LECTURE SIXTEEN: EDUCATION SINCE INDEPENDENCE
17.1 Educational planning at independence
Most countries in Africa took the education of their people very seriously at the time of
independence because it had been one of the key rallying points during the struggle for
independence. After independence education was charged with the following key tasks:-
1 Assist in the provision of the much needed technical manpower.
2 Enhance the social agenda for a united and cohesive society.
Consequently, most governments spent a lot of resources on the expansion of educational
facilities, provision of qualified personnel as well as reforming the educational systems. The
impetus for all these came from discussions in a number of conferences on education.
17.1.1 Addis Ababa conference
This conference was meant to give opportunity to African states to decide on their priorities
as per their needs for the promotion of social and economic development. The conference:
1 Called for more and better opportunities as well as adaptation in education.
2 The need to reform the curriculum - make it relevant to the African situation through
causes on African history and culture.
3 Emphasis in education was to be put on secondary and post – secondary education.
4 It set the target for U.P.E. by 1980 although primary and adult education was to develop
at the same rate.
5 Requested for financial commitment and donor support to realize educational activities in
Africa.
17.1.2 Paris conference
The meeting was called to discuss the implementation of the Addis Ababa conference
resolutions.
The conference resolved among others:
1 Importance of carrying out proper plans in education.
2 Give priority to teacher and secondary education as well as rural schools and adult education
for purposes of productivity.
17.1.3 Tananarive conference
This conference focused as the role of higher education in the development of African countries.
Discussions at the conference centred on targets; planning, curriculum and staffing. The
following recommendations were made:
1. Universities were to have a minimum target population of 5000 students.
2. Called for networking among African institutions instead of dependence on overseas ones
as well as avoid duplication.
3. Enrolment in African universities was to emphasize on science, technology and
agriculture.
4. Universities were to avoid elitism “ivory tower” mentality.
17.1.4 Abidjan conference
The conference once again focused on scientific research as well as adult literacy.
1 Also reviewed the question of regional targets set at the Addis Ababa Conference.
2 Place emphasis on the part that education could play in economic and social progress of
communities especially those in rural areas.
3 Scientific research and adult literacy were to be considered in all educational planning.
Adult education was to address issues of literacy and vocational training. Literacy was
made a functional concept, which contributed, to development and use of resources. This
new meaning led to its full recognition and support at the Teheran Conference in
September 1965.
4 Recognized the relationship (co-operation) between O.A.U and U.N.E.S.C.O.
5 Addressed the problem of wastage and primary school leaver unemployment.
17.3.5 Lagos conference
This conference focused on the organization of research and training in Africa in relation to the
study, conservation and utilization of natural resources.
1 Addressed the organization and financing of scientific research and technical training in
Africa to enable African states make the best use of their natural resources to improve
their economies through industrialization.
2 Importance of teaching sciences and the introduction in education of subjects related to
natural resources.
3 Create general awareness in the community the problems relating to natural resources.
17.2 General developments in education and challenges
Deliberations in the above mentioned conferences set the stage for the development of
educational strategies in a number of countries. Emphasis was put on the training of high-level
manpower both in public and private sectors because the colonial established had denied higher
opportunities to Africans. Accordingly, African governments committed large sums of money to
the education sector especially secondary and higher levels.
Most countries embarked on the process of restructuring their educational systems. This was
mostly reflected in curriculum reforms, which emphasised on the local needs.
1 Adoption of textbooks and subjects focusing on the African society.
2 Teaching methods.
3 At university, some countries opted for compulsory courses in African studies.
4 The new university courses were also made adaptable to African conditions regardless of
their acceptance within European patterns. These were also followed by the creation of
new degree structures e.g. B.A, B.Sc with Educ and B.Ed. Changes were also effected in
the duration of courses as well as entry points.
The French system on the other hand did not embrace changes and resisted any aspects that were
likely to alter the system from that of the metropolitan. Universities for instance adhered to the
French curricula managed by the Ministry of Education in France.
Guinea was the only country that went for radical changes. Following its demands for
independence, it revised the curriculum and systems in line with the new social and political
goals. Education was made relevant to life and emphasized the relevance of education to the total
cultural life of the community. For example, the teaching of political education (ideology) was
made compulsory.
17.3 Reforms in education
17.4 Julius K. Nyerere
Julius Nyerere, arguably the leading educational reformer on the African continent trained as a
teacher at Makerere College and later proceeded to the University of Edinburgh, Scotland for
postgraduate studies. He worked as a teacher, before joining the struggle for independence that
saw him become the first president of Tanganyika in 1961 and Tanzania in 1964 till his
retirement in 1985. Nyerere was one of the most respected African statesmen till his death in
1999.
Nyerere set out his agenda for education in Tanzania in his famous paper, Education for Self-
Reliance issued in March 1967 as a follow-up to an earlier policy based on socialist principles,
The Arusha Declaration of January 1967. He explained the purpose of education as that of
transmitting from one generation to the next of the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of
society and their active participation in its development. He criticized the colonial system of
education inherited at independence as one that only encouraged individualism as opposed to the
co-operative spirit of the African society.
To correct the situation, Nyerere first defined the nature of his society of Tanzania as:
1. A socialist country aspiring for equality and respect for human dignity, equal distribution
of resources and work by everyone and exploitation by none.
2. A society with little capital for industrial development and lacked a skilled workforce, but
with plenty of land with people were willing to work on it.
In view of the observations made above, Nyerere set out to define a new role for education:
1. Foster social goals of living and working together.
2. Prepare young people for constructive role in development.
3. Enhance positive social values; co-operation and not individualism, equality and
responsibility for service and counter intellectual arrogance.
4. Prepare young people for work in rural areas especially in agriculture.
5. Impart into the learners the following characteristics; enquiring minds, ability to learn
from others without discrimination, have confidence as free and equal member of society,
one who values others and is in turn valued by them.
Nyerere faulted the system of education for going against the above stated roadmap by:
1. Being elitist- only accessed by a small group of people and for preparing learners only for
higher levels.
2. Divorced the youth from the society by instilling in them the idea that the educated were
too fragile for the rough and hard life of the masses.
3. Encouraged book learning, and underestimated the traditional African knowledge and
wisdom by teaching the youth to despite their illiterate parents.
4. The school took the youth out of productive work yet they happened to be the healthiest
and the most strong.
To correct these anomalies, Nyerere addressed issues of attendance, content and organization of
education. The school entry age was raised by arguing that older children learnt faster. He also
called for the need to have every level of education as complete and not a mere preparation for a
higher level.
He downgraded the role of examinations which contributed to drilling in schools. He instead
called on schools to prepare the youth for the realities of life by imparting skills and values to be
cherished in a predominantly rural life
Nyerere changed the running of schools by turning them into communities that practised self-
reliance. Schools were to be communities of teachers and farmers as well as pupils and farmers
who engaged in food production and self-sustenance for purposes of integration. He
recommended that schools encourage freedom allowing learners to participate in their
administration. The pupils were required to engage in community service as a way of integrating
them with normal communal activities. The learners were to be assessed for participating as part
of school examinations.
Nyerere called on universities to play a leading in serving the society by developing a relevant
curriculum that addressed the pressing needs of society instead of engaging in academic
programmes for the sake of it.
Nyerere took a very keen interest in adult education, seen to be very important as it not only
served to better the lives of the people but was also necessary in enhancing democracy.
According to Nyerere a good education was one that made the recipient aware of his or her
potential as a human being.
Education had the role of making the individual aware of his personhood and the power to use
circumstances other than being used by circumstances. Instead of turning people into tools,
education should instead turn them into makers of tools, not creatures but creators. The school
according to Nyerere should not act as factory that turned people into marketable commodities
whose values were determined by certificates. A human being according to Nyerere is not a slave
who moved around with a price tag
