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PRIMARY
EDUC~TION
~SSIMlLATING
<5D
.
REFORM IN UGANDA
INDIGENOUS EDUCATION
By Sylveste~ Kityo -
c
A thesis submitted
to~he
Faculty of Graduate Studies and
'"
Research in partial fulfillment of the M.A. Degree in
Administration and POlicy Studies in Education.
,
McGill University
Department of Administration
POlicy Studies in Education
.
Montreal, Quebec
"
July, 1988
•
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
•
This t.hesis was written with the
and advie-e
from a
particularly
whose
interest,
to
suppo~t
In the first place l
number· of people.
grateflll
encouragement,
my' supervi,sor,
Professo.r
R.
am
Ghosh,
suggestions and ready avai labi li l~ whenever l
needed help made this study possible.
I~m indebted to all my fellow students for their discus-
.
sion' and s.uggestions on my proposa 1.
~articlllar of J.O. Abagi and J.
-
Sp~cial
and understanding.
Br igi t te
..
Lemonde,
René
Mention must be made
in
Wishart for their constant help
mention goes
Desourdy,
Wendi
also
to
Petersen
my
friends
and
Gustave
Desourdy for the moral support and epcouragement.
'
The Uganda High Commission in Ottawa,
the
Inter-Library
Service and my niece Ronah Sserwadda provided access to much of
the
1 i terature
for
this
l
study.
am ever
thankful
for
the
without
the
service that was rendered.
These
mention of
ment,
acknowledgements
my instructors
would
and the
incomplete
seC!-retaries of
the depart-
including the services of Wendy Lindsay, of uindsay W0rd
•
Processing Reg' d and especially M.
the
be
computer
facilitated
the
L.
writing
Keenan whose help with
of
this
thesis.
Many
other people helped me in one way or another with the study and
Q
,
l
am grateful to each and every one.
(i)
t
IIIIII-----------~~-----------------.;;;;;;:----~---~-~'
....
ABSTRACT
The study examines both traditional African education and
t
the present Ugandan western-oriented education in an attempt to
find elements
into the
in the
latter,
former
system which can be
incorporated
to help it
especially at the primary level,
meet Uganda's developmental needs.
Based primarily on library research, the study s90WS that
-'
tradi tional
African
education was
needs of the 'society,
success fu l
in
meeting
the
mainly- because of three basic factors:
a) at a time when the society was more stable,
its
goals were
cIearIy defined and the education process was
guided' by
"
operational:ized principles: b) the content of education was
relevant to the socio-economic, cultural and political needs of
the individual and the society: c)
the education of
the child
was a responsibility shared by all members of the comrnunity.
The study aiso indicates that the present Ugandan formaI
education system, by its nature and structure, does not prepare
children to effectively function in their
may be attributed to
which
does
not
serve
developing country.
more
relevant
indigenolls
t~e
This
inherited colonial system of education
the
needs
Therefore,
system
communities.
by
of
an
there
independent
and
fast
is a need to develop a
incorporating
basic
elements
of
education wi th the present western-oriented system
in Uganda.
(ii)
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RÉFORME D'ÉDUCATION PRIMAIRE EN UGANDA
•
..
ASSIMILER L'ÉDUCATION INDIGÈNE
par <Sylvester Kityo
J
1
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(ii'i)
•
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Cette étude porte sur le système\\ traditionnel d'éducation
.
, .
africaine
et le systeme ougandais actuel, avec sa coloration
\
occidentale; on y trouve les éléments fondamentaux du système
précédent qui pourrait enrichir le système actuel particu~ièrement
pour
lui
permettre
répondre
de
. aux
besoins
actuels
de
développement en Ouganda.
Ce travail basé surtout sur
identifie
sys t;.ème
trois
société
a)
pratique
tout
princ Ipes
/
facteurs qui e~lique comment
,
a répondre aux
besoins de
principaux
indigène
arrivait
le projeit de
le
l'étude de documents écrits
société était simple,
processus
éducatif
reconnu!} et' acceptés:
b)
était
la
clair et en
guidé
le contenu des
le
part
&ès.
programmes
d'éducation couvrait les besoins individuels et collectifs tant
au point
de
vue
cul tu.rel qU,e soqio-économique
et
poli tique i
c} la communauté au complet se sentait responsable de l'éducation d'un enfant.
Cette étude montre auss i que
le système actuel
d' éduca-
tion en Ouganda à cause de sa nature et de sa structure ne prépare pas les enfants à vivre dans leur comm~nauté.
"
Celà peut s'expliquer par le fait qu'on n'y retrpuve plus
les facteurs de base qui permettaient au système indigène traditionnel de fonctionner.
d'incorporer
au
système
Alors apparaît clairement l'urgence
actuel
fortement
1
trois éléments du systèr(le africain origin<;tl.
(iv)
c
occidentalisé
ces
,.
.,
UGANDA
•
SUQ~o
KENYA
ZAIRE
o
t:JKflm.t.
-..
'
~:1f8utmt.
&
SESE ISLANDS
/
LAKE VICTORIA
BURUNDI
Mali, roads
Main railways
Internéll Jonal
TANZANIA
~oundarjes
Main airport
1
o
o
km
100
200
,
1
milos
50
100
150 1
Cv)
;
"
1.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
ABSTRACT .... ; • .....
RÉSUMÉ •....•..
MAP OF UGANDA .••.
-.'
· .....
. . ......
i
ii
iv
v
..
•
CHAPTER 1: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ..
Introduction ... : ..........•.....
Pu rpose of the St·udy •.•....
,Significance of the Study •.
Review of Literature •..
Western Education ..•...
Theoretical Framework ..
Research Questions ..
Methodology ........ .
• ,!, ....
.
l
.....
1
5
5
7
..
Il
13
16
· ....--.
CHAPTER Il: TRADITIONAL AFRICAN ED~ION.
Introduction ........................................................ ..
Aims of Indigenous Educat{on ..•.•...
Prin~iples of Traditional African Education.
Conununalism ...
Fraternalism ••
.. ,........
.. .. .. . ..
. .........
Functionalism.
. ......
'...
Integration .•.
........
. ......
.. .. ..
Preparationalism.
. .. . .. ..
. ......
Methods of Traditional African Education .. .
Cone lus ion ................................................................ .
...
.~
·................ .
. ..
..
......
\
CHAPTER III: WESTERN EDUCATION IN AFRICA.
Background .............................................. ..
...
Il
17
19
19
20
21
21
23
25
....
...
...: .
).
•
r
...
...
Missionary Educational Activities.
Aims of Colonial Education •••. , •.•
Higher Educa tion.~ . ................................ .
........
Impact of the Phe1ps-Stokes· Commission ..1.
........
Uganda 1 s Present Western-Oriented EducationoSyste't:n ..
Background ..••...•...• ;~ ..•• ~ ..•.
. ........
Western Education in Uganda .....•.
The Educationa1 System qf Uganda .•.•..
Agèncy of Education.
............
Aims of Education .•...••....• ~ ...
27
28
30
34
41
41
41
45
46
47
51
51
51
53
56
56
J
1
CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS, SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS
FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ..•.....
APPENDIX 1 : PEACE
REFERENCES .....
. ... .. . .... .·.. · . ...... . 65
AGREEMENT .•....•. . . . . . . ... . ...
· .. · . 79
. ............... ..... .
. . · . . ·. . . 84
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TABLE OF CONTENTS (continlled)
...
Page
TABL"E. l
Correspondence between a Traditiopal
Society and Its'System of Education .•.••••
37
TABLE I I
Synoptic Char~ of Educational
Qev.elopment Am6ng the Tallensi of
Northern Ghana.......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
38
TABLE III.
Struct4re of FormaI Education .......•..•••
55
TABLE IV
a) Enrolment in Government and primary
Schools by Standard: 1979-1985 .......••
62
b) Enrolment in Government-Aided
Secondary Schools by Standard:
1978-1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
,
62
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(vii)
Ir
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CHAPTER l
PRIMARY EDUCATION REFORM IN UGANDA
ASSIMILATlNG INDIGENOUS EDUCATION
STATEt-1ENT OF THE PROBLEM
Introduction
In Uganda,
as in most developing countries of Africa,
demand for formaI education grows every
...
1960 ' s,
the
countries,
emphas is
independence
most
on
the
of
th'!
period
new
of
Afr ican
quanti tati ve
year~_
the
During the early
majority
of
firstly,
put
forma l
especially at the secondary and tertiary levels.
tative emphasis was,
of
governments
expansion
the
African
strong
education
This
qua~ti-
to meet manpower needs which had
been fiiied before independence mostly by expatriates from the
colonizing
and
was,
country.
..
cQuntry, which was
secondly,
to meet
Britain in
the
the 'néw needs of
case of Uganda,
an
This expans ion was aiso in line wi th the
vailing theories
that stipulated a
\education and development.
-
l
-
independent
then pre-
çausal relationship between
- 2 -
However,
and
the
flooq 0f students at all levels of the educational system,
the
expansion was
due
to
limi ted
educational
This
curtailed.
led to a shortage of openings
especially at the secondary level.
unemployed
school
school leavers.
absorbed
into
leavers
As a result the number oB
increased,
mostly
among
primary
of them could not be
This is because most
the seconqary
resources
institutions and could
not
find
employment because they lacked practical skills demanded by the
world of work.
"The school leavers'
be
known,
education
colonial
-
provoked
that
, past
the
African
was
suitable
development.
education,
or schooling,
this:
a)
debate
the
political
independence.
crisis ",
There
as
to
.the
whether
states
had
for
African
The
are
as the phenomenon came té
inherited
/
type ,of
from
their
socio-economic
disenchantment
wi th
and
formaI
increased during'the years following
mainly
two
additional
reasons
for
its products have .largely failed to bring about the
impact of socio-economic people who would provide sbciety with
moral and cultural
le~dership;
and b) the elites' alleged lack
of cornmitment to serve the nation or community.
(Ocaya-Lakidi,
1980, 'p. 239).
In
Uganda,
dissatisfaction
with
the
type
of
elitist
education the COllntry had inherited from the British resulted
in sorne changes in the curricula,
3chools.
particularly in the primary
Practical work skills, cornrnunity activities, and arts
If
J
- 3 -
•
and
crafts were added
enhancinej
to the school ·currlculum "as
desired
the
(~1inistry
of Education,
1980,
dld
fundamenta l1y
a l ter
ncA
growth
we11-rounded
p.
the
of
However,
3).
a means of
the
child"
these
changes
quo. of
s ta tus
Uganda's
educational system.
The ef forts of
res tru ctur i ng the educa t iona l
system tha t
were galnlng momentum ln the 1ate Sixties came to a haIt during
the military regime of Idi Amin (1971-1979).
educational
remalned
colonia l
"agent
\1
teach ing
essentially
acac1emic
for the
was
on
the
it
ThiS
The prlmary school was,
the
problem,
as
been
meant
subjec ts,
or
for
this
was
the
recruiting
emphasls
Eng 1 i5h
in
and
not preparing
se 1 f-re 1 iance ,
the
1eve l,
during
that
th€refore,
"
exacerbated
han
examina tian
for el ther employmen t
primary
the
contlnuen to be a
secondary 1evel.
pu t
at
as
The pr1mary school
era.
mathematlcs.
studen ts
especial1y
provision,
As a consequence,
highest
and
th i5
level
the
ma]Orlty of students attained.
However, Slnce the ouster of the military regime in 1979,
the
succes si ve
governrnent5 . . , ha ve
reconstruction of
In
fact,
in
the
July
education system
1987,
a
Commission was appointed to
approach
to
sub jects
in
integrating
the
made
school s'
the
rehabi lita tion
and
in
Uganda
a
twenty-eight
person
Educationa1
advise
the Government on
academic,
curr icu la.
commercial
(News
and
priority.
the
best
technical
Bulletin,
1987,'
)
p.
c
7).
In addition,
according to the recent development plan,
-
the
gover~ent
e~tion
reforming
The
interest
is to
finance
indigenous
Self-Reliance (1967),
attempt
to
at
least
two
projects
aimed at
at the primary level.
independence
in
4 -
utilize
of
African
education.
countries
aroused
Tanzania' s
muer.
Education
for
which has received wide attention, was an
in
the
education
system
the
indigenous
values, and methods in that country and make it more relevant to
its developmental needs.
Studies concerning traditional African education show the
"
potential
of tha t
type of educat10n for
enhancing educational
,
systems in Africa today (Adams anp Cou1iba1y,
as
(1975),
Car10n
education
alone
develoPlilent.
among
cannot
the
needs
society.
In
the reeds
obvious
about
the
of a
static society.
changing
sear~1ing
for
its
is:
does
~
pedagogical
out,
desired
However,
tradi tiona1
changes
for
education had evolved
It was not oriented to
techno1ogica1
and bureaucratie
an educationa1 system relevant to
of a devlloping African
question
education,
bring
points
This is because indigenous
to meet the needs of a
meet
others,
1985).
the
country such as Uganda,
tradi tiona1
content
and
system
of
methodology,
the
African
offer
potentia1 ingredients. that can be used in the present reform of
primary education in Uganda that can help meet
Uga~da's
current
\
needs for development?
r
Po
p
.
)
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5 -
Purpose of the Study
.
The purpose of the study is fourfold:
l)
to
describe
and
analyze
traditional African
2)'"
to
describe
and
the
nature
and
goals
of
nature
and
goals
of
educa~ion;
analyze
the
\
western-oriented
present
uganda' s
education,
especiail y at the primry leve1;
3)
to identify Uganda's educational needs;
4)
to
identify
ingredients
primary
,
in
traditional
that
can
education
African
contrib~te
to t the
to
in . order
education
the
reform
meet
of
Uganda' s
identified needs for development.
.
Significance of the study
Uganda,
social,
especia11y
since
1971,
has
experienced
tragic
(Jorgensen,
1980).
economic and political difficulties
The belief of the:~overnment and indeed of the people of Uganda
that
education
can
play
a
key
role
in
bringing
about
the
desired changes in the country's social, economic and political
6
si tuations
1984,
was
where
expressed
it
is
in
stated:
the
INVESTMENT
"Education
is
PROGRAMME,
re~nized
1982as
the
\
foundation of economic growth and is central to the well being
of
society
as
a
whole"
(Republic
of
Uganda,
1982,
p.
83).
,
Hence the government is gi ving priori ty to projects concerned
-,
.
/'
- 6 -
•
with the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the
~
educational
system.
'-.
This study is an effort 'to contribute to the realization
of these projects.
st~dy
It is hoped that the results of this
will reveal the shortcomings of the present system and contri-
"
making~
bute information pertaining to
the educational
system,
!
t~e
especially at
primary level,
,
the
educand
country
a
in
particular,
The
in general.
and
~e
more relevant to
L
1
to the current
primary level is
needs
of
the
"""
emphas ized because
the vast majority of students are at the primary
jor
needs of
level which,
most of th-em, is termina 1 training for adul t li fe.
This study takes a pan-African orientation mainly for the
following reasons:
all pre-colonial African societies
were general'ty
simi1ar in
and
non-literatei
were
identical
individuals
morally
/
firstly,
all
objectives
to
be
functional
societies' south
of
status hierarchies
on
that
in
secondly,
education,
socially,
in
their
tney had a
".
-
w~ch determi~ed
societies
namely,
communitYi
were
~
1and-based ,economy
these
economically,
the Sahara
,
to
enable
polïtically
thirdly,
had
and
most African
characterized
by defined
and rnanaged human relations
the bas is of respect and authori ty.
Last ly,
Uganda,
!ike
j
every other country in Africa today, has within its artificial
•
and
fortuitously determined
(Thompson, 1981) .
•
frontiers
many differing cultures
--
7 -
It is hoped that the pan-African .approach will bring to
a~
the fore what is good and common in indigenous education,
.
was
practiced not only
in
the different Ugandan pre-colonial
societies but also in other African societies
common
p.
cultural
tradi ~i0l1,
refer to as
277)
resul ts
of
·African
the
countries
~ples,
for
living".
courd
generate
for
common
wh~ Adams
"social
study
it
research,
.
elements
in
that
and
that
Coul ibaly
It is
a
hoped
desire
the
shared the
in
that
the
individual
cultures
could
(1985,
transmit
of
their
cultural
ide~ity and adapt others for development purposes.
Review of Literature
This review of literature deals with the nature,
c
aims and
structure of both traditional African education and the present
western-oriented education in Uganda.
The existence of, education in pre-colonial societies
...
in
\
Black Africa has been asserted by many scholars from differëô.t
\
disciplines such as education,
instance,
social
~'lilson
(1966)
organization
\.
sociology and anthropology.
posits that
education
is part of
observe
in aIl societies.
that
schooling,
induction into the
the
of any society and whether or not that.
society has anything which might be recognized as a school,
e)i~:ts
For
life
Similarly,
in
of
the
the
it
Brown and Hiskett (1975)
sense
society,_
of
i9
insti tutl.onalized
a
recent developrnent in Africa but that education,
comparatively
in the sense
J..
..
"
,
- 8 of ini tiatio!1 into the
ancie~
life· of an adul t
comq'IUni ty,
This
concept and it \ did exist in Africa.
is a
very
means,
as
~
B1akemore and Coo1<sey (1981,' p. 21) put i t, that "education was
not
brought' to
Africa
by
the
Europeans",
as
sorne
early
"They simply brought their own kind
miss idnaries had thought.
of education with them".
The literature reveals that traditional African education
grew out of the needs of the community which were determined by
the
social
and
physica1
chi1dren from different
environment
Fafunwa
(1974),
pre-colonial
efilphas ized
among
African
the
society.
societies 1earned different
knowledge and skil1s for social
dififerent environments
of
an~
(Callaway,
others,
societies
bodies
of
physical survival in their
1975,. ~
observes
had
socia 1 'r.esponsibi 1 i ty,
Hence
B-artels,
1975).
"But
1
that education in all
s1.milar
objectives.
job orientation,
It
poli tical
participation and spiritual and moral values.
Simiyu (191-3), .amC::mg other researchers,
stages in indigenous education:
and
adul thood.
seclusion for the
In
mbst
you~g,
identified three
early childhood,
societies
there
was
known as "initiation",
adolescence,
a
pe~iod,
of
the purpose of
which was to prepare them in a special way for their roles as
adu1ts.
It marked the transition from cl}i Idhood to adul thood.
The literature dr~ws attention
formal
system.
1
i"",,
1
and
informal
education
in
ta
the
the exrstence 'of both .
indigenous
educational
'Instruction was given mainly through oral li terature
9 -
such
as
myths,
legends,
folk
songs,
riddles
and
folktales
(Ocitti, 1973; Simiyu, 1973).
~
In sorne societies,
a more formalized education took place
at initiation, a special ritual that marked the transition from
childhood to adulthood and when 1earning a Si?,ecialized skill,
such
as
1959) .
or
herbalism
or
blacksmithery
(Bartels,
1975:
Read,
In highly stratified societies such as Buganda (Uganda)
Ashanti
governance
(Ghana),
took
training
place
in
in
special
the
arts
educational
appended to palaces 'of kings and chiefs.
observes
that
"as
the
and
administrative
Maas
skills
establishments were not based on writing,
skills
of
est.ablishments
(1970,
taught
p.
in
179)
these
they were not to be
taught in special school rooms with desks and tables.
Il
FormaI education was al!30 given in what is referred to in
the literature as
"bush schools".
These were very common in
West African societies and were known under various names,
most
common
being
"poro"
fqr
boys
and
Instruction
in these- sch'ools lasted three
"
"sande"
for
the
girls.
to seven years for
boys: i t was shorter for girls (Yoloye, 1985: Carlmn, 1975).
~ormalized
Though
sociëties,
children
informally by
in
observation,
work or ceremonies,
learni~
these
existed
societies
imi tation,
i~
indigenous
mostly
learned
participating in
play,
conversation and discussion (Ocitti, 1913:
)
Simiyu, 1975; Callawly, 1975).,..
In
c
pre-colonial
societies,
in
addition 'to
"teachers",
-
a
';a~ an ag~nt
every adu1t:
of the communi ty.
the
clan and
agents.
a
10 -
in the- education of the young members\
In other words,
members
of
community we~e aIl
the
. .
the parents, 'the
,
s~bl~ngs,
educatiçmal
Research shows that the age-groups or age-sets played
very
important
educationa1
role in traditional
'-
cbmmunities
(Adams and Coulibaly, 1985; Herskovits, 1965).
In indigenOu~ educa~on,
the individual learned by doing
Learning ~'w~ losely allied wi th nature.
useful things.
methodology was practical and conc'r.ete (Kenyq.tta,
1966) .
Traditional
education
was
important
The
1938; Castle,
for
its
moral,
practical and vocational approach.
Studies
too.
l
of
indigenous
education
indicate
const~aints
This education was ,not an education for change.
principa11y
society.
for
maintaining
the
It did not encourage
status
initiative
quo
of
It was
a
static
on the part of the
learner and was completely oriented toward the tribe, preparing
the
young
for
Kwamena-Poh,
1975;
epab1ing the
their
participation
Ocitti,
1973).
tribal
Thus i t
learners- to adjust to a
communi ty ~
own
in
Carlon
(1975)
life
life~
(Brown,
1975 ~
was not geared to
other than that of
points
out
that
its
adherance to tradition was an obvious hindrance to dev'elopment.
In
a
nutshell"", tradi tional African
education aimed
at
preserving tpe organic uni ty of the communi ty and the physical
survival of its members.
the
need~
of the
.
It was conservative iq nature but met _-
society~it
was supposed to serve.
,ft
Y
"
P.
- Il -
Western Education
Western
education
introduced
was
Uganda
in
by
"
the
Christian missionaries, who arri ved in the country at the end
of
re
century.
Eighteenth
estab ished
by
~vange1ization
The" reading
missionaries
the
wherever
centers Il
théy
were
sett1ed
for
purposes (Wandira, 1972).
In his article "Education of Chiefs Recomes Education for
AlI", Kasozi (1979) states that the missionaries embarked early
upon estab1ishing boarding high sch?ols in UgandB: "to turn out
an educated Christian lait y of elite that would be sympathetic
to their religion" (p.
sons
c
and
daughters
schools,
of
Given
differences.
79).
The schools were intended for the
the
the
chiefs
high
who
cost
had
of
previous
edu,ç:ation
ir
in
status
those
ft was a long time before the c1:lildren of "ordinary"
-
_(1
people had access te that type of education.
Though
subjects
The
the
in the
reasoning
missionaries
tried
t'ID"""- initiate
schools, 'many 'parents objected to
behind
the
negative
attitude
of
practical'
the
the
idea.
chiefs
toward the introduction of practical. SUbjJcts
into the schools
.
is summarized by one Ugandan parent who said,
IoWe send our poys
to the high school not to learn to drive bu1lock wagons and to
."
look after cows but ta learn to be .fitted for posts of high
standing " (quoted in Ker, 1972, p. 4).
in the colonies,
cQntrib.uted,
in
In Uganda, as elsewhere
ëicademic education demanded ,by the Africanr
the
long run,
to
undermining
colonial rule.
« .'
."
- 12
•
But
as Jorgensen
(1980)
has
stat:ed,
academic
education
"aiso
___ . 1
tended to preserve structural dependence by creatin9, an
edu-
cated African' bourgeois.ie which benefi ted from the maintenance
of structural dependence and which despised manual labour' and
looked down on wage labourers" (p. 165).
Thus,
from the beginning,
education in Uganda
was
aca-
demic and acçessible only to a ,minority of the population and
was therefore elitist.
The term "pyr-amid" has been used to describe the structure of education in Uganda.
The factors contributing to the
formatict'n
of the pyramid have been stated by Wandira
Among the
factors were
the desire
of the churches,
(1972).
for
many
years the sole agents of formaI school education, to spread the
habit of reading as the basis of evangelization and the inadequate allocation of resources by the colonial gavernment.
Educa tiot:l
in Uganda,
as
in
most
British
colonies,
ran
from primary schaol thraugh secondary school and on ta uni versity.
It
was,
and
still
chronologically graded
is,
(Scanlon,
hierarchically
l
~64 i
structured
and
"Ministry of Education ,._
1980) •
Porter
colonies
was
encouraged
figures.
(1972)
states
academic
rote
This
and
that
.
,
\
education
examination-oriented
learning
s t;.a tement
formaI
and
is
memorization'
echoed
in
of
Uganda 1 s
in
and
British
that
facts
Ministry
it
and
of
13
c.
Education document
IIThe
Reconstruction~
FormaI Educatio{l in Uganda"
and Rehabilitation
·which expresses
(1980),
of
the dis-
satisfaction with the western-oriented system:
This type of eli tist education encouraged an unheai thy
situation whereby few learners continued to be admitted
in the school .system of examination and selection based
on the traditionai school subjects of arts and sciences.
(p. 3)
To
'1
summarize,
~ ....
education
in
Uganda
i9
academic
and
o
•
examination-oriented.
Eacn
level
students who do not go beyond
their society.
the next level.
it,
not
i6
designed
to
enable
to effectively function
in
It is d,esigned to be preparatory for entry to
By nature and structure,
its.accessibility is
limited to a mind(ity of young people.
Theoretical Framework
Educational systems are
gene~ally
conceived to respond to
the social, political, economic, cultural and moral needs of a
society.
But as the needs of society change, there arises aiso
a need to
~hange
There
scape
and
are
the educational system.
a
process
good
o~f
purpose: of
this
within
framework
the
rnovernent
10gist,
theory.
number
of theories
educational
paper,
of
educational
cultural
According
change;
change
dealing wi th
however,
for
will
examined
revitalization
to rlallace
cultural revitalization theory
the
(1956),
be
and
the
social
an anthropo-
"focuses on deliber-ate
-::;:.--
14
organized conscious
~
struct
more satis/ying culture".
movement~
fying
efforts - by rnembers of a
,
society
to con-
Thus cultural and religious
"
would come into being to, "reconstruct a more satis-
•
culture"
for
the
society
(Paulston,
1977,
p.
3BB).
Therefore cultural revitalization efforts, such as those of the
,
Black Muslims in the United States and the Kikuyu School Mave-
.-\
ment in Kenya before. independence,
are viewed as
attempts
to
innovate discreet elements in the culture (Paulston, 1977).
zacriariah
scientization
that
(1985) ,
in
as cultural
revival
movernents
existing- cultural
base
his
study
of
Sarvodaya
revi val movements,
"begin
deserves
with
the
respect"
has
Con-
pointed out
premise
(p.
and
3).
that
In
the
fact,
Goulet (1981) has argued that "most traditional belief systems,
although often .cal~ed pejoratively static, harbour within themselve!:l
a
latent dynamism y,rhich,
if recognized and harnessed,
can serve as an effecti,ve motor to desired change"
Colletta et al., 1982, p.
•
The idea is that,
(quoted in
281) .
wi th the. rise in African
nationalism,
educational change must bring with i t a re-examination of the
values and traditions of the culture of society wi th the pur,
pose of preserving those which are relevant to modern society.
This is
i,wpor.tant sinpe,
is a living thing and
according to Kind"al
~pontaneous
cultural
foundation
of
rhompson
{1981}
remarked
has
o
..
the
onl~
people
(1933) education
if it is inspired by the
whom
"societies,
it
seeks
whether
to
serve.
traditional.
\ ,
- 15 -
...
or modern are nqt passive receivers of educational stimuli but
~
\
have both
an
immense capacity
for
absorbing
and
for
manipu-
lating these stimuli" (p. 173) .
The
...
assertion
of
indigenous
culture
in
developmental
"r
t{).eories has been pointed out by \'liarda (1983).
In his journal
ar ic1e entitléd "Toward Nonethnocentric Theory of Development:
/ Al ernative
Conceptions
from
Third
Wor1d",
Wiarda
outlined
a' 5 theory' of deve10pment found in Metha' s book entitled:
OND MARXISM:
TOWARD AN ALTERNATIVE!
es that Metha's theory,
the
reality
(p.
40).
of
Indian
PERSPECTIVE"
He
"Integral Pluralism" is grounded in
culture,
history
and
civi1ization
'rhe theory advocates an indigenous process
of change
the needs of individual societies.
attu
(1978).
th~ory
This implication
is that there is no universal model of devel-
the cultural contact with the west through comand
technology
societies.
Thus
no
with
the
to
old and ne
•
. Modernization
me-chanisms
4/
what
caused
i5
enormous
taking
longer possible te adjust to
and Saha,
any
has
_'1
Chan~~
1985,
of
the
p. 44).
old
change
place
there.
the modern world
indigenous
culture
The challenge today when
in 'an eduçational system i5 to consider
what to modify and what to preserve of
cul tures .
in
In trying to preserve something of
the
the
- 16 -
•
old culture, an observation made by Adams and Coulibaly (1985)
is timely.
They state:
"In the face of our beliefs in progress and modern world,
we cannot help but notice that certa"in old fashioned
notions have an' I.mcanny ability to remain for ever up to
date.
They maintain their value from one generation to
the next, only taking on the coloration of the times like
'old shoes, new socks'". (p. 276)
Efforts' to change education systems by' basing on what is
good and relevant in
the
traditional
structures,
methods
and
practices is an important way to revitalize the culture through
education for national development .
•
Re~earch
Questions
Within the framework of revitalization theory, this study
will be guided by the following research questions:
1.
What
are
the
nature,
goals
and
content
of tradi-
tional African education?
2.
What
are
present
the
nature,
goals
western-oriented
and
content
education
in
of
the
Uganda,
especially at the primary level?
3.
What are the current Ugandan needs education should
meet?
4.
What
are
the
positive
e lements ~om
African eiucation that can be irrcorporated into the
•
l'
present system,
m~..t.he
Uganda
rich
is
a
17 -
especially at
the primary level,
ta
identified rreeds?
developing
national cultural
country
heritage.
with
a
diversified
and
In Uganda the application of
l'
this
theoretical
vehicle for
framework would point to using
development
education as a
ta serve its societal goals.
revitalization should indicate an educatlon that
and
on the positive aspects 'of aIl the
founded
Cultural
is inspired by
sub-cultures of
the people of Uganda whom it seeks to serve.
Methodology
The methodo logy of
data
for
the
presented
at
study
this' study
are
collected
li brary
mainly
"Con f 11 ct and Harmony Between Trad i t tonal
in Afr1ca"
that was held at
h) papers that. prepared
Black
and
African
Il
Civilization _ and
Africaine
(No.
education
in
1967):
Ugandan
d)
95,
Africa
of
whi~
1975);
(Ocitti,
c)
were
case
1973;
of the
and
Art
papers
conference
the Unlversity of London
Festival
Government
a)
The
on
and Wes tern Educa t ion
for the Colloqium
Education"
reserach.
from
interdLsciplinary
three-day
a
is
Second World
Culture:
published
.
in 1973;
in
"Black
Presence
studies. of 'indigenous
Si.funa,
reports,
off icial
1985;
Masajan,
pronouncements
and other documents concerning education"n Uganda; e) Academic
Journals
c
(Compara·tive Education Review;
Comparative Eduëationi
,
1../
18 Journal
of
International
'f,'
Developmenti
Journal
of
Curriculum
Theorizing) and UNESCO publications (P.rospects, JUnesco News).
The author's personal experience as a blacK African, born
and educated in Uganda,
now defunct East
and as a teacher and -examiner
for
the
Examination Council, will augment the library
research in description of the background information and
analysis of the data.
...
the
...
•
CHAPTER II
TRADITIONAL AFRICAN EDUCATION
Introduction
The end pf the colonial domination in Africa' saw a surge
This is reflected in the
of interest in indigenous education.
number of journal articles, dissertations, books and conference
papers
dating
there
is
from
not
a
published wi thout
1984; Fafunwa,
that
much
of
this
book
a
the
concerning
chapter
1974;
on
Manuwuike,
research
conducted by African
In
period.
fact,
since
education
done
in
intellectuals
that
Sixties
has
ed~Ction
indigenous
1971).
the
Adams (1 83)
indigenou
engaged
been
(Datta,
observes
education
in the
is
process of
cul tural recuperation, a search for viable models wi thin one 1 s
own experience
~o
offer constructive alternatives
This chapter will examine
paradigms.
the nature
to imported
and aims of
traditional African education.
Any system of
ls
based
existence
1981) .
c
on
and
a
set
the
education,
be it simple
of beliefs
world
in
people
which
have
they
or sophisticated,
concerning
live
their
(Fitzgibbons,
Thus traditional African education was based\on a set
- 19 -
1
-
20 -
of beliefs the Africans had concerning their existence and the
differing environments in which they lived.
In other words, each society had its specifie goals, and
the education system was designed in such a way as. to achieve
1
them.
Aims of Indigenous Education
Q
Generally, life among the peoples in rnost of pre-colonial
. ca was dominated by fears
of various kinds
such as
those
spr1nging from the belief in the existence of a world of
spiri ts -
ultra-human forces
of
l
illness,
hostile
magic
environment
with various
and those springing from fears
and death.
which
These
fears,
often threatened
calamities such as famine,
coupled wi th the
their ,communities
floods,
wild animaIs
and sometimes hostile neighbours, made Afrtcan societies ~volve
systems of education to ensure their survtval.
.
1
Thus, traditional African education was geared to promote
unit y
and
solidarity
among
the
members, of
the
community by
lov~
ernphasising good moral conduct and fraternal
love,
the
the
that
enabled
land
indi vidual
and
to
to-.--Work
teach
wi th
practical
his
'ski11s
environment
and
not
against
of
the
it
(Okonkwo, 1985; Ocitti, 1973).
The ide a was
to develop among members of the community.
strong ties of uni ty that would enable them to stand against
any ddnger that could threaten their survival as
.f
a
co~unity
-
21 -
....
and
to have
environment
skills
tb
fruitfully
explore,
work
and
use
the
for the physical surviva1 of the individual.
In
•
pursuit of those goals the content of education was' dictated by
the
social,
.
society.
geographical
This
means
to his
r~-levant
needs
and
ecological
that
what
and
t1)ose
the
of
environments
of
individual
the
the
was
communi ty,
fueled the learner's motivation.
Principles of Traditional African Education
.
In,
~ief
•
that their survival depended on unit y and
the fruitful manipulation of the physical environment for food
and shelter,
the indigenous communities evôlved an educational
system that was anchored on the princip1es that can be termed
"communalism",
and
but
"fraternalism",
"preparationalism".
each
discussion.
had
an
These
"functionalism",
The fi ve principles
importance
that
"integration"
wer~
a
justifies
principles .reflected
the
interwoven
separate
societal
goals.
They were the basis for determining the content, method and the
curriculum of education.
COlIDDunalism
Guided
African
by
the
1èucation
principle
emphasized
of
communalism,
sharing
and
traditional
.
cooperatl.on.-
\
This
meant that the interests of the tribe were to suppress those of
the
individual
and
that
competition
was
to
be
minimized
~
~-'-"
- 22
•
(Nyerére, 1967).
As a consequence, even freedom of the indivi'--
dual had to be subordinated to the interests' of the society.
Communalism
on
bility and on the
one
level
implied
re~po.nsi­
collective
other the spirit of interdependence.
The
collective responsibility made it possible for the members of a
community to
i'ter~en&
and help each
0?per ,in'time
when any special need arose in society.
genous
societies
were
characterized
of crisis or
In other words,
by
collective
indi-
action.
Collective action was handy in those societies because of the
natur~ of their econ6ffiies.
Experience shows that in a subsis(
tence economy the individual is helpless in the face of calami ty such as flood,
famine
and drought,.
In such situations,
collective action is absolutely necessary for survival.
In his study of the Afr; can novel,
ginally written in English or French by
that is,
~ndigenous
novels oriAfricans
former British and French colonies, Okwonkwo (1985)
ïn African societies,
that
Il
al though he
bore
which he was born,
clan"
(p:
104).
from
the
he is
na me
first
found that
of _birth, a child is taught
of the
and
immediate
family
in'
foremost a child of the
This al;tD~eant that his upbringing was
'responsibility not only of
members.
the~'day
of
the
the parents but- aiso of the clan
In this perspective,
1"
Blakemore (1981) observes that
almost any adult in the village
\
could play mother or. father
roles in scolding, instructing, advising or rewarding children.
-
In
to
was
23 -
education based on the principle <;>f communalism
SUffi,
insti11
in
the
child
the
spirit, of
t
.
coqperat1on
and
-
sharing and the feeling that they will never be alone in any
eventuality.
Cooperative action in these
societies was
part
and parcel of everyday life.
Fraternalism
/
Connected with the principle tif communalism was that, of
fraterna1ism.
Indigenous education
to
developing and maintainipg viable social
relation~
particu~ar
cation among thé members of the family in
communi ty in general.
and comm
and of
This was important for tribal cohesion
and for mutual support in aIl kinds of life situations.
Thus
children were brought up in such a way as to be able t;,o feel _'
"al home" with each other and with every member of
Ocitti
, munity.
(1973)
states
that
the
children
the
among
comthe
~
Acholi are "brought up to be extroverts,
to be a social
atom
capable of entering into social atoms which made up the clan"
(p.
92).
The
Baganda
"obuntubulamu" - that is l
and
the
Basogà
of
Uganda
emphasized
"quali ties of decency and humanness" .
(Senteza-Kajubi, 1981, p. 177).
In his
novel
No Longer
at
Ease,
Chinua
Achebe
(1965,
p. 5) expressed this spirit of brotherhood in these words:
c
\
-
•
24"-
He that has a brother should
kinsman cannot be bought
brother bÇ>ught wi th money.
be savéd not blamed.
Anger
the flesh not in the bone.
ho Id him to his heart, for a
in the market, nei ther isA kinsman in trouble has to
against a brother is felt in
Love and brotherliness among the members of the corununity
was so important in pre-colonial African societies that one was
said
to
toward
be
"educated"
other
people
systems
of
awarded,
only if one
(M_anuwuike,
1971) •
education' there were
"sincê it
is
the
manifested
no
concept connected with
~ound
(1976)
Masajan
~
learner' s
action
in
---'
brotherhood
'~-
was
...
and
gentlemanliness.
societies,
dealings with
ref ined and
the fostering <?f the spirit of
that
correct
on how to do, how to speak and how to'be (p.
concerning
to
syllabus
collective
aIl members.
collective
Bakiga soclety writes:
of
basic
and
(1980,
and, good
is
the
instructional
responsibility
Tibenderana
responsibility
/'
learning
of
~uidelines
comprehensive
of
teaching
for
good behéwiour
domains
"the
framework
societies,
an
(p. 429).
important
m9st
indigenous
permeates
many
in
Being educated was
behaviour
in
•
diplomas
behaviour
member of society,
states that
'50
love
indigenous
or
and
"is human in his
cooperative as a
f1983)
110).
~rotherly
!that
capable as an indi vidual"
Adams
in
/
"educated" person was one who
other people,
Thus
certificates
society that will vouch for him" (p.
a
good behaviour
276).
dictated
p.
146),
behaviour
in
\
- 25 -
c
If a member of the family committed a crime either
against an individual belonging to a diff~reht family or
against the lineage as a whole the members of the family
would be collectively held responsible for "the crime.
And, since "good behaviour" among the Bakiga was a postulate to socio-political influence within the lineage and
the clan, ev~ry member toiled towards this goal by
restraining members from committing outrageous offenses
against the community and individual persons.
1
\
\
Ta summarize,
ihdigenous education emphasized
fraternal
love ta ensure the social well-being of the society.
With the
spirit of brotherhood,
life in the community, Manuwuike (19'1)
points out, was not a life guided by the principle of "survival
of the fittest"
spirit
of
brotherhood was often achieved in these
societies because
it
was motivated by common beliefs such as
the sacrosanctity of
the culture.
each
but of
"live
and
let
live" ...
The
Good behaviour towards others assured respect for
individual
and
"brother 1 S keeper".
promoted
fe~g·~f
the
IJ
being
one's
Hence the principle of fraternalism pro-
moted the organic unit y of the tribe.
\..~
Functionalism
As it has been pointed out above,
aimed at,
ameng other thihgs,
and the community:
indigenous education
the survival of
the-individual
This means that the individual had to learn
useful skills that would enable him te function weIl socially
~and
economically in his
stxessed
the
society.
assimilation
of
Thus,
knowledge
indigenous education
and
the
learniIlg
of
,
ski116
c
that
enabled
>,
the
individual
to
do
things
t]:1a t
were
~~
- 26 -
l'J:iJm
expected of
divi~ion
as
productive
man or
wa~
of labout
• objective of
a
a
,
woman
in
based on gender •
the
...
~f'
.l..
;
1
\
society whose
In éther words,. the
indigenous education was to transmit technicalLy
and
socially
productive
sldlls.
Traditional
education prepared the young members of the community to fully
participate in the sooio-economic and poli tical li fe of their
ccommuni t ies .
This
type
of
education
therefore,
was,
,
uti1itaridn.
Ghana,
essentially
.'
Barte ls _ (1975) observes tha t among the Akans of
the main objective of a boy's education is te train him
to acquire the capacity to work and te provide for the family.
He states:
Early in the morning of a- farming day, he ~~arries the
weed-burning brand and leads the way to the farm.
On
arrivaI, he is assigned simple tasks 1ike setting fire to
the weed heap, raking tefuse for burning and collecting
faggots for the home kitchen. Another job which he often
has to do is scaring btrds away from maize-crop. (p. 49)
,
It
should
be
pointed
out
that
the
skills
that
were
learned in eacp society were largely dictated by the nature of
the
environment.
For
example,
in a
predominantly
pastoral
community such as 'that of the Masai of Kenya or the Karamojong
of
OUganda,
cattle.
~much
of
the
training
centered
herding
Among the hunters, such as the Mbuti 0f the Congo,
training centered ë!round trapping animaIs.
•
around
the
Arnong the coastal
',.
,
.
- 27 -
•
.
(
people or lithe islanders,
make nets,
the children leal:lned to" fish
and to
fish traps and canGes (Shorte't, 1974).
--
~
'
In the
f\.~rning
of pract\'cal' skills there was no motiva-
tion
necessary
because
the
learners
were
aware
of
their
immediate utility, and this was a motivation in itself.
In
a
nutshell,
the principle
of
functional ism
implied
that education was not for ornament or design or knowledge for
)
knowledge's sake, but for use.
In other words,
id indigenous
education the individual learned what was relevant to his needs
and those of the society.
individual
The knowledge \hd the
learned enabled' him to function weIL
skills
the
socially and
economically and to adjust to the physical envLronment of his
•
soc1ety.
1
Integration
, .
By the principle of "integration" or inte9rated learning,
the Africa_n child ,was supposed té be "a jack& of aIL trades oÎ.
Learning in ,African society was not compartmentalized.
young chi Id,
for
et~le,
learned aiso the t
it would face and why,
\Vhen a
was learning how to build a house, he
of grass__~e
etc~
~oUl~se
to thatch it, where
Ugundijo (yb70)
iltustrates inte-
.
grated learning when he describes how children were trained in
agriculture in the Ejigbo district Qf Nigeria:
The geographical condition in Ejigbo favoured the growth
<;>f the following crops: yam, cassava, beans, melon and
c
-
28
pepper.
There were, however, s
e forest area& where
experimental
cocoa
fanns
and
kola-nut
plots
were
attempted.
It is curious enough
know how the children
were taught different types of S01
for planting their
seeds.
In the first place, children were taught how to
discriminate between fertile and non-fertile soil.
At
the same time the soil that was declared unsuitable for
one type of crop was also declared good for another type
of crop.
In the second place the children were shown how
sui table or unsui table the land was by dipping the cutlass into the soil. If during the course of dipping the
cutlass into the soil it touched sorne stones, irmnediate
verdict was given that such type of soil would never be:
suitable for deep rooted crops.
If it was porous, then
it was suitable for groundnuts and aIl other creeping
crops such as melon, beans, and gourds
(quoted in
Fafunwa, 1973, p. 74).
This
long quotation adequately describes what
ciple of
integration was aIl about and what
achieve.
In a learning situation,
the same ,time was exposed to the
ently,
skill
in
African
pedagogy,
when
domains
of
knowledge.
it was
meant
to
all that could be learned at
learner.
To put
lèarning about
or operation, one learns at the
from 'other
the prin-
s~me
This
it differa
concrete
time other things
i9
to
say
tha t
in
African education aH aspects of human knowledge were not compartmentalized for, instruction
purposes.
--
In fact they were so
intertwined
say
learning a
that
the
~ifferent
In short,
individual
cannot
whether
he
is
subject at a different time.
the principle of
integration was a
rnethod
to
learn various skills at any given learning opportqnity.
Preparationalism
Guid~d
o
by the. principle of preparationalism,
indigenous
-
c
\
emPhasize~
education
'the
29 -
instilling
of
knowledge
and
the
imparting of practic~l skills that were to enable the children
to successfully
assumà~their
roles as adults in the community.
ind~genous ~-cieties
In
')
records,
the
where
.1
eIders Wjere respected
there
were
no
as educators because they
were the IIwell-stocked libraries" of the community.
another way,
the
eld rs
they were supposed to
On
the
were
respected be.cause
basis
of li ving of
for
participate,
ceremonies,
of
the
the
principle
traditional
toward
endurance
rites
hygiene
eIders
was
tests
in
funerals
initiation
where
it
of the wisdom
-and
sex
which
,
that as
the
adul ts they wou Id
different
and
individuals
correct
degrees
had
and
_Ile societies
instruction
in
varying
rituals
In
practiced,
life
The
the
preparationalism,
and marriages.
were
given.
of
the youngsters to experience aIl
society so
example,
such as
To put
a',p(> (Ocitti, 1973).
attempts were made to enable
forms
written
behaviour
of
to
in
physical
undergo
at
initiation were designed to strengthen them at times of crises
in their lives (Read, 1965).
The learning experiences
varied.
However,
African
societies
defined.
they were not the
the
Therefore,
roles
c
tribe,
it
was
of
learning
outlined according to seXe
Ganda
of the
not
men
young were numerous and
same for both sexes.
and
wornen
experiences
were
were
c learly
generally
For example, in my own tribe,
admissible
for
a
boy
to
In
enter
the
the
-
•
kitchen .....hen
food
was being
30 -
prepared
and
slaughter a chicken - that was a boy,' s
job.
To summarize,
a
girl could nevew
it can be said that the principle of pre-.J
parationalism was the major guideline in indigenous educatLonal
This
process.
principle
principles.
Whatever
fun,::tion was
to prepare
adults.
encompasses
was
done
the
in
young
a11
the
abov~-mentioned
education,
for
their
its
future
principal
roles
as
Conseguently, the content or curriculum of indigenous
education accorded the individual with the knowledge and skills
necessary
for
economically,
In
the
living
a
comfortable
life,
both
socially
and
in his society.
other
individual
words,
for
t:radi tional African
the
dangers
and
education
challenges
prepared
he would
en-
counter in life and offered him the confidence and strength to
confront those dangers.
This was achieved by emphasizing fra-
ternalism, sharing and cooperation or communalism
a~d
p~actical
skills in the education process.
Indigenous education, as is evident from the above principles of cornmunaLi.sm, fraternalism, integration,
,.'lI
and prepara tionalism,
had
a
specifie, goal,
a
functional ism
ocurriculum,
as
weIl as a methodology.
Methods of Traditional African Education
The traditional
centered.
That
is,'
met~ods
in
a11
of education were mostly student
learning
situations,
it
was
the
"
- 31 -
c
learner who occupied the central place.
Insti tut
de
Pédagogie,
Recherche
The researchers of the
d' Expérimentation
University of Abidjan,
et d' Enseignement
Ivory Coast,
in i ndigenous methodology, the rapport between
the
teacher was
corded
personalized
sufficient
Coulibay,
time
1985:, pp.
to
and
that
master
a
Moumouni
277-278).
the
new
have found that
the learner
learners
skill
(1968)
en
were
(Adams
found
and
acand
four main
characteristlcs of traditional education in Africa namely:
1.
The great importance which is at tached
to i t
1
1
and
i ts
collective and social nature.
2.
Its intimate
tie with social life,
both in
material
and spiritual sense.
3.
Its multivalent character,
both in terms of its goals
and the means employed.
4.
Its graduaI and progressive achievemen ts, in conformity with the successive stages of physical, emotional
and
ment~
development of the child (p.
1
15).
~
The fourth characteristic indicates that indigenous pedagogy focused on the learner.
In
traditional
pates in the
individual
African
real social
learns
is
;
education,
activity.
acquired
artificial training situations.
in
the
learner
part,ici-
1
That is, much of what the
.
real life as opposed to
In other words,
the individual
(
,
•
.learns
by
participating
in
work,
ceremonies,
games,
imitation and by observing (Ayisi, 1972: Sifuna,
(1975)
1975).
by
Sifuna
observes that among the Luhya and Luo of Kenya,
little
girls plait baskets of grass and grind corn like their mothers
do.
Boys play the role of husband
and <ehave in the same way
as their fa thers do in their respective homes.
Ogundijo (1974) relates how in one Nigerian ethnic group
the children were
instruJed
where to set fire to a bush.
through observation how
to know
.'
He wri tes:
It was very easy to clear the ground because of the
geographica1
location of the area in the savannah.
Invariably fire was used to clear the ground.
But the
most interesting thing about this was that scienti fic
method, though crude,
was used.
For instance, the
children were instructed to pick up a leaf ana hold it
straight up into the air.
When the leaf either bowed
forward OL backward,
cornmon sense dictated
to the
children at once where to set fire to the bush {ci ted in
Fafunwa, 1973, p. 75).0
Besides
observation,
Listening
.
learning
by
children learned
was
important
in
participation,
by at tenti ve
learning,
imitation
and
listening as well.
sJnce
much
of
the
J
knowledge was transmitted by word of. mouth.
was the most conunon means of
illiterate societies.
Oral li terature
transmitting knowledge ;in those
Through the myths,
the children learned
the origins àf their tribes; through pl"overbs they learned the
society' s moral values;
and through
the 1egends
and folksongs
c,
-
c
33 -
they learned the history of their tribes.
their critical and quick thinking (Simiyu,
Forde,
Riddles stimulated
)
1975;
Ocitti,
1973;
1975).
The oral transmission of knowledge wa's important in these
1;
societies,
where
nothing
was
valorizing the spoken word and
language,
recorded
the
in
writing.
thorough
Besides
1
learnlng
oral t,ransmission of knowledge deve10ped
t~
of
the
memory
of the learner, which was important for the continuation of the
society' s cul ture.
These people in turn had to transmit their
culture and traditions to the next generation.
The methodology of indigenous education is characterized
by practicâbility~nd concreteness.
of
These two characteristics
traditional African educationa1 methods
Kenyatta
of the
are
underlined by
(1938) when he compares the Gikuyu methods wi th those
~iestern
sys):.em:
Whereas in Europe and America schools provi~e.courses in
moral instruction of citizenship, the Africau is taught
how to behave to father or mother or grandparent.
Where-~as Eu·ropean schools in Africa provide training in woodwork, nature study and animal husbandry, much of what is
taught_py general class instruction, the tribal method is
to teach the names of particular plants, the use of different trees, the manage}uent of a particular herd of
sheep or goats or
cattle (quoted in Cast1e,
1966,
p·1 120 ).
Indigenous education indicates children 1earned formally
or informally or a mixture of both.
in
c
actual
life
situations
such~
Learning took place mostly
as
participating
in
work,
-
34 -
Learning was practical and conc~te, as
ceremonies and dance.
opposed to being abstract or theoretical.
Conclusion
This description and analysis of traditional African edu-
ca~n
shows that its methodology and content was designed... to
1
adhieve the society's goals which were community and individual
1
survival. , Traditional education was
the communi ty
as an autonomous
and
the means of preserving
viable \enti ty and of as-"
its continuation in the future.
s~ing
,
To attain its aims,
indigenous education emphasized moral
\
codes and functional skills and used rnethods that were Îpractical and concrete.
The whole proce.ss of educating children was
based on the principles of communalism, functionalism,
.
nalism,
~mplied
integratiop
and
preparationalism.
the philosophy of
those societies,
These
which
frater-
principles
can be
sum-
marized as "live and let live" as opposed to "surv ival of the
fittest".
-
Based on those principles,
indigenous E;Lducation was
able to achieve its aims.
-
The content or curriculum of th'is education stemmed from
the social and geographical environment of the \society (Datta 1
"
This means that what the individual' learned was
1984, p.
3.).
re 1 e van t
to h is
1
-
need sand
thos e
fueh.d the learner' s motivation.
of
the _ communi t y,
and
thi s
-
(
In indigenous
35 -
soc~eties,
c
education of children was car-
ried out by every member of the communi ty,
ways and to varying degrees.
was aware of his
though in
various
But every member of the cornmunity
responsibili ty in
the
socialization
of
the
This co-rêsponsibility in education contributed to the
child.
bringing up of children who fit into the society.
Searching indigenous
e~ucation
for elements that can en-
hance an educational system in a developing country is
not to
advocate a return to the past but rather an attempt to link the
past wi th the present.
Cast1e
(1966)
comments on the possible
relevance of traditional African education to the present educaiion system in Africa.
(
He writes:
With aIl its serious blemishes we have to recognize that
African education was a real educ'ation which seems to
have achieved its limited objectives.
It was intrinsically conservative, as it was intended to be, for it
constituted bath the armour and the l, defensive weapon of a
static society in which conformity was the prime virtue.
But it would be foolish and dangerou-s to regard it aS
quite irrelevant to the needs of the present, to be cast
off as an ill-fitting garment of paganisme 'We cannat
dismiss achievements of ,the past in this way, partly
because the past has a way of asserting its values in the
present and also beçapse there w'ere elements of real
value in customary education (p. 44).-
•
..
-
Traditional African education, by emphasing good manners,
hospitality,
cooperation,
practical skills,
learning in
contact with nature and preparation for duties in, adult
,
attained
its objective.
cational
systems in
It therefore challenges today' s
Africa which have _failed to
needs of the African developîng countries.
close
life, ,e'tlu-
realize the
And this is because
>
,
.
<,
,Il
",
.P
l' (
)
','f
J,
,IJ., j) ". _n;"
'1" , ,l! '
'
- -
- 36 -
•
.>
J
"/
each levei of education is not complete
education in
itself,
but geared to supplement another stage of education.
The correspondence between a traditional society and its
system of education, is illustrated in Table 1.
~.
o
", "
- 37 -,
•
TABLE I
.,
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN A TRADITIONAL SOCIETY AND ITS SYSTEM OF
EDUCATION'
CORRESPONDING FEATURES OF ITS
EDUCATlONAL SUS-SYSTEM
ASPECTS OF TRADITIONAL
SOCIAL SYSTEf1
1. Limited specialization and
division of labour.
No separate functionai
category of teachers.
2. Technological backwardness
together with limited
specialization.
Relative absence of
specialized instruction.
3. Little economic surplus
due to the absence of a
developed productive
technique.
Difficu~ty
of maintaining
special service categories
(like'the hair-dresser, the
accountant, the interior
decorator, the architect, the
chef, the waiter, and more
relevantly for our present
purposes, the teacher of
general education) since such
occupational categories can
only exist in a society in
which there is an economic
surplus.
"
4. Greater prevalence of
infdrmal, face-to-fàce
relationships.
A heavier stress on informaI
education.
5. A limited store of
knowledge to transmit.
No separate schooling perion'
set apart.
6. Greater prevalence of
informaI, face-to-face
relationships and a low
-level of scientific
knowledge.
Absence of generalizations,
that is, a heavier emphasis
on relating instruction to
specifie contexts.
7. Absence of a \.,rritten
language.
,-
Education provided through
oral communication.
8. A well-integrated society
i-n which relation and
ethics were inextricably
bound with social life.
Education tended to attach
major importance to religious
and moral instruction.
9~
The conservative function of
e~~cation (at the expense of
its innovative functi'on) was
underlined with the result
that there was hardly any
scope for rational
e'xperimentation.
Traditions were regarded
as sanctified.
,--~.
Source: Datta
1\.,
1984, p. 15.
- 38 -
Table
II
shows
the
educational
development
among
the
This development app.lies to most
..
African pre-colonial
societies~
TABLE II
SYNOPTIC
CHART OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
AMONG THE TALLENSI OF NORTHERN GHANA
BOYS
Economie Duties and Activities
3 - 6 years
Play
.
None at first. Towards end
of this period begins to
assist in pegging out goats~
scaring birds from newIy sown
fields and crops; accompanies
family sowing and harvesting
parties; uses hoe in ~uasi~
play to grean ground-nuts in
company of oider siblings.
Exuberant m.otor and exploratory play. Us~s mimetic
(bow, drum, etc.) in
egocentric play. Towards end
of p~riod~ social and
imaginative play with
IIcattle and "house building
ofte~ company of older
children of either sex, as
weIl as recreational games
and dancing.
ll
ll
6 - 9 years
Imaginative IIcattle" and
Duties now fully estaIIhouse building play common,
blished.
Helps in housebuilding by carrying swish.
the latter often reflecting
- current economic actiVity of
Assists in sowing and harvesting.
Towards end of
adults. practice with QOw
period begins to go out with
and arrow i,n markmanship,
competitions and "hunting
herd-boys and to care for
with groups of comrades
poultry.
begin. Recreational games
and dancing established.
1-1odelling clay figures and
plaiting begin. Ritual play
begins.
ll
ll
Source:
Datta, A., 1984, pp. 4-5.
....
o
.
,
.' \ TABLE II ('continued)
BOYS
Economie Duties and Activities
Play
"'
9 - 12, years
Fully responsible cattleherding, care of poultry.
Assists parents in hoeing and
care of crops, but without
responsibility.
Farrning own
" small plots and ground-nuts,
but in quasi-play. Sons of
specialist craftsmen assist
fathers in subsidiary
capacity "lea-rning by
,"
look~ng" •
Further development of
forms of ,~lay,
especially of ritual play.
Clay modelling and plaiting
established.
Recreational
garnes and dancing more
skillful. Quasi-play
farming.
pred~cting
Sexual dichotomy in work and play established
12 - 15 years
Duties as in preceding period
but more responsibility.
Responsible care of poultry,
sometimes own property.
Leaders of herd-boys.
Rea~
farming of own plots anà in ~
co-operation with o~~er
members of family established
by end of periode
Sons of
specialists experimentally
making things.
Imaginative play abandoned.
Dancing the principal
recreation. Ritual play
abandoned. Plaiting for
personal decoration mainIy~
Regular II s \'1eet-hearting ll commences.
GIRLS
Economie Duties and Activities
3 - 6 years
aone at first. Towards end
of period the same duties as
small boys. Frequent nursing
of infants. Accompanies
mother to water-hole and
begins to carry tiny waterpots. Helps in simple
domestic tasks such as
sweeping. -
c
f -'.---
/
Play
..,-
Exuberant motor and exploratory play. Attached to oider.
sisters and.drawn into their
"housekeeping" play. Towards
end of period begins to take
active social part in the
latter and begins recreational play and dancing. Of/en
found in mixed sex groups.
40
•
TABLE II (cont~a?
GI~LS
;
Economie Duties and Activities
,
-
6 - 9 years
Duties of previous period
established. Responsible
cooperation in water-carrying
and simpler domestic duties.
Helps in cooking and in
activities associated with
food preparation, such as
se~ching for wild edible
herbs. Accompa~ies family
parties in sowing and
harvesting, giving quasi-play
help. Carries swish at
building operations -and
a~sists women in plaste ring
and floor beating, but still
with a play element.
9 - 12 years
All domestic duties can be
entrus ted to them by the end
of this period: watercarry ing, cooking, care of
infants, etc. Assists in
building and plastering,
etc. more responsibly. Often
sent to market to buy and
selle Helps in women' s, part
~of the wo:-k at sowing and
~narves t
t~me.
~_
-~
Play
"tIousekeeping" play usuai.
Recreational play and dancing
established. Begins to Iearn
plaiting. Participates in
"puilding" play of boys,
mimicking current women's
activities, e.g. plastering.
"Housekeeping" play
continues, gradually,fading
out at the end of the
periode Dancing .becomes "
principal recreation.
Plaiting both for decoration
and use established. Begins
to have sweet-h~arts but not
with'sérlous intente
Sexual dichotomy in work and play established
12 - 15 years
Respbnsible pa~t in aIl
domestic duties of everyday
life, and of those associated
with ce~monial occasions.
Goes for firewood and
collects shea-fruits in the
bush and helps prepare shea
butter. Ma.rriage.a very near
prospect "
o
Source:
,
Dat ta, 1984, pp. 4-5.
"
-
Imaginative play abandoned.
Dancing the main recreation.,
CQurtship and hetero-sexual
interests occupy a great deal
of time and attention.
Actively participates in' the
social side of funeral
ceremonies, etc. in the role
of marriageable girls.
,
.-
CHAPTER III
\iESTERN EDUCATION IN AFRICA
This chapter gi ves an overview of colonial
education in
Africa and discusses the present western-oriented education in
"
Uganda.
Background
The 'majori ty of African countries
come
into
contact
with
western
south of
education
the
mostly
Sahara
through
j
European missionaries 1
traders and colonial powers.
Although
many European countries colonized Africa at one periOtt- in history 1
it was mostly
the British,
the
French al).d
educational systems that left a permanent
m~rk
the, Belgian
on the systems
of most African qQuntries.
Missionary Educational Activities
'The
p~oneers
of formal education or
school~ng
in Africa
had a clear understanding of the type Qf education they were to
<•
impart to
the A~ricans.
that man was corrupt and
c·
The Christian missionaries believed
'50
was the .society in which he lived.
- 41 -
.
.'
'
";
/
1
- 42 -
•
For them the ultimate objective of
repentance.
This meant,
educat~on
was conversion and
in practical terms,
preaching to the
Africans the gospel of Jesus Christ and changing their customs,
attitudes and values that were not concordant with tho,se of the
Christian· faith.
The missionaries started to teach basic literacy with the
objective that ," their converts to the
read the Bible.
converts
to
Alameyehu
read was
faith
rnight
be able to
(1984) states that teaching the new
important
because,
as
he
puts
it,
lia
1iterate congregation could learn the Bible faster and participate
in
religious. activities
with
more
enthusiasm
than
an
,
illiterate one" (p. 10).
The
because
they
needed
Consequently,
ties.
write
,
missionaries
served
as
provided
helpers
most
in
educational
thei~
facilities
evangelization a
of the converts who could read and
interpreters,
assistant
teachers
and
cate-
chists.
The rnissionary activity in Uganda may be considered to'have started with Stânley's dispatch of November 15, 1875, to
',London' s Daily Telegraph, part of -which reads as follows:
is
tilt
the pra_çtical Christian tutor who can teach people how to
become Christians,
cure their diseases,
construct
d~~ellings,
understand and exemplify agriculture, and turn his hand like a
sailor - that is the man who is wanted"
(~canlon,
1964, p. 8).
Frotestant missionaries arrived in Uganda in 1877 followed two
o
.,
- 43 -
~ears
arrival,
the missionaries instituted reading
Generally,
the efforts of the churches
However,
both British and Belgian colonies.
in
French
dependencies,
due
centers wherever
activit~s.
they settled for their evangelization
case
IlMIediately after their
later by Catholic missionaries.
to
the
were
welcome
in
this was not the
historical
ci rcum-
stances of those countries.
ln England,
the
Education 'Act of
1870
established
came to be known as "D'tlal Control"
in education.
the
as
British
Government
recognized
partners
By this
the
what
act
voluntary
agencies - that is, for the most part, the Christian Churches in
the provision
territories,
of
elementary education.
the initiatives
Thus
in Br.i tish
of the Churches to provide educa-
tion were encouraged and supported by the British administration.
In
fact,
by
a
system known
British administrations
voluntary agencies.
" gran ts-in-aid",
as
financially helped the
schools of
the
the_
But the' system was also a device used by
the colonial adminstration to control educational standards in
those schools (Scanlon,
195~).
1964; Masan,
"
The British were more interésted in keeping law and arder
in their colonies.
This explains,
establishment of schools
for the mos t
part,
why the
in their territories was almost
,tirely the work of voluntary
agencies,
the majority
en-
of which
"
were the Christian Churches.
after
c
the Phelps-Stokes
In Uganda,
Commission' s
for example,
it was
criticism of the Uganda
-
Administration 1 S
neglect to
44 -
take an active part in
education
"
that a departraent bf education was created in .1925.
However,
by their policy 'of indirect rule, British administrators would
establish
schools
for
the
sons
of
chiefs
if
there
were
no
schools for them (Morrison, 1975).
The Belgian colonies gave the churches, both Catholic and
\
Protestant,
their
However,
tional efforts.
leged than
blessing
Belgium and
the
schools were
of 1906,
schools served as
in
the agreement
the
educa-
1
between the
King
of
But both Catholic and Protestant
by
the
government
It was
the colonial period.
churches
receiving financial help because
Roly See.
recognized
the
the Catholic Church was more privi-
the Protestant in
of the Concordat
governrnent
to maximize
Congo
government.
schools in
only
opened
In
those
the Congo thrôughout
in 1955 that
its
fact,
first
the
colonial
secular
school
(George, 1966: Yates, 1976).
)'-
While missionary educational activities were welcomed and
encouraged in both British and Belgian colonies,
the French
administration was
to restrict
them.
the policy of
The French
't!'ere the least enthusiastic colonial autl;frities in regard
to
supporting missionary education ,in Africa.
The Law of Separation enacted
nection between
tion.
As
the Church and State
a' result,
missionary educational
it
was
and
government
activiti~~.
(
o
in 1904 severed
the con-
secularized
policy
to
educa-
re~trict
In French West Africa,
for
.
.
,
\
- 45 -
c
example,
the
Administration
would
establish
its
own
schools
\
where there were missionary schools already in
pursuit
of
its
policy
to
restrict
existence.
In
schools,
the
missionary
French administration in West Africa refused to grant permission for the establishment of sChoo,ls by ,the Churches even in
school~
areas where
did not exist (Asiwaju, 1975).
Aims of Colonial Education
Close examination of the education policy and p,ractice of
the colonial
powers
reveals that the colontalists were guided
by their belief that they had a dut Y of bringing the backward
people
under
through
their
education.
,-
rule
But
to
a
higher
levei
of
civi lization
they did not t"i'tink 'tha t
need to hurry up the exercise.
Consequent:y,
there was
a
they were often
\
•
slow in providing
educat~on'
showed
it
interest,
was
!
for the African people.
generally
administrative and cultural reasons.
for
J;'oli tica l,
When they
economic,
The French colonial edu-
cational objectives, as they were succinctly spelled out by the
Governor
General of French West Africa adequately illustrate
the point.
He said:
The duties of colonialism and poli tical and economic
necessi ties have imposed a twofold .task on our work in
education.
On one hand, we must train indigenous cadres
-to become our auxiliaries in every area and assure ourselves of a meticulously chosen elite.
We must also
educate the masses, to bring them closer to us and transform their way of l~ving.
From the political standpoint
we must make known to the people our \ intention of
bringing them into' the French way of life.
From the
(
- 46 -
•
economic viewpoint 'Ile must train the producers of tomorrow (Moumouni, l~68, pp. 492-430).
The French, the English and the Belgian colonial policies
are often referred to by the literature as assimilative,
tative
a~ paternalistic,
always
50.
For
respectively.
example,
schooling in inter-war
in
Fren~h
his
But
study
West Africa,
they
of' the
Kelly
adap-
were
not
effect
(1986)
of
found
that education alienated African students from their communi-
,
ties without integrating them into the French community.
Higher Education
There
were
similarities
between
the
French
Br i tish policies concerning higher education
The
people.
two colonial
administrative and trade
had no control over
ment,
educated
pu~poses.
a
small eli te
0'
increase
school
establish-
monitored.
the
elite
in
French
stu-
schools were limited to the
jobs that were available.
of
for
But unlike the British, who
the limitation of high
admitted to those
the
for the cOlonial
the French built a smaller number of them and the
dents who were
number
powers
and
This is to say that the
territories
1
'lias
'carefully
Crowder (1968, p. 383) remarked:
The French absorbed a
their colonial system.
carefully controlled elite into
~Vhi le the British frustrated an
- 47 -
c
elite ovér whose growth they had. no control sin je
education system was indirectly administered by it.
the
While the British and ·French educated a small elite for
administrative and trade purposes in addition to educating the
masses,
the Belgians and thê Portuguese colonialists provided
only elementary education which was essentially practial.
education was provided on as wide a base as possibl~.
Belgian
and
Portuguese
colonialists
it
was
only
This
For the
after
the
majority of children had received an elementary education that
post-primary(s~hooling would take place (Thompson,
1981).
The Impact of the Phelps-Stokes Commissions
The
powers
educational
in Africa,
that they were
missions
policies
there
pow~rfully
was
an
a
more
experiences
of
..
British,
colonial
indicate
The two commissions were instituted
r~jection
practice-oriented
colonial
the
the
of
influenced by the Phelps-Stoke,s Com-
"increasing
circles at the Africans'
provide
practice
especially those of
(1920-21: 1924).
bE!cause
and
disappointment
in
mission
of the Churches' attempts ta
ed~cation
administration
and
that
the
growing
western-trained
African elite demanded more political rights to determine their
.affairs" (Bude, 1983, p. 34l).
The
systems
,
commissions
in
Africa
adapted to the
which
evaluated
recornmended
needs
that
the
education
of the people and
c
,
,
colonial
that
in
education
Africa
be
it be cQmpletely
- 48 -
•
oriented 1:.oward
family-
It wal;lis
and communi ty li fe.
)
\el~eved'\
...
that adapting education for Black Africa would "dimi'nish self-,
ish
individual competitiveness based on an unrelated book-ish
system, and instead defelop the' community.as a whole by irnproving the genéral standard of living of the population through a
"-
cornmunity-oriented school system'· (Bude, 1983, -p. 341).
In England,
S~cretary
after
the
publication
of the
reports,
the
of State for the colonies appointed an Advisory Com-
mittee on Native Education in Tropical Africa.
The committee,
which was later known as the Advisory Committee on Education,
was
to· shape
British
educational
policies
for
t1)e
colonies
until independence (Lewis, 1964).
In 1925,
the committee issued a memorandum:
~olicy in British Tropical Africa.
)
according to Lewis
(1964)
This
Edue~tional
mernorandum which,
"represents the foundation stone of
educational effort inf British Tropical dependencies"
(p.
24)
recommended, among other things:
Educ~~ion
should be adapteiL--t.o -the mental i ty, aptitudes
and traditions of th~~arîous peoples, conserving as far
as possible aIl sound and heaTthy elements in the fabric
of their social life, adapting them where necessary to
changed circumstances and progressive ideas as an agent
of naj:.ional growth and -evolution (quoted in Thompson,
1982, p. 36).
Another
Committee
in
impo~tant
t
1935.
memorandum
The
Educatidn
was
of
issued
African
,
.0
by
the
sarne
t
Communities
,
- 49
c'
suggested the teaching of agricuJture,
the schools.
health and hygiene
in
Concerning adult education, ~e merno~andum stated
the fol1owing:
The progress of a backward community will be greater and
more rapid if the education of the adults is taken in
hand simultaneously with that of the young ••. efforts to
educate the young are often largely wasted unless a
simultaneous effort is made to improve the life of the
community as a whote (quoted in Thomp~on, 1981, p. 37).
The adaptationist concept,
Stokes
Commissions
and echoed
as
in
advocated by
th~
visory
-- ideas.
teache1)'
dissemin~te
to
At Mçlangali
Phe1ps-
Btritish memoranda,
experimented in Many British African colonies.
the Jeanes schools were established
the
For instance,
in Kenya. to
train super-
community-oriented
(Tanzania) and at Omu
was
curriculum
(Nigeria),
schools
were built and organized on tribaf lines and the curriculum was
organized to relate to local community traditions.
How~ver,
these
attewpts
were
not
successful
part1y
because of a shortage 'of qualified teachers and partly because
the Africans
overtones.
rejected
"adapt.ative
education;'
for
its
racial
Most Africans considered adaptative education as an
attempt to keep them in an
inferior position as
compared t.o
that of the colonial Europeans (Raju, 1973; Wilson, 1964; Bude,
1983) •
,
Blacks
c
Objection
in
the
to
,that
U.S.A. 'who
type of
had
education also
an -interest
io the
came
from
poiitical
)
:;.
,~
J_
j
""
- 50
eman~ipation
of
the
Blacks
in
both
the
United
States
and
Africa, and "who hoped that this could b'e aohieved bY_JIle_ans of
an academic training for a sufficient number of weIl qualified
leaders Who could face the Whi tes on an equal footing"
(Bude,
1983, p. 352).
Another obstacle against the success of adaptative education
lay,
itself.
was
According to him,
that
terms,
according to Aberneth
it
analyzed
failing
to
(1969,
p.
90)
in the t.heory
the inherent hurdle of the theory
African
society
appreciate
the
in
relatively
revolutibnary
static
-
impact
of
British rule,
the creation of the new high-paying" jobs within
the
bureaucra'cy,
colonial
British
presence
on
the
African
demonstration
aspirations
effect
and
the
of
the
increased
importance.of 'ities in the ri se of nëw economic interests.
The overview of colonial education policies and practices
.,~how
that the schools in Africa during
the
colonial period,
regardless of the motive force behind' their establishment -c-_ be
they bureaucratic power
evangelical purposes
-
exploitation of the resources or
w
e
set up to profit the colonizing
powers but not the Afric
exposure
~o
The
irony
is
that
because of
democratic ideals these same schools prepared the
Africans who later waged the
w~r
against colonialism and put an
end to it in most parts of Africa.
. -<:al
51
Ug~nda's
Present Western-oriented Education System
\
Background
Uganda
is
a
former British protectorate which
its independence in 1962.
in the east by- Kenya,
attained
It is a land-1ocked country bounded
in the south by' Tanzania and Ruanda,
the west 'by Zaire and in the north by Sudan.
try lies astride the Equator,
in
Though the coun-
its high altitude tempers what
would otherwi'se be debilitating tropical temperatures.
The census of 1979 put the population of Uganda at around
12.8 million,
of which 90% live in rural areas.
is esti-
It
mated that 50% of Ugandans are under 20 years of age.
that
mos~
sistence
Ugandans live in rural areas
economy,
and
20 years of age has a
that
half
far-reaching
~~
the
The fact
an agricultural subpopulàtion
is
under
implication for ed4cation
and other social services.
Western Education in Uganda
Education--in Uganda,
as
in most former British African
colonies south of the Sahara, was introduced and developed by
Christian missionaries who arri ved in the country in the Iate
Eighteenth century.
'Alexander
r1~ckay
According to sources cited by Ker
of the Church Missionary
~ociety
(1972),
(C.M. S.) i8
sa id to have been the first to start formaI education in Uganda
in his workshop at Mengo.
c
'.
-
•
52 -
As it was p6inted out earlier,
the educat.ïon that deve-
loped in Uganda was one fit for the nobility._"" It was therefore
" to this day.
academic and remains so
The history
shows
that
of the
it was
the
development
growth
of
of the
education in
UgÇlnda
economy in the
1940
1
S,
resulting in a demand for educated personnel to work as c1erks,
interpreters
and
civil
~hat
servants,
popularized education.
It was therefore the availability of salaried jobs that amplified the demand
for
academic
(Ka~ozi,
education
1977;
Ocaya.-.
--
Lakidi and Mazrui, 1975).
The colonial
'ducing
practjcal
conflict
oVJ~r
among
tried
to
subjects
the
educational
emphasising:
state,' s
in
missions
policy.
academic
reduce
need to adapt educp.tion by intro-
aid
èfie
and
The
agricul tural
now,
is both that and a
employers.
colonial
brought
about
administration
a
curriculum
administration
mission
schools
in
stressed vocational , tec1mical
The
career needs of the'ir students".
dents"
pursued
academic-oriented
education.
observes that then as
colonial
The
order to promote schools which
and
the
missions
subjects.
to
curriculum
the
purpose
was
Il
to
meet
But Jorgensen (1980,
phrase
euphemism
"career needs
for
the
p. 164)
of stu-
the labour needs of
The Africans allied themselves with the-missions in
the dispute and rejected technical education.
TOdày the major-
ity of pl'pils prefer academic schools to technical, commercial
~
or agricultural schools.
o
.
"
'.
- 53 -
c
Thus,
the historical circumstances
that
surrounded the'
,
provisj..on of education in Uganda made it academic in 'natu.re.
~e
Educational System of Uganda
The basic
patte~n
of education in Uganda before indepen-
dence in 1962 was primary school
school (two years),
(six years),
j~ior
and senior secondary school
secondary
(four years).
After the four ,years of senior secondary school, students couid
enter higher' secondary school for two years.
These two years
were the immediate preparation for entry into university, which
1
was
the
1
apex
of the
education
the'~Ugandan
Ind.ependence -in 1962,
in Uganda.
structure
After
education structure underwent
sorne changes, but it is si.(lll based on the British pattern and
consists of seven years of
years
of
secondary
'~imary
education
senior secondary education
education
level)
("0"
("Ali
level
follo-:'e~
and
two
or HSC).
, uni versi ty courses last three to, fi ve years.
by
four
years
of
The regular
Table II l
shows
the strudture of formaI education in Uganda.
In
1985
secondary
schools,
institutes.
enrolment
there
were
30
over
t.echnical
6,000
primary
schools
and
schools~
24
in
primary
schools
stood
at
2.1
,
500
technical
In the recent Developing Plan it is, stated
million
that
pupils.
(
Concerning ,the
Government
c'r
growth
observes
of
enro1ment in
that the growth of
pr.i,mary
schools". the
enrolment
(
in primary
- 54 -
schools
is
hampe~ed
by
a
shortage
of
school
places,
high
,
repeater "rates and high dropout rates._
1984
stood
at
15%
whi1e
dropout
The repeater- rates in
rate
was
5%
(Republic
of
Uganda, 1987, p. 288).
Uganda 1 s' system of education,
as -in- -many former British
colonies, is based Orl examinations which serve as a selectionmechanism for' entry to the next educational level.
_ Leaving Exam_ination (PLE)
ordinary
( "0 Il)
secondary four,
level
is
given at the end of primary
examinations
and advanced
end of .. t.wo years 'of higher
The Primary
(liA")
senior
are
taken
at
the
end
7,
Q.,f "
level examinations at
the
secondary education.
The
examinations at the secondary, and tertiary" levels of education
used
to .be
prepared
and marked in
This
Bri tain.
shows
the
post-~~lonial influence on educlation in Uganda 'even though the
examinations
are
now
As : regards
'Uganda.
,
prepared,
the
observatiop has bè~n made:
the
most
important
administered
Primary- Leaving
and _graded
in
Examination, ,this
the Primary Leav~_~g Examination is
barrier
in
the
educational
system;
it__
-
strictly controls entry to secondary schools which have only a'
smail ,eercentage of th~ number of pl aces in primary schools'~
-.(CODE,
1981,
p. 19) . . Table III shows the structure of educa-
tion in Uganda.
In
Uganda
the
curriculum
inherited
from
the
colonia-l
period is centralized and emphasizes the acqui'sition of knowledge for
t~e
purpose of passing
ex~minations.
55
TABLE III
STRUCTURE OF FORMAL
EDU~TX~
2ad LEVEL
'rd LEVEL
•
lat
\
uua.
TECRH1CAL
SCROOL
TECH I"ST
U T C
__ ,
, --{il-[i]
N TC
{iJ-Lu .1 il
---------------------.,
P
III
MA
Il'
U
cc
·GJ··-{!J--Œ
U.Uvt:llnl,r
-GJ--Q--f]--@'
1_ _ _ _ _ _- - - - - -
c
(1)
(2)
0)
Prt.. r7 Le•• tA~ E••• ID.tioa (PLE)
ta.t Arrlc •• Counctl E••• ln4tloA (EACE) - 0 leY.l
U"and ... ".UOft.~ Cou"ctl ElI ••lftaUon (UNet:) - A hui (t" .. t Afric:. A/t"anc:ord C.. rUIlcat .. E••• lnaUoII
(Euel
»
H.S.C ••• 1~her Scbool C,rtltlcat. CourD'
U.T.C.- D,_ad. recbnlcal Coll.,.
".T.C.- lIatlonal Te.ch.r. Coll."
D.C.e.-
c
M$
O.aada Coll.,. of Co.. ,rce
Source:
The Canadian Organization for Development t.hrough
Education (1983, ,Appendix II, p. llS).
--- 56 ,
F'
.r
Emp~yment
made
the
always depended on academic performance.
passing
of
examinations
crucial
in
This
education
in
(
Uganda.
Heyneman, 1983; Senteza-Kajupi, 1981).
Agency of Education
Thec education of young children of school age is entirely
the responsibility of the school.
That is, the parents expect
the schoo1 to be responsib1e for aIl the aspects of education
\of their child.
very
important
Uganda.
The teacher and the school, therefore, play a
role
in
the
socialization
of
the
child
in
The community and the family's role in Ugandan schools
-
is limited to contribution of funds either for the maintenance
of the school buildings,or for c. buying needed
equip~ent.
This-
-
situation ought to change.
Research has shown that the school,
without the cooperation of the parents and the community, cannot
successfully socialize the
child 'especially in acquiring
moral values.
Aims of Education
Since independence,
Uganda has had only one educational
commission as compared to,'for example, a neighbouring cOllntry,
Kenya,
which
independence.
has
had
This
four
education
indicates
that
co~nissions
there
has
not
since
~ts
been much
effort on the part of the successive governments since independance to reform the inherited system from the colonial era.
o
.
'
-=
-
57 -
However, the current government has already appointed a commission to look into the present system ~ and - make suggestions for
reforms.
,
"
The aims of education
spel t
hav~
in Uganda
been speci fièally
out in at least three official documents,
Bunsen Commission (1952), The Castle Commission
Dev~lopment
namely The de
(1963)
and The
and Rehabilitation Plan (1987/88-1990/91).
Until independence, the recommendations of the Bernard de
Bu_nsen Commission
appointed
the development of education
commission,
,system
and
appointed to
to
make
in 1952
served
in Uganda
examine
the
recorrunendations,
aims of primary education which were
ment.
.
as guidelines for
(Scanlon,
then
set
1964).
The
existing education
forth
the
following
accepted by the govern-
Br1efly, they were the fo11owing:
1.
to develop sound standards of individual conduct and
behaviouri
2.
to
insti11
sorne
understanding of
the
communi ty and
what is va1ued for its development, and for the contribLltion which
the
individual can make to the com-
munit y in which he lives:
3.
to develop a lively curiosity leading to a desire for
knowledge not confined to the immediate environment;
4.
..
to impart permanent literacy;
-
5.
to
58 -
.
impart sorne ski 11 of hand,
and a
recognition of
the value of manual work (de Bùnsen, 1953, p. 5).
After independence, there was a need to revise the education
system
country.
in
view
of
the
needs
of
a
newly
independent
The Castle Commission was appointed in January 1963.
The terms of reference for the Commission were the following:
....
Ta examine, in the light of the approved recommendations
of the International Bank Survey Mission Report and
Uganda 1 s financial position and future manpower requirements, the content and structure of education in Ugandai
to cons ider how i t rnay best be irnproved and adapted to
'the needs of this country and to aubmi t recommendations
according1y (Uganda Government, 1963, g. 1).
The Conunission formulated
the fo11owing aims of primary
education: .
1.
to inculcate high standards of' individual and corporate conduct dnd a sense of personal responsibility:
2.
to fit children for earning a livelihood;
3.
to estab1ish permanent literacy;
4.
to
prepare
chi ldren
for
living
in
their
local
and
national corrununi ties and to develop in them a desire
to serve both.
5.
to
enable
children
to
develop
express their aesthetic giftsi
manual
skills
and
~
t'
-
(
,
59 -
express their aesthetic giftsi
6.
to
develop
ness
of
initiative,
children
logical and
1963, p.
and
confidence
their
powers
imaginative thought
resourceful-
ànd
of
independent,
(Uganda
Government,
4).
The goals of education in Uganda have been pointed out,
·though
l.ndirectly,
plan.
In
its
in
the
recent
Rehabilitation
and
1990/91) the Government proposes,
government's
Development
development
Plan
(1987/88-
among other thing s:
~
1.
to
reconstruct educational curriculum wi th the
view
to producing responsible citizensi
(
2.
to carry out curriculum reform aimed àt
education given
making
the
to primary children relevant to the
needs of society;
3.
to
integrSl te
that
the
the
school
primary
serves
scho
as
sand
cornmuni ty
the
so
the
development of the society.
In
the sarne document,
the
government proposes
ro extend
the UNESCO experimental project which was started ir Uganda at
Namutamba
country.
(BEIRD),
in
1967
Basic
the
to
aIl
Education
UNESCO
the primary
Integrated
experimental
sch?OIS
with
project,
tproughout
Rural
Vias
:Jl.e
Development
in;i.tiated
to
....
~
<
0'
, ....
60
introduce a balanced curriculum which would meet the academic, ".
social and economic aspirations of pupils at the pri.rna,ry levei
in developing countries.
The
objectives of the
project started
in Namutamba
had
the following main objectives:
.-
a)
ta at tempt to check the exodus of rural schoolleavers through the provision of sound experiences in
general education,
pre-vocational _ and
vocational
education;
b)
to ensure a complete primary educational cycle to the
greatest number of childreni
c)
ta introduce new curriculum content, teaching methods
and materials in the primary schools and in preservice teacher training;
d)
ta provide functional literacy, general education,
crafts and nutrition and heal th education for youths
and adu1ts
both male, and female (CODE, 1987,
p.17).
The aims formulated in the abdve-riientioned documents have
been
reiterated on var i0us occasions by
"
authorities.
For instance,
the Ugandan poli tical
the Premier
of Uganda is reported
to have emphasized the need for Uganda 1 s
educational system to
promote technical training rather than academic. knowledge with
no ski ll~.
He said, at a fund-raising ce!emony for a technical
Ugan~ns
school, that
should be
skillful,
who pass out of institutions of learning
self-reliant and ab] e to
themselves and others (News Bulletin, January
"1ti.
In a
Uganda" i
document entitled
the
present
"Towards
political
a
create
198~,
Free
authorities
and
of
jobs
for
p. 9).
Democi-atic
Uganda
saw
- 61 -
education as ha voing an important
role
to play in
uni ting the
peo~le of Uganda.
It is stated in the document that:
Our schools and colleges must play an important role in
uniting our people.
The'curriculum,and content of Education and various sporting and cul1;.ural activities in
these institutions must be revi talized to reflect the
national character and constitute the beginning of a
genuine mutual respect and understanding (p. 6).
J
The
educationai
objectives
for
a
objectives
developing
mentioned
above
are
country such as Uganda.
noble
But the
-./
~Y7ern of
~z
c:
educat~on of
that country has
far failed to real-
50
them.' There seems to be a need to restructure
the educa-
tionai system.
The
tral~y.
content of
That is, there is a
schools.
The subjects
traditionally
Engl ish,
the
and
the emphasis
is
-
heal th
determined
cen-
'.
arithmetic,
education,
arts
and
history,
crafts,
vernacular,
needlework (girls), physical edu-
singing
Although these subjects are
schools,
Uganda
taught in the primary, schools had been
agric~lture,
religion
in
standardize~ curriculum in Uganrlan
following:
geography,
nature study and
catidn,
education
(Ministry
of
Education,
supposed ta be taught
in teaching
is
laid only on
1979).
in primary
~hose
sub-
I
jects that are to be examined at the end of primary 7, namely
English and mathematics.
ary
c
.school
is
The competition for entry to second-
so. competitive
especiqlly in primary 7,
that
the
rate
of
repeat:ers,
i5 climbirlg every year (Table IV).
•i
\
\
TAI:1l.E IV
-
,.
DROLMEHT IN OOV
STANDARD
1978
T /MD
1979
,
PRI~Y
980
SCHOOlS BY STANDNID: 1918-1965
1981
1962
1983
325,801
24d,377
212,275
181,302
155,726
145,046
138,551
37',221
21n,111
244,095
198,671
168,697
157,387
151,825
413,092
320,652
220,468
181,168
164,404
14',4J6
1,407,158
1,582,007
1,730,299
1984
1985
. -'"'
Prlmtlry
Prlmary
PrlmZlry
PrlmZlry
Prlmary
Prlmary
Prlmary
248,512
206,689
182,556
160,689
140,068
134,252
131,149
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
251,73?
211,306
189,265
161,915
140,619
136,663
132,349
266,539
220,Otll
199,616
170,457
146,061
138,016
131,607
1 ,223,850
1,292,377
285,099
450,064
355,728 • _
319,965
255,842
206,013
180,651
---t62",429
495,000
395,000
344~OOO
280,000
227,000
199,000
177,000
---------.-------- -.--------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------.. ---- ----------- ---------- ----------1,203,915
TOTAL
------------------ -----------
Femtlle (% Zlge)
Pup Il /TeZlcher RaT 10
41.5
35
-.--------- ----------42.1
34
40.9
34
1,930,698
2,117,000
----------- ----------- ----------- ---------- ---------42.6
35
42.6
3ô
43.5
35
43.5
34
-
44.0
34
.EtflOlMENT IN OOVERtH:NT-AIOED SEOONDARV SCOOOLS BY STNWAAO: 1978-1985
1978
STANDARD
Senior
Senior
Senior
.Senlor
Senior
Senior
15,079
14,935
14,712
12,687
2,729
2,648
1
2
3
4
5
6
1979
16,651
15,454
14,853
14,168
2,810
2,220
1980
17,8B3
17,57B
15,924
14,795
3,592
3,320
1981
23,212
19,366
17,446
15,512
4,146
3,318
1982
33,0813
24,941
Il,932
16,122
5,142
4,527
------------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- -.--------- ----------\
62,790
TOTAL
66,156
------------------ -.--------- ----------Female C% Zlge)
Pupll/T~cher
RaTio
27.5
22
28.0
21
Source: Plonnlng Unit, Mlnlstry of Education
15,092
-----------
83,000
-----------
28.9
30.4
23
22
101,7')2
-.--------31.3
21
1983
.
36,533
30,594
23,154
16,635
5,071
5,100
1984,
46,465
36! ~69
28,966
21,683
5,859
5,385
1985
~
47,820
41,244
30,169
28,305
6,51:5
5,651
----------- --------159,702
144,527
----------- ----_._---- ------_..._---
---------117,OB7
32.5
21
32.7
22
33.0
23
\
-
63
-
As regards teaching in the primary schools in Uganda,
Castle Report referred to i t as "often formal
and dull".
the
The
members of that coqunission observed that "acti vit Y method ll was
rarely in
use in the
primary schools
veteran educationalist,
(p.
Senteza-Ka jubi
that educa.tion has .to b~ action-based.
One Ugandan
44).
(1981),
is of the
view
He writes:
In a country such as Uganda, where about half the population is composed of people below the age of fifteen
years
book learning di vorced ,and completely separated
from useful and productive work deprives the society of a
large reservoir of would-be product;.ive energies.
It is
our opinion that education from elementary school through
the unive~sity, formal or non-formaI, should be linked to
or integr~ed wi th productive work by the school curriculum (pp. 183-184).
•
1
A
c
. Today,
primary school
chi1dren 1earn by
teachers teach by writing on the board.
It is
tion to say that in p"rimary schools today,
wri ting on a
listening,'
memory.
blackboard and talking,
copying
from
the
memorizing
no~
and
an exaggera-
teaching constitutes
-
and learning consists of
blackboard
and
commit ting
to
This phenomenon is for the most part due to the lack
o
of school supplies,
shortage of teachers,
overcrowded
cftPses
and the competitive priffi3ry 7 examination.
In
still
summary,
modelled
oriented.
-'
the next
on
There
administration.
l~vel
the
the
is a
pres~nt
British
education
system.
standardized
system
It
curriculum
in Uganda
is
is
examination-
and a
central
Each level of education ,is a preparation-- for
and both students and teachers treat each stage
c
..
64
as:such.
For instance, primary education is a preparatory edu-
cation for the secondary.
This
leads
examined at the
to
ernphasizin~
end of each
educa tion
system,
the
considered
responsible
teache r.
In
level.
commlJ;lli ty
for
view
educal-_ional
and
the
of
that
are
in the Ugandan
parents
are
the child.
not
The
responsibility of the school and
Uganda's
discussed in the following chapter,
the
Besides,
the education of
education of the child is a
the
only those subjects
system to bring i t
developrnental
needs,
there is a need to redesign
closely into accord
those needs.
•
(1
\
'
with
..
CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS, _ SUMI-1ARY AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
The previous chapters described and analyzed by means of
library
research
nature,
structure,
aims
African
education
and
education.
and
This
the
author's
and
personal
methodology
the
present
chapter will
the
of both traditional
Uganda
summarize
experience
western-oriented
a)
the
educational
needs of a modernizing African country namely Uganda,
and at,
(
tempt
to
consolidate
research question:
tional
the
in, answering
that
especially at
identified needs ll ?
b)
the
can
be
incorporated
the pririiary
relevant
level,
features
African education for today' S societal needs.
tians for
furthe~
thé
fourth
"What are the positive elements from tradi-
African education
present sys,tern,
findings
into
the
to meet the
of traditional
Finally,
sugges-
research will be made.
The analysis of these objectives of education in Uganda,
in particular
formulated
actual
and/or
reali ties
poli tical
c
those of primary education,
reformulated
of
situation
the
have
Uganda
since
as they have been
independence,
socio-economic,
indicated
- 65 -
three
major
and
the
cultural and
educational
- 66 -
needs;
These needs can be briefly stated as: a) the fostering
of
the
organic
b)
the imparting of knowledge and practical skills for
development;
unit y
c)
of
the
revitali~tion
the'
the development of a modern
The
beli~f
country
of
and
national
indigenous
identity:
rural
culture
for
Af~s~cietY.
that education was a
major agent for change
..
held by both human capital and modernization theorists led educational policy makers to increase educational facilities .and
expenditures for social and economie development.
But the out-
cornes 'of educational practices based on those theories'were not
as
expected.
social
change
(1983),
However,
has
education
not
been
as
an
re j ected.
important
agent
Fagerlind
and
of
Saha \
for eXdmple, have argued that there are ways that edu..,/
cation can contribute to social change for economic, social and
po~itical
development.
They point out,
however,
important
"to determine what kind of development
that
it is
is desired,
what kind of eduçation is more sui table for this developmer.t,
and whose interests in the development process should prevail"
(p.
58).
,,.
Faith in education as a driving force for
soc~o-economic
cultural and political development i9 recognized by the present
government of Uganda.
government ls
i~jecting
it has expressed' for
commission.
The evidence is the amount of ffiQney the
Though
,
into this social structure and the need
i ts
reform by appointing an educational
the
economy
of Uganda
is
weak,
in
the
"
"'\
\
/
- 67
-,.
1987-89 l>udget,
If!
the government committed itself
t~ meeting
:~oo~.
Iârge educational cast of maintaining students at
maintain~ng
is to pay 50% of the total cost for
primary level,
students.
economy
This
is
still
other factors,
is
in
being
done
disarray,
at
a
and 100% for
a
time
situation
It
students at the
75% and 65% for day and boarding students,
pectively at the post-primary level,
a
when
res-
universit~r
the Ugandan
caused by,
among
the misrnanagernent of Idi Amin' s mili tary regime
(1971-1979), the "Liberation \'iar" that ousted the regime,
and
the civil war ,(1980-1985).
In view of the upheavals that have been the order of the
day in Uganda over the last twenty years, the most crucial educati~>nal n~ed is the promotion of national uni ty.
Uganda as
one country was created by the accident of colonial hjis,tory as
recently as 1984.
"
Its short
h~story
as one independent
~ountry
()
has been marred by ethnie and religious rivalries culminating
in
c
,
political conflicts,
g~nocide
flagrant
and civil war ,,(Kyemba,
violation
of human rights,
1977; ,Nabudere,
1981).
The
urgent,question now is how can education be used as an agent 'of
-f
p01itica1 socialization for national unit y and deve10pment?
other
words,
the
crucial
issue
i5
haw
to
use
e,ducation
,
In
ta
foster the spirit <;If mutua1 unders'tanding and respect among the
people of Uganda and creatë an atmosphere of security, confiaence
c
D
and
developrnent.
political
stability
for
Uganda's
socio-economi~
Efforts being employed to bring about peace in
,
•
•
c
1
}'i
j;
~ ~
'p~M
1
;
!
l
'1/"
'
"·VG1fi."?
-',
- 68
l
sh~uld
Uganda
be
and supported (Appendix 1).
~elcomed
The second important function of education for Uganda, as
in most African nations,
is rural development.
The majori ty .of
the population of Uganâa (90%) live in rural areas.
This means
that most young people after schooling, which for the' maJority
'"
\
of them means primary schooling, will have to l1ve and earn
.
their li velihood in the rural areas.
..,
fore
'Education should there-
instill
knowledge,
practical
skills
and
would enable
the youths
to be self-reliant and
attitudes
that
job mÀkers in
their local communities and to adapt to social realities of the
community thereby participating in the development of the rural,
areas.
Besides,
lies
mainly
the potential of Uganda 's economic development
in
i ts
agricultural
sector
including
forestry,
fishing and hunting (Ministry of Planning and Economie Development, 1987).
cattle,
The natural environment provides good grazing for
Uganda has 7.5 million hectares of
sheep and goats.
J
forest and woodland, of which 1.5 million hectares constitutes
\ a
forest reserve.
Lakes,
rivers and swamps coyer 4.8 million
\
hectares or 20% of the surface area (ElU, 1987-88).
nomic
potential
calls
for
an
education
which
is
This econot
only
academic ,but also practical to produce human resources for both
sectors of the economy - that is, the industrial and the agricultural sectors.
Since it is fully realized that agriculture
has provided the basic means of survival for most Ugandans and
/
.
\
\
-
69
1
bas been the main.source of revenue for the governm!~t for many
,
1
years in t'he past and is! likely ta continue ta be sa in _the
fo~eseeable
imparting
future, it is important that education be geared to-
pratical
skills
and
developing
positive
attitudes
toward,rural life.
The last urgent educational need for Uganda is the promo,
tion of indigenous cultures to give impetus to its own form of
development and te rekindle national confidence, which has been
taken
away
by
weste,rn
education.
The
declared by the thl.:i:ted Nations as a
for Cultural Development.
the
United
Nations 1
year
1988
has
been
year of The World Decade
In a declaration on this occasion,
Secretary-General
pointed
,
out
that
the
international cprrununity had been invited lite in/vent development
1
forms
take
that wou ld not be
~ccount
aspirations,
of
li-mi ted to economic ~rowth but wou Id
the human
on
(in Unesco News,
No.' 222-25,
aS~he
society.
whole
The United
complex
of
Nations
dis!tincti ve ,
material, intellectual and emotional features that
a
society oi social group.
-
his
January
value
#'
dè'rined
spiritual,
char~cterize
!
,
human beings,
has
It includes not only the arts and
letters' but al,so modes of life,
c
and
This means that plans for development shouid be based
th~ture of
cul tUl;"e
heritage
the human being as a physi'cal and spiritual indi-
vidual and social whole "
1988) •
being with his
systems,
traditions
Conference on Cultural Policies,
righ~s
of the
and beliets"
(World
the fundamental
Mexico City, 1982) quoted in
- 79 Unesco News, 1988: p. 1).
as a
..
vehicle
Thus it is
of development
import~nt
that education
5lirns at
promoting,
beliefs
and
among
other
J •
things,
the
value
systems,
traditions
of
the
cultures of the country that are relevant,to its socio-economic
and political development.
In the
tural
1.
values
context of Uganda,
have
eroded
due
terms
that
rneans in practical
force
for development,
where social, moral and cul-
to political
formal
instability,
education
must give weight
as a
this
driving
to instilling
sound
standards of individual conduct and behaviour, a sense of responsibility, the spirit of cooperation and a respect of law and
order as they were emphasized by African culture.
Uganda is a country which is undergoing modernization and
social
change;
consequently,
i t
cannot completely return to
.,f.
traditio~al
ways for its development.
However,
in the frame-
work of cultural revi tafization theory, 'what is advocated is to
build on the positive features of its culture for devéloprnent.
The analysis of traditional African education indicates
that it has potential elements that can be
incorporated into
the present education system to meet the socio-economic,
tural and poli tical
1
needs
will be discussed below,
of Uganda.
These features-.
can be br-iefly' stated as a)
defined societal goals; b)
culwhicl1
clearly
relevant curriculum for appropria~e
functioning in sbcietYi c) shared responsibility for education;
o
d) non-formal education.
- 71 -
pre-colon~al
In
African
soc\:ties,
the
societal
goals
•
were clearly defined and were understood by the members of the
They were:
society.
the physical survi val of the members of
the communi ty and the preservation of the communi ty 15 ongoing
life.
Traditional education designed to reflect the societal
goals aimed therefore
to achieve
adapt
the
.
the
physical
members of
environment fruitfully,
control
and
to
to
were
achieved
i ts
objecti ve
socialization process,
tion,
by
to
social and
the
physical
practical skills
mora.t
codes
into the soqial,
and
reli-
Traditional educa-
gious and political life of the community.
tion
use
taught
societal beliefs to enable them to fit
c
their
the children learned
The children
at an early age.
following objective:
new generation
To
environments.
the
emphasizing
through
1
the
the spirit of brotherhood and, coopera-
and by imparting pr-actical skills that were
rel~vant
to
their survi val.
Uganda for the last 20 years has gone through an extreme
Its political instability and
state of flux and change.
almest
non-existence
of
a
constitution
making the societal goals ambiguous.
have
contributed
the
to
Consequently, it has been
_ difficult to design an education system that can serve societal
needs in the absence of societal goals.
education
development
is
te
play
of Ugdnda,
an
that
important
It ,seems
role
priority be
for
given
importan~,
the
to
lf
political
the
choice
c
, ,
J
~
t ,
- 72
of the kind of national and economic system tpat Uganda wants
to build.
In other words,
given priority must be' the
the crucial
issue
definition of the
that ,hOUld be
type of society
1
desired: should Uganda be a democratic society founded on free-
dom, brotherhood, equality,
interdependence and mixed economy?
The understandl.ng of the goals of society led to the success of tradi tional African education.
achieved,
for example,
imparting
to
the
the
Traditional education
organic uni ty of
you,ng members
of
the
the commu'ni ty by
society the
value
of
personal and collective responsibility.
The second feature of tradi tional African education that
can enhance the present education system in Uganda, ,as well as
t
in other African countries,
is the content of the curriculum.
The curriculum of indigenous education grew out of the social
and
physical
environments
of
the
,society.
Thus
children
growing up in a hunting society learned hunting skills,
·those from pastoralist societies
herding cattle.
while
learnad skills pertaining to
This means that the knowledge and skills that
the children learned were relevant to their immediate needs and
those of the community.
largely
a
In a word,
education
i9
knowledge
of tradition and beliefs
the cçntent'of indigenous
preparation for
and
life
-
good manners,
training in practical
skills.
The curriculum of the schools in Uganda is standardized
and centrall.y determined.
o
This means that aIl children in the
•
J
(
- 73 -
schools,
co~ntry
scattered
-
aIl
over
the
diversified
areas
rural or urban, agric;.ul tural or nomadic -
the
learn the
'~
sarne mater1.al.
of
The curriculum is apparently standardized for
the purpose of examlnations that must be passed at the completion
of
each
corning.
level.
Hm... ever,
MosJpupils,
do not continue
this
has
an
inherent
short-
in particular those ln primary schools,
to. the next
level of education.
This means
that they leave school without knowledge and skiiis adapted ta
their social and physical environments where most of them are
likel.y
to
live and work
for
the
better
part
of their young
l i ves.
The content.of education does not prepare them to func-
{
tion effectively in society and leads to high unemployment and
C
vagrancy in urban dreas.
The question,
therefore,
,
riculum should be kept
the prlmary level,
social
are
is whether a standardized cur-
./
ln the education system,
or should it be decentralized ta reflect the
and economic realities
situated?
especially at
The
related
of the areas where the schoois
question
that
emerges
i9
this:
Should the examina tion system which serveù the colonial interests be safeguarded?
. The third reature of indigenou9 educational practice that
is
ap~arently
.'
relevant to the educational needs of Uganda and
.
pre- 01onial African
many African countries is the responsibility for education.
-
7
c:
soci2ties,
tre education of
you~g
In
c'!;1ildren
,
wa& not only a responsibility of the parents b4t of the entire
•
"
1
!
.'
!
74 -
c
Thus
community.
the
parents,
the
siblings,
adul ts in the communi ty were responsible
the child.
the
peers
and
for- the education of
The children's learning had no limitation in spa ce
It was
and time.
not
limited to the school as
it is today,
where the teacher is supposed to be the only source of informaThe
tion.
children
learned
at
home,
at
work,
at
play
learned infovmally from any person they interacted with.
it
was
not only the home that was
the
Il
school ll but
and
Thus
the com-
muni ty as well.
In Uganda,
the parents
participate
in the
education
of
their children only by paying school
fees and by contributing
..
to the
c
maintenance of
As
self-help projects.
limited to
meets
the
th~
the schools
for
the
of
their' children
corrununi ty,
participation
•
taxes they pay to the government which,
large
educational
cost
for
through
maintaining
iJ
in turn,
pupils
at
is
to
school.
The
challenge
here
for
educational
integra te the school and the communi tY.
could
learn
a
lot
from
farmers, - the mélnagers of
the
planners
Students, for example,
experience
indus.try,
h0W
of
the
the musicians,
progressive
the
tradi-
)1
tional medicinemen of their locality.
The last feature of traditional education that should be
considered
as
a
potential
irtgredient. for
enhancing
Uganda 1 s
present system is its non-formaI aspect in socialization:
indigenous
societies,
educa tion
was,
1
for
the
most
In
part,
_
-
c
informaI and non-formaI.
75 -
The .institutionalized education that
is seen in Ugandan schools today,
But
existent.
ce~monies,
These
children
rituals,
for example, was almost non-
Iearned non-formally through
songs,
stories,
ridqles
and
dances,
folklore.
non-formaI means of socialization have been neglected in
schools where there is a tendency ta put rr..~re stress on memori1
zation ta prepare students for national examinati9ns.
It seems,
therefore,
important that this aspect of non-
formaI learning of traditional African education be revitalized
for the attainment of the educational needs of Uganda.
The
school
is
socializing agent.
been pointed
are: a)
r~
out
universally
recognized
as
a
•
potential
Three areas of the school environment have
as
strong sources
of socialization.
These
the content of the curriculumi .b) the specifie symbols
and ri tuaIs i
and' c)
the teacher as a model and source of at ti-
tudes and values (Evans, 1971).
Kelly
(1986),
studying the effect of
pchooling
through
the curriculum in inter-war French West Africa, concluded that:
They (the students) became ambivalent about tradi tional
eli tes and bath admired and mocked Africans who had
amassed wealth an obtained sorne of the material goods of
Frenchmen.
Students were' weIl "aware of the differencie~
between themselves and other French côlonizers. They did
not consider themselves black Frenchmen.
They were, in
every
sense,
made
marginal
by
the
experience
of
schooling.
~
1.'
C
\'
•
"
;
\.
,\'
..
/
1
•
,
76 -
A study by Okonkwo
(1982) examined the curricular content
,
of colonial education in Nigeria.
His
findings
indicate that
the English language curriculum in Nigerian schools taught not
only language but also "cultural development of the individual
towards English-oriented academic excellence and'elitism at the
expense
of
affirming
the
validity
of
Nigerian
situation"
(p. 200).
These studies reveal the potential of the curriculum as a
socializing
This
agent,
potential
Conference
especially
was
(1961)
also
and
at
prima~
the
recognized
the
UNESCO
school- level.
by Ithe
Addis
Conference
at
,
.
Ababa
Tenararive
(1963), which ca1led for the reform of the content of education
l
in the
schools to ref1ect the needs of the African developing
countries.
The
cy,rriculum
have
changes
not
been
tha t
ha v,e
radical
been
so
enough.
far:
m,ade
More
i,n
the
changes
are
needed.
-The second area that has been identified by research as a
potential source of socia1ization
the
use
st';1dy~ng
of
sylllbols
and
ritua1s
in
rituals,
such as the effect of singing of the national anthem'
on
schools.
is
elementary
Hess
pupils
in
1
insti1led feelings
the
pupils.
(1967) ,
th~
United
of unquestioned
Songs,
cultura~
States,
loya1ty and
activities,
the
effec't
~ound
of
that
it
patriotism
in
dances,
national
:1
festi vals
and
ceremonies
are
also
important means of -socio-
/
poli.tical socialization.
educa'tion.
\,
These must not l:;>e neglected by formal
~
- 77 -
The third area that is considered an important source of
socialization in the school is the teacher.
states
that
the
importance
of
the
Evans (1971, p. 9'
teacher derives
from
,
a) as a c0tlveyor of the message l
aspects of that role:
two
whose
content is seen as an important source of socia1ization,
b)
as
~
mode1
whose
attitudes,
jeelings
and
and -'
values
are
,
consciously
or unconsciously' transmitted.
"""Commenting on the
role of the teacher, Coleman states:
Teachers are important both as
socializers
and as
communicdtors. .• they occupy' one of the most strategie
positions in the whole socialization process (cited in
Evans, 1971, p. 9).
In Uganda, the role of the teacher is undermined by their
(
conditions of work.
The low salaries they receive obligeothem
)
The
ta find other kinds of work to supplement their incomes.
overcrowding of the classrooms is also an impediment for them
to be effective in their work.
Besides, there is a shortage of
"
However,
qualifi:d teachers in Ugandan schools.
can
this shortage
1
partly
be
overcorne
by
invol ving
the
communt ty
~
,
in
the
1
educational'process.
To
sununarize,
education
is
universally
ded
as
an
,
important
vehicle
development.
traditional
present
of
socio-economic,
cul tural
an
This study indicates at ieast four
African
education
education
system
in
that
U9anda~
can
to
greatly
play
its
political
eatu1fes of
Jnhance
role
the
as
a
.
-
vehicle for development.
78 -
The features are: a clear definition
of societal goals; curriculum relevant to societal needs:
vol veinent of the cornmuni tYi
in-
and the use of informal mearis in
the sducation practice.
o
Further
research
is
needed
in
several
areas.
For
example: How to link formaI and non-formaI education in primary
schools?
How to make the whole community a learning environ- ,
ment?
How to develop a curriculum that reflects both the needs
of the
co~nunity
Uganda 1 S
and the nation?
needs
hdve
changed
since
independence.
This
calls f'or a thorough examination of the present education system which was inherited from the colonial era.
present system it i6
To improve the
important that the objectives of educa-
tional policy are formulated in precise and operational terms
and
that
each
stage
of
eduœ.tion
is
considered
as
terminal
training for adult life.
,
"
'~
,
'r
J
79
c'
APPERDI)C 1
PEACE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF UGANDA AND THE UPDA
, The historie signing of the peac'e accord was concluded on
,.,
/
JUhe 3rd, 1988 between the Uganda Government and UPDA.
President Yoweri r·1usev'eni signed on beha1f of the Uganda
government while Lt.
Col.
John Angelo Okello signed on behalf
of UPDA.
'The
ceremony
was
wi tnessed
by
retired
Roman
Catholic
1
Bishop,
Cyprian Kihangire,
the Church of, Uganda Archdeacon of
1
1
Northét-n. Uganda Diocese,
the Ven Ogaba and the District Chief
1
Kadhi, i Sheik Okumu.
)
following is a full texf of the Peace Agreement:
1
~
!The agreemt:'lnt is made pursuant to the various -peace
t.alks and negotiations held between the Government of
~ganda and the Uganda People 1 s Democra tic t>1ovement at
~ulu and $tate House Entebbe.
~
,
,
h
th,e Government of Uganda
Oemocratic
Movement
(UPDM) ,
19reement.
We,
and the Uganda Peop1e 1 s
the
parties
to
this
l'
1J.ware:
That Uganda has undergone persist~nt political,
sqcial and economie turmoil since independenee in 1962.
nSCiOUS:
That this period of turmoil has
. oto retrogression in aIl the various aspects
l'ves and national affairs;
*
,
i'
,
r~sulted
of
our
. ,
-
c
80 -
Convinced:
That the aforesaid turmoil and its ramifications is a result of the wrong politics adopted and
pursued by the past successive. governments during, the
said periodi
Believing:
That this negative development can only be
arrested, checked and reversed by the adoption of a correct poli tical line, proper economic policies and' the
observance of the cardinal principles of the rule of law,
to wit:
a)
The respect for the di9nity of the human persan, the
fundamental freedoms and the Liberty, and the basic
Ruman Rights of aIl Ugandans without distinction or
discrimination on whatever grounds;
b)
The respect for justice to aIl, and obedience to the
will of the people of Uganda in the running of
national affairsi
United in purpose:
In the search for lasting peace and
the attainment of a just society and social progre~s in
our motherland Uganda;
Now do solemnly proclaim in the name of unit y,
t
justice,.
democracy, peace and progress in Uganda the need:
1.
to bring immediate and lasting peace to Ugandai
2.
to bring an end ta the social retrogression occasioned by the wrong politics of ~he pasti
3.
ta establish and sustain a system of government
acceptable to. and endorsed by the people of Ugandai
And in this pursuit declare and agree that:
/'
A.
poiit~s:
,l
1.
Gov
nment shall expaQd and complete the formation
constitution \Oi the NRC before the end of 1988,
i
accordance with the st~pulated NRM programme, and
ection 2 (iii) (a) and (b i) of Legal Notice No. 1 of
906.
'
y
For the avoidance of doubt, UPDM shall be accorded
appropriate representation in NRC in accordance with
the provisions of Legal Notice No. l aforesai~, and
aiso in the Government Executive.
, \
- 81 -
c
2.
.The expanded and fully constituted National Resistance Council shall within the period of tenure in
office of the present Government as stipulated in
Section 14 of Legal Notice No. 1 of 1986, resolve
itself into a Constituent Assembly and draw up a
Popular National Constitution that shall safeguard
the interests and fundamental rig~ts of the people of
Uganda.
Provided that in the making of the constitution and
the economic situation in the countl;y allowing, a
national referendum shall be conducted to enable the
people of Uganda to decide on the issue of party
system and system of gQvernment that shall replace
the present interim government.
(
3.
The interim government shall calI for and organize
free and fair general elections witnin the pe~iod of
its tenure of office.
4.
Government shall continue and "Complete the exercise
of election of Resistance Councils and Corrunittees
from village to district level in war ravaged areas,'
a~ a matter of priority.
5.
In the interim
cabinet ministers
rogative of the
shall ref1ect the
Uganda,.
. ,
.B..
t:tilitary
1.
AlI hostili ties between government and UPDM,.r shall
ceasa forthwith upop the signing of this peace agreement.
2.
Upon the signing of this peace agreement the implementation committee herein established shal! ensure
that government releases all/th~ combatants and noncombatants arrested as a resul t of the hosti1i ties
between the UPDM and the government, and are currently be.~ng held ~ various prisons and detention
centres.
3.
The UPDA officers and men who wish to continue with
mili tary service and quali fy shall be absorbed and
integrated into the NRA and sha11 participate at aIl
levels- of the army depending on their experience,
ability and merits and shall not be victimized, dis-
\
c
ap~ointment ~,:::..c7
'
period, whi'le the
and their deputies remains the prePresidept, the composition thereof
national interests of the people of
j~,
-
criminated against,
way at aIl.
,3. 1 ~
82 -
frustrated,
or maligned
1
in any
-,
Provided that while the absorption and integration
exercise i5 going on any charge ôr-allegation that is
brought against any officer shall fïrst be investigated by the implementation. committee to determine
the gen~ineness of the charge or allegation and
decide on the course of action to be taken thereon.
4.
5.
AlI UPDA officers and men who desire to join the productive unit of the NRA shall initially be sent to
Pabo military farm, and later ,to such other productive units appropriately for the attainment of their
individual ski~ls, trade or needs.
'1;h"e
UPDA officers and men who opt NOT to contil;ue
service shall be free to do so, and
shall within the national prograrrune be assisted
either tq pursue education in schools and institutions of highet' learning, or be adequately assisted
and provided with the means to settle and resume
civ~lian l~fe.
..
~Ah, military
provided that the safeguards contained in the provision of paragraph 3 of part B hereof shall apply.
1
'6.
krl UPDA school-going-age children (kadogos) shall be
resettled
schools.
and
provided
wi th
education
in
7.
ALI civil s,rvants who due to the hostilities between
UPDM and,government have no been able to carry but
their duties shall be considered for reinstatement in
acc@rdanc1f~ith Public Service regulations.
8.
The national· army shall 1,e balanced and drawn proportionately from aIL districts of Uganda and shall
guard against aIL forms of discrimination, sectarian
politics, misuse of the Armed Forces for the attainment of personal political ends and shall uphold the
constitution in force.
'
~
9.
~
After the interim period, the elected parliament
shall determine-<the na me and the minimum ,entry qualifications for the National Army.
/
, !
e
military
l
- 83 -
10.
c
"
A Military Implementation commit tee compr~sed of
representatives of upnA and NRA is hereby established
to oversee and supervise the execution and implementation of the agreement, save those that are to be
done by NRC.
c.
Rehabilitation
1.
Government shall mobilize all available resources, to
rehabilitate the socio-economic infrastructures in
Gulu and Kitgum Districts as weIl as in other war
ravageq areas.-'
2.
Government shall declare the policy of free education
at aIl levels, up to th~ end of the year 1989, for
pupils and students from the war ravaged areas.
3.
Governrnent sha11, up to the end of the year 1989,
exempt the peasants of the war ravaged areas ·frorn
paying graduated taxe
4.
The declared governrnent policy of rehabilitating
people and restocking their livestock which were
looted, rustled or lost during the hostilities should
be strengthened, and made more realistic to have prac~
tical effect on the population.
5.
..
The currency reform exercise shall be carried out in
aIl areas that were due to the war incapacitated from
so doing. "
,
,Source,
'l
,News
Bulletin,
(June/July
Commission" Ottawa. '
Uganda
High-'
c
"
... 84 REFERENCES AND RELATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
--
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EDUCATION.
AN AFRICAN CASE.
Stanford University Press,A
California.
Achebe, Chinua (1965); NO LONGER AT EASE.
Heineman, London.
Ada.ms, N. Milton (1983), "Behaviora1 Objectives, Processes and
'Outcomes in African Traditiona1 Education". PRESENCE
AFRICAINE.
No. 125, pp. 133-145.
Adams, N. Milton and Cou1iba1y, H. (1985), "African Traditional
Pedagogy in a Modern Perspective".
PROSPECTS. Vol. XV,
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Adebisi, A. (1965), DYSFUNCTIONALITY OF NIGERIAN EDUCATION.
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in the Process of Nation-Building in Africa South of the
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CliAi'lGE -IN THE COLONIAL SITUATION.
l
Akinpelu, J.A. (1974), "The Educative Processes in Non-Literate
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Altback, Philip G. and ~eIly, Gail
AND THE COLONIAL EXPERIENCE.
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And~rson,
J.' (1970), THE STRUGGLE FOR THE SCHOOL, Longmians,
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(.)
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(1981),
\IHY PEOPLE MOVE.
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Basu, E. (1978), "policy and Conflict in India: The Reality and
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EDUCATION AND THE COLONIAL EXPERIENCE.
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4:
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Castle, E.B. (1966), GROWING UP IN EAST AFRICA.
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Oxford
Cerych, Ladislau (1965), PROBLEl-1S OF AID TO DEVELOPING
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;
c
..:. 86 "
REFERENCES MD RELATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (continued)
...
Coombs, P.H. and Ahmed, l1. (1979), ATTACKING RURAL POVERTY: HOW
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Court, D. and Gh~i, D.P., eds., (1974), EDUCATION, SOCIETY AND
DEVELOPMENT: NEW PERSPECTIVES FROM KENYA. Oxford
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Crowder, M. (1968), West Africa Colonial Rule.
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Datta, A:usu (1984), EDUCATION AND SOCIETY.
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MENT.
Hutchison,
MacMillan, London.
-----
(1971), TEACHERS AS AGENTS OF NATIONAL DEVELOPA CASE STUDY OF UGANDA.
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-
Fafunwa, A. Babs (197 3), "Does Formal SchoÇ>1ing Push Young
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" ,
pp. 56-66.
',
Fafunwa, A. Babs (1974), HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA.
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Fage~lind,
Ingermar and Saha, Lawrence J. (1985), EDUCATION AND
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Fitzgibbons, R.E. (1981), MAKINS EDUCATIONAL DECISIONS.
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cs
Foster, P.
(1965), EDUCATION AND SOCIAL 'CHM~GE IN, GHANA.
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-
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Furley, a.w. and \'latson, T.
E;AST AFRICA.
(19;78), A HIS'l'OI,1( OF EDUCATION 'IN
~
Georgq, Betty (1966), EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN T~E'CONGO~ "
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p.C.
,
.\
"1
\
1
,1 "
.
-
,~
87 -
REFERENCES AND RELATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (continued)
Goulet, Denis, ed., (1981),
ROLE IN DEVELOP~1ENT.
\Jashington, D. C.
TRADITIONAL VALUES: THEIR VITAL
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(1965)~
Herskovits, H.J.
THE HUMAN FACTOR rN CHANGING
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H~nzen,
IL and Hundsdoorfer, V.H. (1979),
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THE TANZANIAN
Jessé, .Jones (1922), EDUCATION IN AFRICA.
A STUDY OF \vEST,
S0UTH AND EQUATORIAL AFRICA.
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Jorgensen, J.J. (1981),
Press Inc., N.Y.
UGANDA A MODERN HISTORY.
St. Martins
KasoZl, A. B. (1977), "~ducation of the Chie fs in Uganda Becomes
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,
Kelly,
Gail (1986), "Learnl.ng to be Marginal: Schooling in
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