well understood by its creators and keepers.

The need to learn in indigenous languages

Speaking of whether learning in foreign languages has any influence in the human, historical and socio-political worldviews of those involved, Professor Senkoro did not mince his affirmation. The impact is much more powerful than we can imagine.

He posits that, no nation the world over has ever developed sustainably by using other peoples’ language, which cannot and does not relate culturally to its people.

In languages, are embedded the human, historical and general worldviews of a people that can only be articulated through such peoples’ indigenous languages. Such languages are rich in not only conveying the philosophical outlooks of a people, but also in enunciating their ontology - the nature of their existence.

Learning in a foreign language and not taking African languages on board the development equation and process, is according to Professor Senkoro, a negation of sustainable development. Doing the opposite by adopting an indigenous language as the language of instruction is liberating as such a move will ultimately empower the people of Africa who will own an identity of their own.

Children and their taste of literature in foreign languages

As education begins in childhood, it is important to examine what children go through as they experience literature for the first time. From his findings, Dan Brockington, a professor in the Faculty of social Sciences at the University of Sheffield states that African children are discouraged from taking interest in reading and writing because they hardly access local literature which has nicer stories than poverty, suffering, and abuse. Publishers focus on publishing literature for native English speakers.

“English does not make stories told in other languages less interesting, just as it should not make stories told in English language more important. Novels written in English or French and Portuguese -in languages of colonisation- will not be the only answer to children’s creative and imaginative needs. But books in English for children still matter, as English provides access to some of the most powerful African literature not to mention multiple career advantages,” says Dan.

The influence of teachers and parents/guardians

Madam Fides Mkenda sheds some light on the influence of teachers and parents in the performance of students. She has served as a teacher and academic mistress at Marian Girls for a decade and at Marian Boys for seven years. She is currently the Headmistress of Libermann Boys Secondary School in Dar es Salaam.

She insists that parents’ engagement in their children’s school life by giving them home support and knowledge is essential. This helps students to finish the assignments given at school and develop a lifelong love of learning. Good relationships between teachers, parents and students in academic and integral development can be created by friendly communication.

Teachers and parents ought to show a positive attitude towards students’ education, and use the right/correct methods in facilitating the learning process. Counselling and guidance should be used by teachers to discipline students instead of corporal punishment. Encouraged and motivated words should be used by teachers and parents.

“Schools can lessen the unnecessary burden laid on students by creating conducive teaching and learning environments, especially in terms of infrastructure, desisting from corporal punishment and encouraging guidance, counselling and mentoring, and employing enough competent staff. Girl schools need to have hostels and there should be strict implementation of child protection policies,” she explains.

In addition, parents should be sensitized to support feeding programmes for day school students. Moral and spiritual education should also be encouraged in schools and included in the formal curricula, and students should be encouraged to participate in sports activities. All these help in the transformation and growth which is the goal of education.