Back in the 19th Century Africa saw a movement of white imperialist entry to the continent. The imperialists came to Africa as tourists, traders, and missionaries. The colonial education system is making Africans poor.
The colonization came with total harm on the Africans from the physical body torture and a change in psychology as well. There was an onslaught on African social lives, education, religion, and history. Besides the inhuman torture of Africans, the Europeans undermined education. And the achievements of Africans and denied the Africans to learn their way instead brought a new form of education to the people.
The Colonial Education system
This new form of education was only advantageous to whites. For example, it would allow Africans to communicate their language for easy communication. And in the process carry on with their exploitation on the African lands. To Africans, this was totally a foreign imposition and far different from their own cultures.
Many years after colonization, the Africa continent is still facing multiple challenges which no one can solve. Because education forced on Africans is not suited to find solutions to African problems.
Africa is battling many challenges which include, a high number of unemployment, high poverty, wars, underdevelopment, and poor governance. Among others. The reason for this traces back to the education that Africans and using even today and has separated Africans on their own continent.
Whites wanted to exploit rich Africa and NOTHING else
To their conquest, the white countries’ colonization led to the abolishing of African tribes, the creation of African borders between nations. And forced to learn a foreign language for the purpose of easy communication. Africans were to strictly abandon their educational system, storytelling, traditional medicine, cave wrings for the community. And pick up the alternative of the white’s black ink and white paper.
There was a high change in African religion and medicine. They named African medicine the black magic. And encouraged European medicine which was regular and also forced on Africans to use. With their authorities taking over, the white nations managed to calm Africans and make them believe their learning system was superior and what Africans needed to advance. During the times of colonization, the Europeans made their education look like it was free to learn system for Africans with one or two administrative associations. But the purpose was to maintain a close check on Africans well enough to ensure they adopt the white way of life. And assimilation which would ensure Africans become just as the oppressor but with only a single difference of their skin color. And several other colonial effects on the black people.
They built schools following the system like those in Europe. Both in structure and content taught in the classes. Africans learned subjects new to them. The literature that spoke of the white people and studying climatic conditions that they never knew in Africa. They were made to procrastinate a new better life that is millions of kilometers away from them. And as a result, it created African geniuses who knew so much about the foreign land, people with better knowledge of socio-economic development of Europe and not Africa.
The African Education system of today
All these past oppressive ways of Europeans have in one way or another resulted in the big problems Africans are facing in our education system.
Africa besides exploited for raw materials, slaves were taken to Europe and mistreated for color, our education system has never healed. If you as a simple question to many African graduates today about what next after campus, they say the fate is unknown. It is an education system without a proper channel to give lights to the graduates. Most importantly, each year, African universities keep pumping graduates in huge numbers.
The problem is the curriculum which is full of white characters and achievements of white people. This is in another way a continuation of oppressive ways of the colonizers, making Africans believe they are lesser of human beings.
Which is the way?
Africa needs to protectively withdraw its colonized minds from the whites. Africa needs to selfishly protect her culture and focus on the road of development in the African way. The Education system can change all at once while some universal principles maintained to find something made by Africans for Africa. This at large will find solutions to Africa’s problems. A system that will produce people who can heal and develop the continent. Africa needs to stop feeding African children with white mentality in the education cycle. Instead, make changes, and change Africa’s education for good!
More:
- The Role of Technology in Restructuring Basic Education
- Inaccessible Secondary Education Shutters Dreams.
- 4 Challenges Facing the Education Sector in Africa
