Ujamaa- Elimu ya Kujitegemea: Ni wapi tulipotea?

[Mzuvendi]

Education- Elimu, Knowledge-Maarifa/Ufahamu!

We are focused on Elimu, and we even made a methali: Elimu ni Ufunguo wa Maisha, Elimu ni Bahari.... but we never spoke of Ufahamu.

We sort of talked about Juhudi (efforts) na Maarifa (knowledge)but never made an emphasis towards more maarifa, identifying basic maarifa and develop to secondary to tertiary stages to make us smart-werevu kujenga ustawi wa uzalishaji na kutuletea maendeleo.

TIB (Tanzania Investment Bank) had a logo of someone pushing a big tire up the hill.... that wasn't being smart but more or so showing juhudi :more muscle, more manual labor than showing smart tools learned through education of using a pulley and an engine to wheel the tire up the hill(did we shortchange science ?)!

I agree, if we would have turn the focus into sharpening and honing skills than aspiring to have more certificates hanged into our living rooms, we could have owned patents and copy rights of innovative work and ensure we are suffocating markets with products out of our own backyard workshops.

Two days ago, I saw an old video clip somewhere in Mbeya, women crossing a river walking through ropes hanging.. yes carrying whatever vichwani mwao.

I asked myself, would have the 2nd year engineering student failed to design a hanging walk bridge?

Rev Kishoka:

You have raised a very important point. And I think one of the reasons why we aren’t creative or aren’t able to use our education to address basic society need is the structure of the education system. Our education system is a performance-based system in the sense that it rewards those who perform better in their exams, in particular the final exams. So instead of relating classroom instructions and their applications in real life, students and educators spend considerable amounts of time memorizing facts or reviewing past papers.

In this type of learning environment, it will be very hard to instill students and their educators the value and application of education for self-reliance. This is because the main goal isn’t to learn how to apply the education in one’s environments, but to pass the final exam and receive the accolade.

In many developer countries, what your teacher or instructor gives you in school counts. For example, if your teachers and school recognize you as an A student because you perform well in exams, you will be recognized as an A student. You won’t need to sit for exams from a special board to confirm that. What’s unique about this system is that students don’t spend a considerable amount of their time performing examination drills. Instead, they engage in education activities that are very important to them and their communities.

Take for example a Tanzanian primary school student who about to finish his/her studies. This kid probably knows more about geography than a college professor in America. The kid will tell you the capital of Peru, Tanzania and Bhutan. On contrary, an average college professor in America cannot think of the capital names of these countries off the top of his head. He will have to search the web or consult a world map. Now, from a Tanzanian perspective, the American professor should have known these. However, from an American perspective, it is good to know world capitals, but this knowledge is trial and doesn’t improve the well being of individuals or society.

And this brings me to the question in your last paragraph “would have the 2nd year engineering student failed to design a hanging walk bridge?”. The answer is yes or no. If the student was taught that the principles of simple machines in primary school, the theories of physics in secondary and high schools have applications in real world, the student will design and build the bridge. However, if the main activity in school was to drill student to pass exams, the student won’t be able to apply the knowledge.