The Characteristics and Impact of African Traditional Education
Catherine Adhiambo Amimo asked:
INTRODUCTION:
Some European scholars have doubted the authenticity of African traditional education. They assert that before the coming of the Europeans to Africa there was no education in Africa, the culture which is the main tenet of African Traditional Education is often portrayed as primitive and incapable of yielding a tangible framework of theories and philosophy that can guide a reasonable educational practice.
There is a calculated move by modern education that threatens to cause a virtual extinction of the indigenous education in Africa. This threat is of great magnitude, especially when our own youth are persuaded to see no value in African culture and education. As early as 1970’s, a survey study among Kenyan and Tanzanian secondary students revealed that only a small percentage attached value to African education and culture. They absolutely see no need in preserving traditions and customs. (Prewitt, K, 1977).
These findings suggest that many people are still myopic about the characteristics and impact of African traditional education on modern civilization. It may not even be considered as a reliable means for tangible progress and development in Africa and other continents. It is no wonder, every technological and medicinal discoveries in Africa arouses much international debate and final dismissal if not patented by the westerners.
In the voice of Gabriel Kingsley Osei, a distinguished professor of History this state of affairs has to change. The dark ages which relegated the African education and civilization into ignorance and superstition must now receive more light on the authenticity of African traditional education. It must be illuminated enough for people to recognize indigenous African education as one of the most effective and potential means of solving African problems. (Osei, 1968).
It is the intent of the is paper to reveal the characteristics of African traditional education that makes it an authentic educational system and show how it has impacted on world civilization and education, and its potential contribution to development of Africa and the rest of the world. Logical presentation and revelations in this paper should convince the reader of the need to foster the resurgence and adaptation of all that is valid for the 21st century in our indigenous African education. The following questions will be addressed in this paper.
What is the meaning of African traditional education?
What were the aims of African traditional education?
What were the main characteristics of African traditional education?
What was the content of African traditional education?
What were the methodologies used in African traditional education?
Who were the main agents in the African traditional education and how was it organized?
What were the major philosophies guiding the African traditional education?
What is the impact of African traditional education on modern education and civilization?
The Meaning of African Traditional Education:
What is the meaning of African traditional education?
African traditional education refers to ways of teaching and learning in Africa which are based on indigenous knowledge accumulated by Africans over long periods of time in response to their different physical, agricultural, ecological, political and socio-cultural challenges. The indigenous knowledge is an amalgamation of diverse cultural experiences commonly generated by diverse African cultures, and passed as valuable information from generation to generation. (Shiundu, J.S, Omulando, S.J 1992; Fasokun, J. et al, 2005).
The Aims of African Traditional Education
What were the aims of African traditional education?
The general aim of African traditional education was based on the socio-cultural and economic features shared by the various communities. The harsh natural environment made survival to be the main aim of education. Every skill, knowledge or attitude learnt was either for protection, acquiring of food or shelter. (Sifuna, 1994, Datta, 1984).
Other aims were as follows:
§ To create unity and consensus among society members.
§ To perpetuate the cultural heritage of particular ethnic group and to preserve ethnic boundaries.
§ To inculcate feelings of group supremacy and communal living.
§ To prepare the young for adult roles and status.
§
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INTRODUCTION:
Some European scholars have doubted the authenticity of African traditional education. They assert that before the coming of the Europeans to Africa there was no education in Africa, the culture which is the main tenet of African Traditional Education is often portrayed as primitive and incapable of yielding a tangible framework of theories and philosophy that can guide a reasonable educational practice.
There is a calculated move by modern education that threatens to cause a virtual extinction of the indigenous education in Africa. This threat is of great magnitude, especially when our own youth are persuaded to see no value in African culture and education. As early as 1970’s, a survey study among Kenyan and Tanzanian secondary students revealed that only a small percentage attached value to African education and culture. They absolutely see no need in preserving traditions and customs. (Prewitt, K, 1977).
These findings suggest that many people are still myopic about the characteristics and impact of African traditional education on modern civilization. It may not even be considered as a reliable means for tangible progress and development in Africa and other continents. It is no wonder, every technological and medicinal discoveries in Africa arouses much international debate and final dismissal if not patented by the westerners.
In the voice of Gabriel Kingsley Osei, a distinguished professor of History this state of affairs has to change. The dark ages which relegated the African education and civilization into ignorance and superstition must now receive more light on the authenticity of African traditional education. It must be illuminated enough for people to recognize indigenous African education as one of the most effective and potential means of solving African problems. (Osei, 1968).
It is the intent of the is paper to reveal the characteristics of African traditional education that makes it an authentic educational system and show how it has impacted on world civilization and education, and its potential contribution to development of Africa and the rest of the world. Logical presentation and revelations in this paper should convince the reader of the need to foster the resurgence and adaptation of all that is valid for the 21st century in our indigenous African education. The following questions will be addressed in this paper.
What is the meaning of African traditional education?
What were the aims of African traditional education?
What were the main characteristics of African traditional education?
What was the content of African traditional education?
What were the methodologies used in African traditional education?
Who were the main agents in the African traditional education and how was it organized?
What were the major philosophies guiding the African traditional education?
What is the impact of African traditional education on modern education and civilization?
The Meaning of African Traditional Education:
What is the meaning of African traditional education?
African traditional education refers to ways of teaching and learning in Africa which are based on indigenous knowledge accumulated by Africans over long periods of time in response to their different physical, agricultural, ecological, political and socio-cultural challenges. The indigenous knowledge is an amalgamation of diverse cultural experiences commonly generated by diverse African cultures, and passed as valuable information from generation to generation. (Shiundu, J.S, Omulando, S.J 1992; Fasokun, J. et al, 2005).
The Aims of African Traditional Education
What were the aims of African traditional education?
The general aim of African traditional education was based on the socio-cultural and economic features shared by the various communities. The harsh natural environment made survival to be the main aim of education. Every skill, knowledge or attitude learnt was either for protection, acquiring of food or shelter. (Sifuna, 1994, Datta, 1984).
Other aims were as follows:
§ To create unity and consensus among society members.
§ To perpetuate the cultural heritage of particular ethnic group and to preserve ethnic boundaries.
§ To inculcate feelings of group supremacy and communal living.
§ To prepare the young for adult roles and status.
§
Create a video blog
Education With Its Pivotal Scenario
Guptajit Pathak asked:
“Education means bringing out of the ideas of universal validity which are latent in the mind of everyman”.
–Socrates–
In every civilized society men and women believe that education is comprehensive, compulsory and necessary for every individual. Education is an important human activity. The very concept if education is like a diamond which appears to be of a different colour when seen from different angles.
Etymological Definition:
The word ‘Education’ had its origin in the Latin word ‘Educatum’, itself composed of two words, ‘E’ and ‘Duco’, means developing and progressing. Hence, in its literal scenario, education means becoming develop or progressing from inside to outside. In other words, education implies some of the change for the better and greater in a person.
Different educational theorists has given different derivations of the concept ‘Education’.
1. According to Forebel, “Education is a process through which child makes its internal external”.
2. According to Eddisoan, “When education works on noble mind it draws out to view every latent virtue and perfection.
3. According to Pestalozzi, “Education is defined as natural, harmonious and progressive development of men’s innate powers”.
4. According to M. K. Gandhi, “I mean an all around drawing out of the best in child and man body, mind and spirit”.
Education is aggregate of all the processes by which a person develops ability, attitudes and behaviour of practical values in the society in which he lives.
Narrow Sense of Education: In large majority of people use the concept of education to mean the training undertaken for some years in some educational institutions. This is the narrow meaning of the concept of education. In other words, it implies education provided according to a fixed curriculum by a particular set of people in a specific place.
Wider Sense of Education: The very betterment of an adjusted pattern of life is the product of that educational system. The very educative system is going on every moment in the life of a person. Here, each day’s activities has an effect upon him. The educant may perceive or not perceive that effect.
Liberal Sense of Education: When the word ‘Education’ is accepted in its more literal meaning it is granted that all the times and places and individuals is imbibing some of its areas. Here, it is not limited merrily to the classroom. It can be obtained all kinds of social organizations, associations, individuals, nature, etc. It is mention may be made that a child gets his education not only from his teacher, but also from the entire environment of his life.
A Sense of Individual Development: Education is the complete development of the individuality of the child. According to some thinkers and philosophers, education is nothing but a process which a child can have free, spontaneous and individual betterment. Basically, the main achievement of ‘education’ lies in ability to arouse interest towards the subject of inspiring him.
As a Product: Education is the product of learning process. It implies growth and development. Education is a process or system through which date, experience, information is achieved of course it is a continuous and comprehensive process of training and guidance.
A bi-polar System: Education of course is a bi-polar system. Here it involves the interplay of the educator and the educant. In this process of education the teacher and the taught are the active participants. So education is nothing but bi-polar process by which the natural spontaneous and progressive betterment of the child is justified.
A tri-polar System: Education is also a tri-polar system. It involves the interaction of the personality of the educator and the educant in a social setting. In other words it effects the modification of the behaviour of the educant.
Education in the West: Educational training like every other branch of knowledge started in the philosophical deliberation of the ancient Greek philosophers. Here, it is mention may be made of Plato’s name. He termed education as a “Life long process starting from the first years of childhood and lasting to the very end of the life”.
Education in India: In Indian approach, it becomes necessary to cover the spiritual area. Here, it is accepted as a part of betterment by education. In other words, Indian philosophers have placed special importance upon this. According to Shankaracharya, “Education is that which leads salvation”. Yajuavalkya said that, only that is education which gives a sterling character to an individual and renders him useful for the world.
A modern developed society cannot survive without education. It is an old as humanity. It helps people adjust to change. Succinctly, it is only education which can help a person understand to all the Social changes and provide the skills and technology for adjusting to them.
Caffeinated Content for WordPress
“Education means bringing out of the ideas of universal validity which are latent in the mind of everyman”.
–Socrates–
In every civilized society men and women believe that education is comprehensive, compulsory and necessary for every individual. Education is an important human activity. The very concept if education is like a diamond which appears to be of a different colour when seen from different angles.
Etymological Definition:
The word ‘Education’ had its origin in the Latin word ‘Educatum’, itself composed of two words, ‘E’ and ‘Duco’, means developing and progressing. Hence, in its literal scenario, education means becoming develop or progressing from inside to outside. In other words, education implies some of the change for the better and greater in a person.
Different educational theorists has given different derivations of the concept ‘Education’.
1. According to Forebel, “Education is a process through which child makes its internal external”.
2. According to Eddisoan, “When education works on noble mind it draws out to view every latent virtue and perfection.
3. According to Pestalozzi, “Education is defined as natural, harmonious and progressive development of men’s innate powers”.
4. According to M. K. Gandhi, “I mean an all around drawing out of the best in child and man body, mind and spirit”.
Education is aggregate of all the processes by which a person develops ability, attitudes and behaviour of practical values in the society in which he lives.
Narrow Sense of Education: In large majority of people use the concept of education to mean the training undertaken for some years in some educational institutions. This is the narrow meaning of the concept of education. In other words, it implies education provided according to a fixed curriculum by a particular set of people in a specific place.
Wider Sense of Education: The very betterment of an adjusted pattern of life is the product of that educational system. The very educative system is going on every moment in the life of a person. Here, each day’s activities has an effect upon him. The educant may perceive or not perceive that effect.
Liberal Sense of Education: When the word ‘Education’ is accepted in its more literal meaning it is granted that all the times and places and individuals is imbibing some of its areas. Here, it is not limited merrily to the classroom. It can be obtained all kinds of social organizations, associations, individuals, nature, etc. It is mention may be made that a child gets his education not only from his teacher, but also from the entire environment of his life.
A Sense of Individual Development: Education is the complete development of the individuality of the child. According to some thinkers and philosophers, education is nothing but a process which a child can have free, spontaneous and individual betterment. Basically, the main achievement of ‘education’ lies in ability to arouse interest towards the subject of inspiring him.
As a Product: Education is the product of learning process. It implies growth and development. Education is a process or system through which date, experience, information is achieved of course it is a continuous and comprehensive process of training and guidance.
A bi-polar System: Education of course is a bi-polar system. Here it involves the interplay of the educator and the educant. In this process of education the teacher and the taught are the active participants. So education is nothing but bi-polar process by which the natural spontaneous and progressive betterment of the child is justified.
A tri-polar System: Education is also a tri-polar system. It involves the interaction of the personality of the educator and the educant in a social setting. In other words it effects the modification of the behaviour of the educant.
Education in the West: Educational training like every other branch of knowledge started in the philosophical deliberation of the ancient Greek philosophers. Here, it is mention may be made of Plato’s name. He termed education as a “Life long process starting from the first years of childhood and lasting to the very end of the life”.
Education in India: In Indian approach, it becomes necessary to cover the spiritual area. Here, it is accepted as a part of betterment by education. In other words, Indian philosophers have placed special importance upon this. According to Shankaracharya, “Education is that which leads salvation”. Yajuavalkya said that, only that is education which gives a sterling character to an individual and renders him useful for the world.
A modern developed society cannot survive without education. It is an old as humanity. It helps people adjust to change. Succinctly, it is only education which can help a person understand to all the Social changes and provide the skills and technology for adjusting to them.
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The Development of Education in Africa
Flor Ayag asked:
EDUCATION in Africa has a history reaching back many centuries. Certainly the achievements of the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Ethiopia are well known. Then, early in the first millennium of the Common Era, the Moors and other peoples on the northern fringe of Africa made notable contributions to world education and culture. And during the past 1,000 years the Saharan and sub-Saharan peoples had several centers of learning—Timbuktu, Agadez, Gao, Katsina and Borno, where books written in Arabic were in great demand.
More than 800 years ago at Timbuktu, in Mali, colleges provided advanced education. Katsina, in northern Nigeria, has been a center of learning since before the sixteenth century. It was there that, about 200 years ago, Muhammed ibn Muhammed became noted as a specialist in numerology.
The aforementioned cities were dominated by Moslem culture, and mosques were the centers of learning. However, the cost of learning under the tutorship of the mallams was very high and so few persons could afford it. The educated minority exercised tremendous influence, and were the key administrators, lawyers and clerks. But the majority remained illiterate.
In the non-Moslem, sub-Saharan cultures, education was largely nonliterate, by oral instruction rather than by use of reading material. Educational systems varied from tribe to tribe, and there were different degrees and levels of training, depending on the social and cultural development of a particular tribe. The training covered a fairly wide range, with specialized instruction at different age levels. Each educational system had specific forms of preparation for the roles of individuals in society. A look at the system of education among the Yorubas in precolonial Nigeria illustrates this.
The Yoruba System
Among the Yorubas, training in obedience, etiquette, speech and counting came early in the child’s life and was given within the family circle. Children quickly learned to express themselves in their language. Progressively, they mastered the proverbs, poetry and folklore of the community or tribe. In this way they learned the history and the moral and philosophical attitudes of their people. They had to learn a variety of greetings, recognition of levels of social seniority and the proper etiquette in connection with these. Religious education included training in rituals, sacred festivals and the roles of diviners.
At an early age, children were taught to count up to 20 on their fingers and toes and to do simple addition and subtraction with the aid of stones. As they progressed in knowledge, they were taught weights and measures, the use of cowrie shells (which served as money) and the art of bargaining.
Specialized training for boys focused on farming, working in metals and wood, hunting and the use of herbs and drugs in medicine. Skills were passed on from father to son. Inclination and natural abilities also were considered, and children were encouraged to develop their aptitudes. Therefore, many were apprenticed to artisans outside the family clan.
Girls received training in weaving and dyeing cloth. They learned to make pottery, to plait mats and baskets and to produce cosmetics for use in beauty treatments and hairdressing. They were taught the art of cooking, of brewing beer and of extracting oil from the kernels of the palm nuts. Thus they were prepared for their role as women in the family and the community.
The tribes that had a rural, pastoral or bush culture concentrated more on farming, herding and hunting or fishing. Some educational systems restricted progress into new fields of knowledge by preserving a closed society. Membership usually was restricted to those of certain ethnic origins or religious beliefs. This circumstance contributed toward a stagnation of knowledge. Nevertheless, the education that was provided amply served the needs of those societies.
The Colonial Era
In the wake of the missionary explorer David Livingstone, European missionaries began to increase their activities in Africa in the second half of the nineteenth century. Mission schools started to be set up in towns and villages, and right out in the bush, where students attended in simple loincloths or were completely *****.
These schools were set up on sectarian lines, with Catholics having their own schools and the Protestant religions theirs. This tended to segment the people religiously, and whole areas came to be regarded as the province of a particular religion. Divisions in social levels developed between the literate and the nonliterate segments of each community, and there was a gradual undermining of family influence. Other imbalances were created because traditional patterns of education were being uprooted and were not replaced by any uniform standard.
Still, a start had been made toward widening the horizons of knowledge in Africa. As more people learned to read and write, the knowledge of the world, contained in books, became available even to the remotest tribes. The literate history of non-Moslem, sub-Saharan Africa began to be revived.
Although the people showed aptitude in learning, there were obstacles to overcome. The missionaries usually had to learn the local languages first. Then they had to teach the children in their own European languages, in which books were available. Some did good work in formulating alphabet systems and compiling dictionaries so that many of the local languages could be put into writing. This provided the basis for translating the Bible into many African languages.
In some areas an obstacle was posed by the custom of barring girls from institutional education. When, over 40 years ago, one of the emirs from northern Nigeria visited England, he was impressed at seeing a large girls’ school. He desired a similar provision for the girls of his people. Since the custom was to keep women away from public life, he realized that this would be opposed. So he told his council that he was opening a school in his palace for educating the girls in his household. Within a year the school had 30 pupils, and many of the leading citizens were petitioning the emir to allow their children to attend. A year later, on the pretext that he could no longer tolerate the noise of a school in his palace, he “turned the pupils, teachers, and equipment out into the open town and lodged them in a house adjoining the boys’ school.” (African Challenge, p. 63) Now every primary school in that section of the country is coeducational.
Since children were part of the labor force in each farm family, there was reluctance to lose them to the schools. Gradually, however, as the people recognized the value of the printed page and the advantages of reading and writing, more children were sent to school. So it was in mission schools that many of the outstanding educators and leaders throughout Africa got their early training.
The colonial governments, and the later sovereign governments of each independent state, encouraged the establishment of mission schools, giving financial and administrative help. Provisions were made for more uniform systems of schooling, and additional public and secondary schools and universities were established.
New Education Policies
Since 1970, in a further effort to ensure a more uniform standard of education, the Nigerian government has taken over control of private schools, including mission schools. This has given rise to the problem of adequate moral education in a totally secular school system. Therefore, the authorities have encouraged parents and teachers to provide moral guidance. Efforts have also been made to coordinate the Moslem and indigenous traditional systems of education with modern methods. It is hoped that this will stem the growing tide of unrest, immorality and drug abuse among youths.
In 1976 the Universal Primary Education scheme (UPE) was introduced to provide for free universal education throughout Nigeria. This will give children the opportunity to receive free primary schooling for six years, as well as junior secondary and senior secondary schooling for three years respectively. More schools are, therefore, being provided, and immediate plans are afoot to increase the number of universities to 13.
Adult Education
Because the majority of the adult population is illiterate, the various governments are giving increased attention to adult education. In Nigeria, where the literacy rate is 20 percent for a population of 70 million, the government has established adult education centers in most villages and towns. Many men and women are availing themselves of this opportunity to learn to read and write.
Much progress also is being made in adult literacy programs operating in Kingdom Halls of Jehovah’s Witnesses. By means of such classes, between 1962 and 1976, in Nigeria alone, 15,156 persons have been taught to read and write. Many of these were elderly and thought that they no longer had the ability to learn. They were mostly people from rural areas—farmers, hunters, fishermen, housewives. Their determination to obtain Bible knowledge and to be able to impart Scriptural instruction reawakened their desire to learn. Now they can read and write, and can help in teaching God’s Word to others in their own language and also often in English.
For example, Ezekiel Ovbiagele was trained according to the traditional system of education, but was not taught to read and write. After he received oral Biblical instruction from Jehovah’s Witnesses and was baptized in 1940, he saw the value of learning to read. He enrolled in one of the literacy classes and soon was reading the Bible to others. With further specialized training, he was qualified in 1953 to serve as a traveling overseer, having the responsibility to instruct many congregations in the territory assigned to him. Many others have made similar advancement.
When Jackson Iheanacho first attended meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses, he was literate only in Efik, his native language. He saw the need to learn to read in English, too, since the meetings were conducted in that tongue. With the aid of the congregation’s literacy class, he achieved this and went on to learn other languages as well. He is now able to read and write seven languages!
The literacy rate among Jehovah’s Witnesses is better than 77 percent. Most of the remaining 23 percent are attending literacy classes, either at their Kingdom Halls or at government centers, and so are in various stages of learning to read and write. They appreciate this program, which is reaching out to more and more people.
Purposeful Education
The value and necessity of education cannot be denied. An editorial in the Daily Times of December 29, 1976, spoke of education as “the greatest investment . . . for the quick development of . . . economic, political, sociological and human resources.” However, not just education, but purposeful education is essential. Modern methods have tended to establish materialistic goals, rather than productive ones. To many youths, the purpose of schooling is to obtain a certificate that will guarantee a prestige job and great financial reward. Parents should guide youths in carefully evaluating the purpose of their schooling. The goal should be to acquire real skills and thinking ability so as to ensure productivity in their adult careers.
It should be remembered, however, that the period of formal schooling is not all there is to the process of education. Parents can make use of preschool and out-of-school periods to instruct their children morally and in other ways that will build their personalities along wholesome lines. Much good can be achieved by using the Bible in inculcating decency, honesty and loyalty in the children.
Caffeinated Content
EDUCATION in Africa has a history reaching back many centuries. Certainly the achievements of the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Ethiopia are well known. Then, early in the first millennium of the Common Era, the Moors and other peoples on the northern fringe of Africa made notable contributions to world education and culture. And during the past 1,000 years the Saharan and sub-Saharan peoples had several centers of learning—Timbuktu, Agadez, Gao, Katsina and Borno, where books written in Arabic were in great demand.
More than 800 years ago at Timbuktu, in Mali, colleges provided advanced education. Katsina, in northern Nigeria, has been a center of learning since before the sixteenth century. It was there that, about 200 years ago, Muhammed ibn Muhammed became noted as a specialist in numerology.
The aforementioned cities were dominated by Moslem culture, and mosques were the centers of learning. However, the cost of learning under the tutorship of the mallams was very high and so few persons could afford it. The educated minority exercised tremendous influence, and were the key administrators, lawyers and clerks. But the majority remained illiterate.
In the non-Moslem, sub-Saharan cultures, education was largely nonliterate, by oral instruction rather than by use of reading material. Educational systems varied from tribe to tribe, and there were different degrees and levels of training, depending on the social and cultural development of a particular tribe. The training covered a fairly wide range, with specialized instruction at different age levels. Each educational system had specific forms of preparation for the roles of individuals in society. A look at the system of education among the Yorubas in precolonial Nigeria illustrates this.
The Yoruba System
Among the Yorubas, training in obedience, etiquette, speech and counting came early in the child’s life and was given within the family circle. Children quickly learned to express themselves in their language. Progressively, they mastered the proverbs, poetry and folklore of the community or tribe. In this way they learned the history and the moral and philosophical attitudes of their people. They had to learn a variety of greetings, recognition of levels of social seniority and the proper etiquette in connection with these. Religious education included training in rituals, sacred festivals and the roles of diviners.
At an early age, children were taught to count up to 20 on their fingers and toes and to do simple addition and subtraction with the aid of stones. As they progressed in knowledge, they were taught weights and measures, the use of cowrie shells (which served as money) and the art of bargaining.
Specialized training for boys focused on farming, working in metals and wood, hunting and the use of herbs and drugs in medicine. Skills were passed on from father to son. Inclination and natural abilities also were considered, and children were encouraged to develop their aptitudes. Therefore, many were apprenticed to artisans outside the family clan.
Girls received training in weaving and dyeing cloth. They learned to make pottery, to plait mats and baskets and to produce cosmetics for use in beauty treatments and hairdressing. They were taught the art of cooking, of brewing beer and of extracting oil from the kernels of the palm nuts. Thus they were prepared for their role as women in the family and the community.
The tribes that had a rural, pastoral or bush culture concentrated more on farming, herding and hunting or fishing. Some educational systems restricted progress into new fields of knowledge by preserving a closed society. Membership usually was restricted to those of certain ethnic origins or religious beliefs. This circumstance contributed toward a stagnation of knowledge. Nevertheless, the education that was provided amply served the needs of those societies.
The Colonial Era
In the wake of the missionary explorer David Livingstone, European missionaries began to increase their activities in Africa in the second half of the nineteenth century. Mission schools started to be set up in towns and villages, and right out in the bush, where students attended in simple loincloths or were completely *****.
These schools were set up on sectarian lines, with Catholics having their own schools and the Protestant religions theirs. This tended to segment the people religiously, and whole areas came to be regarded as the province of a particular religion. Divisions in social levels developed between the literate and the nonliterate segments of each community, and there was a gradual undermining of family influence. Other imbalances were created because traditional patterns of education were being uprooted and were not replaced by any uniform standard.
Still, a start had been made toward widening the horizons of knowledge in Africa. As more people learned to read and write, the knowledge of the world, contained in books, became available even to the remotest tribes. The literate history of non-Moslem, sub-Saharan Africa began to be revived.
Although the people showed aptitude in learning, there were obstacles to overcome. The missionaries usually had to learn the local languages first. Then they had to teach the children in their own European languages, in which books were available. Some did good work in formulating alphabet systems and compiling dictionaries so that many of the local languages could be put into writing. This provided the basis for translating the Bible into many African languages.
In some areas an obstacle was posed by the custom of barring girls from institutional education. When, over 40 years ago, one of the emirs from northern Nigeria visited England, he was impressed at seeing a large girls’ school. He desired a similar provision for the girls of his people. Since the custom was to keep women away from public life, he realized that this would be opposed. So he told his council that he was opening a school in his palace for educating the girls in his household. Within a year the school had 30 pupils, and many of the leading citizens were petitioning the emir to allow their children to attend. A year later, on the pretext that he could no longer tolerate the noise of a school in his palace, he “turned the pupils, teachers, and equipment out into the open town and lodged them in a house adjoining the boys’ school.” (African Challenge, p. 63) Now every primary school in that section of the country is coeducational.
Since children were part of the labor force in each farm family, there was reluctance to lose them to the schools. Gradually, however, as the people recognized the value of the printed page and the advantages of reading and writing, more children were sent to school. So it was in mission schools that many of the outstanding educators and leaders throughout Africa got their early training.
The colonial governments, and the later sovereign governments of each independent state, encouraged the establishment of mission schools, giving financial and administrative help. Provisions were made for more uniform systems of schooling, and additional public and secondary schools and universities were established.
New Education Policies
Since 1970, in a further effort to ensure a more uniform standard of education, the Nigerian government has taken over control of private schools, including mission schools. This has given rise to the problem of adequate moral education in a totally secular school system. Therefore, the authorities have encouraged parents and teachers to provide moral guidance. Efforts have also been made to coordinate the Moslem and indigenous traditional systems of education with modern methods. It is hoped that this will stem the growing tide of unrest, immorality and drug abuse among youths.
In 1976 the Universal Primary Education scheme (UPE) was introduced to provide for free universal education throughout Nigeria. This will give children the opportunity to receive free primary schooling for six years, as well as junior secondary and senior secondary schooling for three years respectively. More schools are, therefore, being provided, and immediate plans are afoot to increase the number of universities to 13.
Adult Education
Because the majority of the adult population is illiterate, the various governments are giving increased attention to adult education. In Nigeria, where the literacy rate is 20 percent for a population of 70 million, the government has established adult education centers in most villages and towns. Many men and women are availing themselves of this opportunity to learn to read and write.
Much progress also is being made in adult literacy programs operating in Kingdom Halls of Jehovah’s Witnesses. By means of such classes, between 1962 and 1976, in Nigeria alone, 15,156 persons have been taught to read and write. Many of these were elderly and thought that they no longer had the ability to learn. They were mostly people from rural areas—farmers, hunters, fishermen, housewives. Their determination to obtain Bible knowledge and to be able to impart Scriptural instruction reawakened their desire to learn. Now they can read and write, and can help in teaching God’s Word to others in their own language and also often in English.
For example, Ezekiel Ovbiagele was trained according to the traditional system of education, but was not taught to read and write. After he received oral Biblical instruction from Jehovah’s Witnesses and was baptized in 1940, he saw the value of learning to read. He enrolled in one of the literacy classes and soon was reading the Bible to others. With further specialized training, he was qualified in 1953 to serve as a traveling overseer, having the responsibility to instruct many congregations in the territory assigned to him. Many others have made similar advancement.
When Jackson Iheanacho first attended meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses, he was literate only in Efik, his native language. He saw the need to learn to read in English, too, since the meetings were conducted in that tongue. With the aid of the congregation’s literacy class, he achieved this and went on to learn other languages as well. He is now able to read and write seven languages!
The literacy rate among Jehovah’s Witnesses is better than 77 percent. Most of the remaining 23 percent are attending literacy classes, either at their Kingdom Halls or at government centers, and so are in various stages of learning to read and write. They appreciate this program, which is reaching out to more and more people.
Purposeful Education
The value and necessity of education cannot be denied. An editorial in the Daily Times of December 29, 1976, spoke of education as “the greatest investment . . . for the quick development of . . . economic, political, sociological and human resources.” However, not just education, but purposeful education is essential. Modern methods have tended to establish materialistic goals, rather than productive ones. To many youths, the purpose of schooling is to obtain a certificate that will guarantee a prestige job and great financial reward. Parents should guide youths in carefully evaluating the purpose of their schooling. The goal should be to acquire real skills and thinking ability so as to ensure productivity in their adult careers.
It should be remembered, however, that the period of formal schooling is not all there is to the process of education. Parents can make use of preschool and out-of-school periods to instruct their children morally and in other ways that will build their personalities along wholesome lines. Much good can be achieved by using the Bible in inculcating decency, honesty and loyalty in the children.
Caffeinated Content
Management Education
loveleenchawla asked:
Normal 0 “The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.”
“The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think – rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men.”
Education is among the fastest growing service sectors of the economy. Education is one of the important public attributes of social and human development. Education has always been accorded an honored place in the Indian society. The development of education in India during the post independence period has been guided by the national goals and aspirations as embodied in the Indian constitution. Education being a powerful instrument of social, economic and political change, its broad principles and objectives are related to the long term national goals, the program of national development on which the country is engaged and complex short term problems it is called upon to solve. Prior to independence, the growth of institutions of higher education in India was very slow and diversification in the areas of the studies was very limited. After independence Education has become India’s “Super infrastructure”. It provides the strongest link between income aspirations and the realization of income goals. It can be controlled from with a household and without unreasonable dependence on the external environment and infrastructure. The congruence between internal economic goals of the nation is a pre-requisite for building viable and vital constituents that provide growth and education has accomplished a strong congruence between the internal aspirations of the household and the external objectives of the aggregate economy.
The focus of Commerce education was on building a strong foundation about the knowledge of business transactions and processes, primarily from the economics and accounting perspectives. In contrast, management education focused on building knowledge about overall business and its various functions, given its stakeholders and the market landscape. It was felt that one needed some disciplinary background, especially in science or commerce streams, or some work experience for effectively learning the management principles. Therefore, management education was intended for the graduate and executive levels, focused on nurturing future leaders who could lead the private and public sector organizations with a sense of social mission. The question surrounding the quality of Management education and its effect on Human Resource form the basis of the thesis.
In approaching this subject following hypothesis were laid down:
1. Quality of Management education is going down.
2. Due to mushrooming of B-Schools Admission procedure is becoming just
a formality.
3. Expectation of Industry is rising day by day from B-School students
Therefore, thesis asks the following questions:
First, what are the reasons for deterioration of quality of management education?
Second, what are the expectations of the corporate world from the B-Schools i.e. students?
Third, what should be the parameters to check the quality of management education?
In answer to the first question, the reasons are identified as being associated with the mushrooming of B-schools and growing demand of management personnel in the market, with the result leniency of government for encouraging more number of B-schools moreover certain loopholes in major government bodies giving affiliation and recognition
to these institutes as is discussed in Chapter 3.
In answer to the second question, regarding expectations of the corporate sector from Bschools it is argued that when it comes to recruitment or campus selection organization prefer students of those B-schools that produce quality students in terms of knowledge, physical skills as well as conceptual skills because every organization want to choose best out of the pool that too when they are having options more than they need. Ultimately country’s economy is generated by the organization having worth Human Resource and India being top in the list of populous nations having vast pool of Human Resource is no doubt having now quality Human Resource. Chapter 4 discusses how quality of education vis-à-vis management education affects Human Resource of a country.
In response to the third question, Chapter 6 surveys the different institutes in NCR,their admission procedure, faculty, placement which ultimately affects quality. .In this chapter we will also try to focus on quality tools . To achieve the objective of this study which is aimed to find a solution for a concrete social academic problem the thesis calls upon existing work from education studies, Quality management, recruitments of organizations , campus selection in B-schools. At this point, it must be stated that the thesis calls upon secondary sources also. Contacts were made with the various students studying in different B- schools of NCR. Management of these institutes was also contacted. However access was not possible in all institutes, in that case different faculties were contacted in -person. HR personnel’s of different organizations were also interviewed and in some cases questionnaires were got filled from the same. Research for the thesis also included an extensive literature search.
Every research work has its own set of limitations so has mine. I tried a lot to cope up with the limitations but still some of the limitations which I cannot neglect are as follows:-
1. There was one major hindrance in gathering the data because management of the institutes were not ready to reveal the real data so had to cross check and neglect the small variations.
2. Data gathered through questionnaires took time to get cross checked and at points
there were contradictions.
3. Companies chosen were not ready to reveal their recruitment sources. Most of the
time concerned persons kept me waiting thereon giving very less details. So, I had no choice but to work on the same data and it became very difficult for me to analyse the same.
4. Major limitation of this research is Quality tool six sigma as no institute is applying any tool as such so was not able to analyse that part. Instead I gave a model of Six sigma for management institutes.
5. A few of the parameters were not analysed because of the unavailability of the
data.
To address its research questions, the thesis is divided into seven chapters. The following describes the content of each. In order to trace the development of education in India vis-à-vis management education and its quality Chapter 1 examines the overview of education how it got transformed from “Gurukul” type to specialization focused. Its development after post independence and emergence of education as India’s super infrastructure. It also focuses governing/ managing bodies of higher education in India. Then, it also focuses social status of management education in India which discusses the pre independence education attitude of society. It also throws some light on shift in social status of business education during 1980. However, after analyzing emergence of management education in India Chapter 1 also gives an overview of quality of higher education as well as management education which went towards negative side with the growth of management institutes after 1990 i.e. liberalization after which various Multinational companies entered into India.
Chapter 2 discusses the six sigma as a tool of quality enhancement. It focuses on six sigma in detail, also that how it has generated profits for the organizations that have adapted it. In this chapter the complete process of six sigma and various terms associated with it have been it have been defined. As focus of my research is quality in management institutes so, chapter also discusses the role of six sigma in management education.
In order to have an in depth look into the management education and its quality chapter 3 gives us the description of quality in management education. In this chapter various parameters like admission , Faculty, infrastructure, placement etc have been discussed in detail and their affect on the quality of management education.
We are studying the quality of management education ultimately to know its affect on Human Resources which is the focus of Chapter 4 .It focuses on what B-schools are producing, how they are being absorbed in the corporates , what corporates are expecting out of a management graduate. It also discusses how MBA has its impact on employment and career. It also gives an overview of how business schools help in enhancing economy of a country. It also defines ‘FEM’.
As we know ‘Campus placement’ is one of the important sources of recruitment from where organizations directly take the new recruits. It not only reduces the cost of recruitment but also gives an organiastion an advantage of choosing from the good one as compared to choosing among the mixed pool of applicants. This is discussed in Chapter 5. It throws light on various organizations that go for campus placement.
Second last chapter i.e. Chapter 6 gives us a detailed insight about institutes (taken as sample) their criteria for admission, placement, their efficiency in placing their students. It also gives us a comparative analysis and aftermath of the campus recruitment of various organization. It is based on the data collected from various institutes and various oragnisations. It tells us the real stories of the various institutes and what actually organizations want from management graduates.
This chapter analyses faculty, placement also of various institutes. Effect on Human resources of various oraganisations ( taken as sample) and what they require. It also analyses the institutes focus as far as quality of management education is concerned. Chapter 7, the last chapter ultimately leads us to the Conclusion and suggestions. This chapter justifies the various hypothesis laid down for the research purpose which are quality related, admission related and expectation of the industry. This chapter’s main focus apart from hypothesis is “Six sigma model” which explains various areas as a quality enhancement points with the help of Fish-bone diagram. This part has been discussed under suggestions along with various other suggestions. Suggestions are followed by Bibliography. At the end various questionnaires have also been attached.
Kansieo.com
Normal 0 “The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.”
“The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think – rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men.”
Education is among the fastest growing service sectors of the economy. Education is one of the important public attributes of social and human development. Education has always been accorded an honored place in the Indian society. The development of education in India during the post independence period has been guided by the national goals and aspirations as embodied in the Indian constitution. Education being a powerful instrument of social, economic and political change, its broad principles and objectives are related to the long term national goals, the program of national development on which the country is engaged and complex short term problems it is called upon to solve. Prior to independence, the growth of institutions of higher education in India was very slow and diversification in the areas of the studies was very limited. After independence Education has become India’s “Super infrastructure”. It provides the strongest link between income aspirations and the realization of income goals. It can be controlled from with a household and without unreasonable dependence on the external environment and infrastructure. The congruence between internal economic goals of the nation is a pre-requisite for building viable and vital constituents that provide growth and education has accomplished a strong congruence between the internal aspirations of the household and the external objectives of the aggregate economy.
The focus of Commerce education was on building a strong foundation about the knowledge of business transactions and processes, primarily from the economics and accounting perspectives. In contrast, management education focused on building knowledge about overall business and its various functions, given its stakeholders and the market landscape. It was felt that one needed some disciplinary background, especially in science or commerce streams, or some work experience for effectively learning the management principles. Therefore, management education was intended for the graduate and executive levels, focused on nurturing future leaders who could lead the private and public sector organizations with a sense of social mission. The question surrounding the quality of Management education and its effect on Human Resource form the basis of the thesis.
In approaching this subject following hypothesis were laid down:
1. Quality of Management education is going down.
2. Due to mushrooming of B-Schools Admission procedure is becoming just
a formality.
3. Expectation of Industry is rising day by day from B-School students
Therefore, thesis asks the following questions:
First, what are the reasons for deterioration of quality of management education?
Second, what are the expectations of the corporate world from the B-Schools i.e. students?
Third, what should be the parameters to check the quality of management education?
In answer to the first question, the reasons are identified as being associated with the mushrooming of B-schools and growing demand of management personnel in the market, with the result leniency of government for encouraging more number of B-schools moreover certain loopholes in major government bodies giving affiliation and recognition
to these institutes as is discussed in Chapter 3.
In answer to the second question, regarding expectations of the corporate sector from Bschools it is argued that when it comes to recruitment or campus selection organization prefer students of those B-schools that produce quality students in terms of knowledge, physical skills as well as conceptual skills because every organization want to choose best out of the pool that too when they are having options more than they need. Ultimately country’s economy is generated by the organization having worth Human Resource and India being top in the list of populous nations having vast pool of Human Resource is no doubt having now quality Human Resource. Chapter 4 discusses how quality of education vis-à-vis management education affects Human Resource of a country.
In response to the third question, Chapter 6 surveys the different institutes in NCR,their admission procedure, faculty, placement which ultimately affects quality. .In this chapter we will also try to focus on quality tools . To achieve the objective of this study which is aimed to find a solution for a concrete social academic problem the thesis calls upon existing work from education studies, Quality management, recruitments of organizations , campus selection in B-schools. At this point, it must be stated that the thesis calls upon secondary sources also. Contacts were made with the various students studying in different B- schools of NCR. Management of these institutes was also contacted. However access was not possible in all institutes, in that case different faculties were contacted in -person. HR personnel’s of different organizations were also interviewed and in some cases questionnaires were got filled from the same. Research for the thesis also included an extensive literature search.
Every research work has its own set of limitations so has mine. I tried a lot to cope up with the limitations but still some of the limitations which I cannot neglect are as follows:-
1. There was one major hindrance in gathering the data because management of the institutes were not ready to reveal the real data so had to cross check and neglect the small variations.
2. Data gathered through questionnaires took time to get cross checked and at points
there were contradictions.
3. Companies chosen were not ready to reveal their recruitment sources. Most of the
time concerned persons kept me waiting thereon giving very less details. So, I had no choice but to work on the same data and it became very difficult for me to analyse the same.
4. Major limitation of this research is Quality tool six sigma as no institute is applying any tool as such so was not able to analyse that part. Instead I gave a model of Six sigma for management institutes.
5. A few of the parameters were not analysed because of the unavailability of the
data.
To address its research questions, the thesis is divided into seven chapters. The following describes the content of each. In order to trace the development of education in India vis-à-vis management education and its quality Chapter 1 examines the overview of education how it got transformed from “Gurukul” type to specialization focused. Its development after post independence and emergence of education as India’s super infrastructure. It also focuses governing/ managing bodies of higher education in India. Then, it also focuses social status of management education in India which discusses the pre independence education attitude of society. It also throws some light on shift in social status of business education during 1980. However, after analyzing emergence of management education in India Chapter 1 also gives an overview of quality of higher education as well as management education which went towards negative side with the growth of management institutes after 1990 i.e. liberalization after which various Multinational companies entered into India.
Chapter 2 discusses the six sigma as a tool of quality enhancement. It focuses on six sigma in detail, also that how it has generated profits for the organizations that have adapted it. In this chapter the complete process of six sigma and various terms associated with it have been it have been defined. As focus of my research is quality in management institutes so, chapter also discusses the role of six sigma in management education.
In order to have an in depth look into the management education and its quality chapter 3 gives us the description of quality in management education. In this chapter various parameters like admission , Faculty, infrastructure, placement etc have been discussed in detail and their affect on the quality of management education.
We are studying the quality of management education ultimately to know its affect on Human Resources which is the focus of Chapter 4 .It focuses on what B-schools are producing, how they are being absorbed in the corporates , what corporates are expecting out of a management graduate. It also discusses how MBA has its impact on employment and career. It also gives an overview of how business schools help in enhancing economy of a country. It also defines ‘FEM’.
As we know ‘Campus placement’ is one of the important sources of recruitment from where organizations directly take the new recruits. It not only reduces the cost of recruitment but also gives an organiastion an advantage of choosing from the good one as compared to choosing among the mixed pool of applicants. This is discussed in Chapter 5. It throws light on various organizations that go for campus placement.
Second last chapter i.e. Chapter 6 gives us a detailed insight about institutes (taken as sample) their criteria for admission, placement, their efficiency in placing their students. It also gives us a comparative analysis and aftermath of the campus recruitment of various organization. It is based on the data collected from various institutes and various oragnisations. It tells us the real stories of the various institutes and what actually organizations want from management graduates.
This chapter analyses faculty, placement also of various institutes. Effect on Human resources of various oraganisations ( taken as sample) and what they require. It also analyses the institutes focus as far as quality of management education is concerned. Chapter 7, the last chapter ultimately leads us to the Conclusion and suggestions. This chapter justifies the various hypothesis laid down for the research purpose which are quality related, admission related and expectation of the industry. This chapter’s main focus apart from hypothesis is “Six sigma model” which explains various areas as a quality enhancement points with the help of Fish-bone diagram. This part has been discussed under suggestions along with various other suggestions. Suggestions are followed by Bibliography. At the end various questionnaires have also been attached.
Kansieo.com
