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Education in Africa
A Comparative Survey
A. Babs Fafunwa, J. U. Aisiku, A. Babs Fafunwa, J. U. Aisiku
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eBook - ePub
Education in Africa
A Comparative Survey
A. Babs Fafunwa, J. U. Aisiku, A. Babs Fafunwa, J. U. Aisiku
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About This Book
First published in 1982, Education in Africa offers a comprehensive treatment of the development of education in Africa. Until now only scattered documents on educational growth in individual countries have been available; works devoted to Africa as a whole have tended towards the general and have, by and large, been written by outside observers. This book is a collection of illuminating syntheses of major trends in educational development in Africa, by renowned African educationists, and is the first attempt to supply the need for a comprehensive book on African education written from an African viewpoint. All but one of the chapters were written specially for the book by leading African educators each of whom has had a distinguished career and wide experience in education in his or her own country; they represent eleven nations in all. The volume is designed for African students, teachers and administrators and will also be welcomed by educational planners and by scholars working in the fields of comparative education and the history of education. It will be of special interest to departments, institutions and faculties of education in all the universities and colleges of education in Africa, and to educators and students worldwide who are concerned with comparative African education.
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Chapter 1
African Education in Perspective
‘What is African education?’ asked a sceptic. ‘Is it the second-rate education imported from France, Britain, or Spain – the imperial powers that dominated the political and commercial life of the African continent for well over three hundred years? Whatever may be the sceptic’s view, educational historians know too well that even when a system is transferred in its purest form from one cultural environment to another there is bound to be a change due to certain cultural, social and/or economic imperatives. In any case no study of the history of education in Africa is complete or meaningful without adequate knowledge of the traditional or indigenous educational system prevalent in Africa prior to the introduction of Islam and Christianity.
As we have stated elsewhere, every society, whether simple or complex, has its own system for training and educating its youth, and education for the good life has been one of the most persistent concerns of men throughout history. However, the goal of education and the method of approach may differ from place to place, nation to nation, and people to people. The Greek idea of an educated man was one who was mentally and physically well balanced. The Romans, on the other hand, placed emphasis on oratorical and military training. In Old Africa the warrior, the hunter, the nobleman, the man who combined good character with a specific skill was adjudged to be a well-educated and well-integrated citizen of his community.
In Old African society the purpose of education was clear: functionalism was the main guiding principle. African society regarded education as a means to an end, not as an end in itself. Education was generally for an immediate induction into society and a preparation for adulthood. In particular, African education emphasised social responsibility, job orientation, political participation and spiritual and moral values. Children learnt by doing, that is to say, children and adolescents were engaged in participatory education through ceremonies, rituals, imitation, recitation and demonstration. They were involved in practical farming, fishing, weaving, cooking, carving, knitting, and so on. Recreational subjects included wrestling, dancing, drumming, acrobatic display and racing, while intellectual training included the study of local history, legends, the environment (local geography, plants and animals), poetry, reasoning, riddles, proverbs, story-telling and story-relays. Education in Old Africa was an integrated experience. It combined physical training with character-building, and manual activity with intellectual training. At the end of each stage, demarcated either by age-level or years of exposure, the child was given a practical test relevant to his experience and level of development and in terms of the job to be done. This was a continuous assessment which eventually culminated in a ‘passing out’ ceremony, or initiation into adulthood.
For the select or the elect, secret cults served as institutions of higher or further education. It was at this level that the secret of power (real or imaginary), profound African philosophy, science and religion were mastered. Irrespective of the level of education and training given during the pre-colonial days in Africa, it was functional because the curriculum was relevant to the needs of the society. Unemployment, if it existed at all, was minimal and very few young men roamed the villages and towns with nothing to do.
Education in Old Africa was not rigidly compartmentalised as is the case in the contemporary system. Today educators are beginning to talk about universities without walls, schools without classes, and subjects without grades. This is as it should be, particularly in Africa where only a handful constitutes the elite and where, if a stage is missed, all other chances may be forfeited. It is even worse if one has never seen the inside of a formal school. Certainly, one important guiding principle is that education, in the widest sense of the word, should be a continuous process, flexible enough to accommodate any mature person at any stage.
The aim, the content and the methods of traditional education are intricately interwoven; they are not divided into separate compartments as is the case with the Westernised system of education. The characteristics of traditional education in Africa are aptly summarised by Abdou Moumouni in his book Education in Africa:
- (1) The great importance attached to it, and its collective and social nature.
- (2) Its intimate tie with social life, both in a material and a spiritual sense.
- (3) Its multivalent character, both in terms of its goals and the means employed.
- (4) Its gradual and progressive achievements, in conformity with the successive stages of physical, emotional and mental development of the child.1
Because indigenous education failed to conform to the ways of the Westernised system, some less well-informed writers have considered it primitive, even savage and barbaric, but such contentions should be seen as the product of ignorance and due to a total misunderstanding of the inherent value of informal education. After all, education is the aggregate of all the processes by which a child or young adult develops the abilities, attitudes and other forms of behaviour which are of positive value to the society in which he lives; that is to say, it is a process for transmitting culture in terms of continuity and growth and for disseminating knowledge either to ensure social control or to guarantee rational direction of the society or both. All educational systems, whether traditional or Western-oriented, seek to achieve these goals irrespective of the curriculum, methods and organisation designed for the purpose.
When evaluating any educational system one must determine the extent to which it is meeting the needs of a particular society at any given time. Traditional African education must, therefore, be judged not by any extraneous consideration or some foreign yardstick but by its performance within a given social context. Many European observers tend to ignore this important factor.2
In this chapter, therefore, we shall discuss the three major landmarks in the history of African education prior to the era of political independence.
- (1) indigenous or traditional African education before the advent of Islam and Christianity;
- (2) the advent of Islam and Islamic education in Africa;
- (3) the coming of the Christian Missionaries, and the colonial era.
We shall also compare and contrast how each major area operated in a number of African countries including those not represented in this volume.
I SEVEN CARDINAL GOALS OF TRADITIONAL AFRICAN EDUCATION
The objectives of traditional African education are many and varied but the ultimate goal is to produce an individual who is honest, respectful, skilled, co-operative, and who conforms to the social order of the day. Although the educational objectives cannot be neatly distinguished, seven aspects can be identified:
- (1) To develop the child’s latent physical skills.
- (2) To develop character.
- (3) To inculcate respect for elders and those in positions of authority.
- (4) To develop intellectual skills.
- (5) To acquire specific vocational training and to develop a healthy attitude towards honest labour.
- (6) To develop a sense of belonging and to encourage active participation in family and community affairs.
- (7) To understand, appreciate and promote the cultural heritage of the community at large.
Learning starts early for children in Africa as elsewhere, and more often than not begins at the mother’s breast. Fed regularly, weaned when the time is ripe, the African child spends the first five years of its life in a close relationship with its mother. During this early stage the child is reared by the mother, not by the family as a whole.
In a polygamous African family there may be several ‘mothers’; they all play a part in caring for the youngest generation but ultimate responsibility for each child lies with its natural mother, who carries it on her back wherever she goes, puts it to bed, looks after it when it is ill and teaches it to speak. Full of curiosity, the baby watches her every gesture, and learns to interpret her smiles, her frowns and her tears.
Little by little, this lively curiosity reaches out beyond the mother’s world. Somewhere between the ages of 4 and 6 the grandparents – and sometimes uncles and aunts – begin to take part in the children’s education, sending them on little errands, teaching them to be obedient and to respect their elders (this is a very important matter in African society), and to observe certain rules of behaviour. The grandparents also teach them the history of their family or of their people.
African education is ‘global’. In other words, each social institution has a role in providing the moral and practical teaching that will enable young boys and girls to take their rightful place in the community.
The traditional educational system is based on age-groups, or on affinities within these groups, whose limits are defined differently by different peoples.
Age is very important to Africans. It confers economic and social privileges, particularly as far as the distribution of prey, rewards and wealth are concerned.
African children love to explore their immediate surroundings, to observe and imitate the actions of adults and to discover new horizons. In this they are no different from other children, whether in Europe, Asia, or elsewhere. What distinguishes them is their way of doing things, and above all the spontaneity with which, in societies that have retained their links with the past, they jump about, climb trees, dance, or move to a rhythm, simply because their brothers and sisters or their elders are doing so. No sooner, in fact, do they discover their limbs, than they discover how to use them.
African children perhaps differ from their European counterparts in that they have completely untrammelled access to the stimulating world of music and dance. The movements of the African dance, in their infinite variety, offer the best possible physical exercise for growing bodies. No teacher or dancing-master is needed: the children join in naturally, following the steps of adults or other children. Dancing and music are also a means of transmitting the culture of a people and of performing together as a group.
In a study of the Yoruba of West Africa, M. A. Fadipe3 has described certain practical aspects of the education of young children.
As soon as her daughter is of age, it is the mother’s duty to teach her the rules of hygienic and well-mannered behaviour observed by the group. One of the most important of these rules concerns the use of the right and the left hand.Before the whites brought their culture to Africa, the use of forks and spoons was unknown. The right hand was traditionally used for lifting food to the mouth and – mainly for this reason – was forbidden to touch unclean objects …A child caught eating before early-morning ablutions – which involved at least washing the face and mouth – would be scolded and punished by an adult member of the group …The ‘indirect’ education received by the child in the community is almost as important as that received at school.In certain parts of Africa character training took many forms. Parents encouraged healthy rivalry between children of the same age – sometimes as early as the age of five – by organizing wrestling matches and by setting the children competitive tasks. Fair play was also encouraged; winners and losers alike were congratulated when they played well. The main thing was not winning and losing, but playing the game. With the introduction of Islam, the Koranic schools brought additional elements of character training. Children were sent to the Mallam for three or four hours every afternoon to learn the Koran by heart, together with the principles of Islamic ethics.
Traditional education, as far as character-building was concerned, was certainly severe. But this was because of the importance which African society attaches to this aspect of education. The habit of physical exercise, apprenticeship in a trade, a religious upbringing, a respectful attitude towards one’s elders and active participation in community life are indispensable coditions for any African wishing to be considered a person of consequence. The lack of more formal education can be forgiven, but a person who does not fulfil these conditions inflicts the worst possible humiliation on both his immediate family and his more distant kinsfolk.
Respect for one’s elders, which is an important part of character training, includes respect for all who represent authority: village chiefs, religious leaders, soothsayers, uncles, relatives and neighbours. Styles of greeting play an essential role in the expression of respect. Salutation is a complicated affair in Africa, with different modes of addressing relatives, elders, equals, chiefs, and so on, and special greetings for morning, afternoon and evening.
There are different formulas for games, dancing, or drumming, for sitting or standing, for tilling the soil or fishing, for weaving, swimming, walking, or recovering from an illness. Anniversaries, funerals, or weddings, yam-growing ceremonies, the rituals of ancestor-worship, the Egungun festivals and other special occasions – all call for special types of greeting.
If ‘intelligence’ means the capacity to assimilate experience, and if ‘intellectualisation’ denotes abstract reasoning – as in the formation of concepts or judgements – then it can be said that traditional African education encourages intellectual development. Observation, imitation and participation are three pillars of the educational process.
African children and adolescents learn the geography and history of their community. They know their local hills and valleys like the backs of their hands; they know where the land is fertile and where it is barren. They know when to expect rain and when to expect drought. They know the right times to hunt and fish. In every family the old people are teachers of local history. The songs of praise which often commemorate great events enrich the oral tradition, creating an experience which it is difficult to forget.
Botany and zoology are the subjects of both theoretical and practical lessons, in which special attention is paid to local plants and animals. Where animals are both a source of danger and a means of livelihood their behaviour is another important subject of study.
Proverbs and riddles are exceptional wit-sharpeners, and are used to teach the child to reason and to take decisions.
Africans also have fun with their mathematics in games of skill, such as the ‘Ayo’ game where players must outwit their opponents in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Some educators have come to believe that certain aspects of traditional African education should be integrated into the modern system, and have begun to work along these lines. This is a field which should be given priority in all developing countries.
One of the aims of education, whether modern or traditional, is to perpetuate a given culture. Traditional Africa sets great store by this aspect of human development.
As they grow up, children of traditional societies absorb and assimilate their peoples’ cultural heritage, without formal teaching. They observe, imitate and mimic the actions of their elders and their siblings. They attend baptisms, religious ceremonies, weddings and funerals, the coronations of kings or chiefs, and the annual yam festival. They watch ...