Education Care

REVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION IN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

BY PROF.M.S.RAO, ACADEMIC GUIDE, ICFAI UNIVERSITY, INDIA

“ Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it”, Martin Wright Edelman.

WHAT IS EDUCATION AND SOCIETY:

Education provides the man with information, imagination, knowledge, ideas, values, ethics, reasoning and over all makes the man complete man. Education brings refinement, adds to intelligence, and makes independent and confident man. It is only the human beings who can get armed and equipped with education, which is missing in animals. Education does not mean only reading and writing but also thinking, learning, reasoning, practical experiences and so on. Education is a learning process from cradle to grave. It is education that has brought out many changes in this world and transformed the entire civilization since time immemorial. Ariel and Will Durant quoted, “Education is the transmission of civilization”.

The growth of society solely depends on the type of educational system adopted. Education makes tremendous impact on the society. The quality of the society depends on the quality of educational system implemented. Some one correctly said, “Better institutions are essential if we are to lead better lives”. Right education makes the people build character, values, ethics, and prepares the society and country as a whole to catch up with the rest of the world. Right education is the legacy or the gift, which we pass on to our next generations. George Peabody said, “Education: a debt due from present to future generations”.

EFFECTS OF EDUCATION ON SOCIETY:

Kerala is the first state in India, which attained cent per cent literacy. It encouraged other states to contribute their best so as to attain total literacy. Rather Kerala has become a model state and ideal state to be emulated by the rest of the country in providing importance to education.

No nation can develop without proper education. And India too developed as a society and as a nation for the last 60 years. India has now vast human resources and it has the thirst highest technical manpower in the world. Although the effects of education in the society are tremendous, yet there are grey areas, which needs to be addressed. India as a nation has developed politically, culturally, economically and socially but yet much needs to be focussed in a right direction.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”, said Nelson Mandela. It is very obvious that no weapon is superior to education. Apart from education, the influence of technology has brought out significant changes in the society. If technology is used in the right direction and if it is coupled with education, we can expect miracles in the society as a whole.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

“Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don’t”, said Pete Seeger. All human beings make many mistakes resulting in bitter and, of course, experience. If an individual is educated, he knows the things because he reads the fine print. He tends to make a few mistakes in his life. Where as if an individual is not educated he tends to make more mistakes because he does not know the fine print. An uneducated individual believes in trial or error method. If he succeeds in his trial, he pursues or else he drops. The uneducated man mostly believes in observation and practical knowledge. The success rate is far higher in educated man rather in an uneducated man. Education brings down the complexities in one’s life thereby making life easier, simpler and comfortable. John Dewey rightly said, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself”.

PROBLEMS IN PRESENT EDUCATION:

India is the second largest populated country in the world and unfortunately it is nowhere near in number qualitatively. It may be again due to huge population and the type of administrative and political system we have. There is stress on cramming, memory and mugging up. One who mugs up and puts in examination paper is treated as a meritorious candidate. It does not encourage imagination, creativity and originality. There is no effective emphasis on practical aspects of life. It is mostly beset with theoretical aspects and concepts, which any one can read even without going to institutions.

School children are loaded with many books and they find it highly stressful. Education, in fact, should be filled with entertainment and fun so that student can discover the joy of learning, which is missing now. Children find it horrible to go to schools because of too much of study. Even at home children engage themselves so much on school homework. Such things do not promote the relations between parent and child at home. Inadequate infrastructure and inexperienced teaching staff are another bane. Unfortunately, in India, both the primary and secondary level education is still struggling to survive qualitatively. The views and opinions of the students are not being respected. Students are always imposed whatever is there in the textbooks resulting in lack of imagination and innovation. R W Emerson rightly said, “The secret in education lies in respecting the student”. Only when students are respected and valued, they will try to think creatively, innovatively and out of the box. Students should be provided with more freedom of thought.

It is very unfortunate that the teachers are not paid handsomely. Best brains are pursuing other careers for monetary benefits and for better prospectus. It is a pity that those who stick to teaching profession either due to their aptitude and taste and temperament towards teaching or because there is no other alternative (TINA factor) career.

Pandit Nehru’s policies and Kothari commission have brought some significant changes in the education but still there is no healthy and constructive impact. There is commercialization of education, and a few fly by night operators entered into this sacred field and spoiled the standards.

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES TO OVERCOME:

Teaching faculty must undergo regular training to update and upgrade their skills and abilities. Encouraging regular workshops or seminars or courses related to teaching methodologies can enhance and sharpen their skills. Such seminars will encourage the teaching faculty to exchange and gather more information.

“He who opens a school door, closes a prison”, Victor Hugo. Children from the age of 6 to 14 are to be admitted in schools to provide education, as this is the best age to tune them for creating interest in education. Child labor has been abolished but unfortunately it is not enforced effectively. Children should be encouraged by various innovative ways and means to get into educational institutions.

Content and curriculum in the educational system needs to be addressed. Streamlining the educational system on national basis from Kashmir to Kanyakumari will raise the educational standards. There are disparities in the educational system in various states and efforts must be made to fill those gaps.

Govt. levies 2 per cent educational cess and authorities must ensure that the funds go in a right direction to create strong educational infrastructure. Nobody is against the levy of 2 per cent cess but the right application and mobilization of the resources will bring right results rapidly.

Focussing more on vocational education is the need of the hour. Presently there is a vast gap between industry and academics. Infosys has come out with ‘Campus Connect’ initiative to bridge the gap between the industry and academics and it is a step in right direction. The corporate leaders have a vital role in funding the educational system. They make money for themselves, pay handsome salaries to their employees and paying dividends to their shareholders and all the people who are involved in the business are earning one way or the other. But what are they contributing for the education and society? It is a well admitted fact that the helping hands are far better than praying lips. Corporate, whether big or small, can wholeheartedly come forward to contribute their best for bringing Indian educational system on par with global standards.

It is essential to bring reforms in education from time to time as the tools and techniques involved in teaching are changing rapidly due to the influence of technology.

For professional qualifications like engineering, management, medicine, computers etc., the students should be engaged in the practical education and project works from the first year itself. Such activities will build more confidence in the minds of the students as they grasp the needs of the industry and thereby fine-tuning as per the industry expectations. Fee structure needs to be rationalized and the deserving students should be provided with scholarships.

Providing interest free educational loans will help the deserving and poor students. Also, it is desirable to encourage non-professional degree holders to get vocationalized. “Education is not filling a pail, but the lighting of a fire”, said William Butler Yeats. Education must ignite the minds of the students and it must move the students from comfort zone to effective zone. The students in the comfort zone will not achieve as much as that of in effective zone.

CONCLUSION:

There is a strong need to streamline the present educational system. The problems in the educational system need to be addressed immediately. Education should focus on ethical, social, vocational and academic aspects. Education builds man and man in turn builds nation. A strong nation can be built only when there is a strong character education. Abraham Lincoln aptly said, “Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing”. Hence the essence of any education is the strong character. The evolutionary approaches and revolutionary changes in the present educational system are the need of the hour. We must build a nation where youngsters have a vision to think beyond their geographical boundaries. There should be scope for the students to expand intellect, reinforce mind and make them to stand on their own feet.

MESSAGE:

Education and character are two sides of the same coin and one without the other is meaningless. Money may come and go but it is the character that counts from beginning to the end of life. Any individual when equipped with character education can excel in any part of the world. To put it in the words of Martin Luther King Jr. “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically . . . . . intelligence plus character . . .. That is the goal of true education”.

T H E E N D

Revitalizing secondary education

By Sadaket Malik

With the central government lobbing its ball to the state governments for the implementation of the several schemes  for the revitalization of the system of the secondary education in the country, the schemes of the access, equity, Mahila Samakhya, and quality in the field of secondary education has lost its very essence. Basic issues of quality, equity and access to secondary education in India still unresolved besides the central legislations by the Ministry of Human Resource development Govt of India. The expert committees were formulated by the Govt. to gauge the system and suggest the measures to universalize the whole system. The central governments own figures indicate that many as two-thirds of those eligible for secondary education remain outside the school system today. A Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) committee estimates that 88,562 additional classrooms will be required in 2007-08 and over 1.3 lakh additional teachers. The CABE is the highest advisory body relating to policy making in education in India. Figures put out by the Ministry of Human Resource Development’s Department of School Education and Literacy indicate that as many as two-thirds of those eligible for secondary and senior secondary education remain outside the school system today. While noting that adequate number of elementary schools is to be found at a reasonable distance from habitations, the ministry admits in its website that this is not the case with regard to secondary schools and colleges. The gross enrolment rate for elementary education in 2003-04 was 85 percent, but for secondary education, the enrolment figure stood at 39 percent.

Pertinently, the CABE report also notes that the benefits of India’s reservation policy in higher education are unlikely to reach those it’s intended for in the absence of a strong secondary education system. A large majority of children and youth belonging to SC and ST community  do not have access to secondary education; less than 10 percent of the girls among SCs and STs have access to the plus two stage. Without secondary or senior secondary education, benefits of reservation to SCs/STs will remain elusive,” the report says. These are questions that the CABE report tries to address. School systems, the report says, should strive for equality and social justice, transcending discrimination that may arise because of gender, economic disparity, societal norms on caste and community, location (urban area or rural), disabilities (physical and mental) and cultural or linguistic differences. However, these inequities seem bound to remain given the current circumstances, where the government involvement in secondary education is much less than what is expected of it. The Committee report says that almost 25 percent of the secondary schools today are private, unaided schools whose clientele comes only from the privileged sections of society. Expert opines that Private education has always played an important role we have different types of private secondary schools, such as private unrecognized, private recognized but unaided schools, and private, recognized and aided schools. In Kerala and West Bengal, it’s common to see private aided schools, which are schools run by private managements that receive government grants. Going by the Sixth All India Survey Data, the CABE report notes that private aided schools account for over 46 percent of all secondary school students. The overwhelming participation of the private sector in secondary education, however, in no way absolves the government of its many responsibilities. To improve access to secondary education, experts agree that the government should invest more money. Unfortunately, the Centre has baulked at involving itself even in primary education, more so when it has to be on a collision. course with private schools.

Similarly, though the CABE committee report advocates a common school system, the government seems to have already shown its disinterest.The CABE report was accepted in principle, but soon after, the Planning Commission diluted our recommendation that the typical secondary school should be like a Kendriya Vidyalaya. The Commission started saying that instead of Kendriya Vidyalaya norms, SSA norms could be extended to secondary schools. Such a move would result in parallel streams of education with poor quality being accepted as a part of secondary education. The CABE committee, incidentally, had worked out the expenditure that will be incurred if all secondary schools are managed like Kendriya Vidyalayas. The total costs in such a scenario do not exceed six percent of the GDP but that does not seem to have been enough to convince the government. The report does not mention how many additional schools will be needed to meet the future demand. However, it presents two estimates, one projection based on the 100 percent success of SSA and the other, the 75 percent success of the programme. In the case of the former, the report estimates that 88,562 additional classrooms will be required in 2007-08 and over 1.3 lakh additional teachers

A worrisome trend in government schools, undoubtedly a factor contributing to their poor performance, is the fact that almost 95 percent of the government grants go into paying staff salaries. There is no money for buying teaching learning materials, for cleaning or blackboards,” he explains. The ratio should be at least 80:20, with 20 percent of the grant being used for improving or creating infrastructure, he adds. To ensure that government schools are more efficiently managed, a committee comprising members from the neighborhood could be asked to take decisions concerning the school, suggests several experts  of CABE Committee. Experts opines that there are several examples of successful private-public partnerships. “There have been initiatives like DPS Delhi Public School being given the responsibility to run two-three government schools in Gurgaon in Haryana In this way, the private schools can manage the schools for a while and use their expertise to train teachers.

The educationists have a consensus that the children are actually walking out because there is no quality education. Poor children can ill-afford to spend their time in classes that are taken badly, or in schools that have no infrastructure or teachers. Instead of looking for the reasons that are behind the problem, the government appears to be trying to implicate parents or children for the ‘drop-out’ rates. The CABE committee report has already set down comprehensive norms that secondary schools should follow, ranging from having one classroom for 30 students, ensuring safe drinking water facilities and separate toilets for girls and boys to computer labs. Experts also suggest granting free ships or scholarships to those from disadvantaged backgrounds to encourage enrolment in secondary and senior secondary schools. The CABE report notes that expansion of secondary education can be achieved by setting up new schools, upgrading existing elementary schools into high schools by providing more infrastructure and adding to the facilities in existing secondary schools to accommodate more students.

In view of this, the Central and the State/UT governments must jointly initiate planning to implement the agenda of universal and free secondary education in the first phase by the year 2015 and then extend it to senior secondary education in the second phase by the year 2020. The conventional expectation from secondary/senior secondary education lies in its role in creating the necessary base for generating technical person power, raising the potential of a society in contributing to the growth of knowledge and skills and thereby enhancing the nation’s capacity to face the challenge of global competitiveness.

The no of  higher secondary schools has been raised to 50,273 with  1000112 teachers, and figure of secondary schools is 101,777 with 1082878 teachers. Official statistics reveal that the enrolment of secondary and higher secondary school level is  3.70  crore and the gross enrolment ratio is 39.91. The total dropout rate up to matric is 61.92 as on September 2004. The population of children in this age group has been estimated to be 88.5 million as per Census, 2001.Enrolment figures show that only 31 million of these children were attending schools in 2001-02,

However, Para 5.13 –5.15 of the National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 (as modified in 1992) deal with Secondary Education. Para 5.13. of the NPE, inter alia states that access to Secondary Education will be widened with emphasis on enrolment of girls, SCs and STs, particularly in science, commerce and vocational streams. The disparity between boys’ and girls’ enrollment is particularly marked at the secondary stage. As per the latest data available, out of the total enrollment of 21.2 millions n 1991-92 (as on 30.9.91) at the secondary stage (Classes IX and above), the girls account for 7 millions only, i.e. mere 33 per cent of the total enrollment, whereas boy’s enrollment at this stage of education is 67 per cent of the total enrollment.

            Nevertheless, a significant progress is also made in all spheres of secondary education. More than 84 per cent habitations in 1993-94 had a secondary school/section within a distance of 8 km as compared to 70 per cent within 5 km.  The number of unserved habitations declined from 21 per cent in 1986-87 to 15 per cent in 1993-94.  During 1950-51 to 1999-2000, number of secondary & higher secondary schools increased from 7 thousand to 117 thousand.  The increase (16 times) is much more rapid than the corresponding increase in primary (3 times) and upper primary (14 times) schools.   In the latest decade (1990 to 99), more than 37 thousand secondary & higher secondary schools were opened. The ratio of upper primary to secondary schools also improved from 1.83 in 1950-51 to 1.69 in 1999-2000.

Keeping in view the dismal statistics of secondary education in the country, Ministry of HRD launched several schemes, like scheme for strengthening of boarding and hostel facilities for girl students of secondary and higher secondary schools. The scheme is being implemented by NGOs and of the state governments. A one-time grant non recurring  grant @Rs.1500/- per girl boarder for purchase of furniture (including beds)and utensils and provision of basic recreational aids, particularly material for sports and games, reading room equipments and books. And recurring Rs.5000/- per annum per girl boarder for food and salary of cook. Finally, The CABE Committee in June 2005 recommended that “there is no alternative acceptable to regular schooling of good quality to all the girls”. The Committee also felt that “incentives offered for promotion of girls education need to be revisited and measures taken need to be of such nature, force and magnitude that they are able to overcome the obstacles posed by factors such as poverty, domestic/sibling responsibilities, girl child labour, low preference to girl’s education, preference to marriage over the education of girl child, etc.” The key issues relating to secondary education highlighted in the Tenth Plan are: greater focus on improving access; reducing disparities by emphasizing the Common School System; renewal of curricula with emphasis on vocationalisation and employment-oriented courses; expansion and diversification of the Open Learning System; reorganization of teacher training and greater use of ICT. After merging several schemes like ET & CLASS scheme, a new Scheme called ICT Schools was launched for which the Annual Plan Outlay for 2006-07 was Rs. 67 crore. The intervention of the Central Government in Secondary Education has primarily been in two areas, (i) through apex level bodies and (ii) through various Centrally Sponsored Schemes. Central Government supports autonomous organizations like NCERT, CBSE, KVS and NVS and CTSA, the first named body for providing research and policy support to the Central and State Governments; CBSE for affiliating Secondary Schools and the remaining three for their own school systems. There are 929 Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVS) and 507 Navodaya Vidyalayas (NVS), and 69 Central Schools for Tibetans (CTSA).  Scheme of Vocationalistion of Secondary Education at secondary level to enhance individual Employability. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) launched in 2007 is a mission-mode exercise to universalize secondary education in which the centre is all set to universalize the secondary education till 2020.

The irony is that the arguments on the part of HRD ministry on community participation in implementing such schemes are not encouraging. Government should initiate evaluation mechanism and core commission to evaluate the progress of the schemes and policies to support the education sector by community mobilization to revitalize the schemes and put the policies into practice.

The author can be contacted at sadaketmalik@rediffmail.com

Tom Moore, CEO of Education Corporation of America, a company that owns and operates online schools throughout the United States, recently defended the online, for-profit education sector from its U.S.D.E dissidents. Moore’s company operates the network of Virginia College career schools and he thinks that the U.S.D.E. and other critics are wrong in their recent assertions of online and career school inadequacy.

Moore argues that a critical path to equal opportunity in a society which continues to righteously divide the “have” and “have nots” is education. Education, he says, is something that everyone should have the opportunity to pursue, not just the lucky few. Traditional schools i.e. nonprofit private and public universities are not the only option. And, for many, these “traditional” colleges may not have ever been an option in the first place.

Moore calls career colleges and online education institutions a vital part of the education community and one which is reaching out to students who want to earn a degree, but may not have the time or means to attend a ground school.

Further, says Moore, as some states continue to cut education budgets ultimately reducing access to higher education, online institutions and community colleges have become even more of a critically important factor in the education sector.

Online institutions and community colleges offer students flexible alternatives to the oftentimes inaccessible and grossly over expensive “traditional” school. Online educators and career or community colleges straightforwardly prepare the new American workforce, as Moore calls it, readying students for direct entry into the job market and workforce.

The U.S. Department of Education and some politicians have valid concerns. Recently, for-profit education institutions have come under attack for faulty recruiting processes among other things. Because of this the Department of Education has decided to place some regulations on the for-profit education sector; regulations that may affect deserving students. Says Moore, “the Department of Education and certain politicians have chosen to ignore the opportunities and benefits that career colleges provide to students and to the economy. Instead, the department is planning to make things harder for these students, by proposing a set of regulations that are based on faulty data and even faultier premises.”

Faulty recruiting processes are certainly an unfavorable error on the part of for-profit’s administrators, but, argues Moore, the U.S.D.E. will ultimately be doing a disservice to the students who want an education, not the administrators. “The effect will be to limit access to, and discriminate against, first-generation college students and non-traditional students – such as working mothers, minorities, veterans and seniors, those who arguably could benefit most from a college education.”

Moore’s argument for for-profit online education institutions and career and community colleges is a valid one. For-profits are some of the industry’s top producers of career-based and tech-ready graduates. And, in many ways, for-profits are at the very forefront of innovative, higher education- employing digital technology and various other pioneering teaching tactics to help students learn.

In closing, Moore petitions the U.S.D.E. and political critics to reevaluate how placing strict regulations on the for-profit education industry will ultimately affect non-traditional, deserving students. In a society of great separateness, education should be an equally available, joining factor.

 

The high speed of modern life people many do not have time for their various tasks. The Internet has simplified by visiting the store to buy your doctor about your prescription. Online pharmacy without a prescription and save time and effort that the drug offers low prices higher. Online pharmacies have become more receptive to your prescription to your door. At a time when certain medications or drugs, but has no strength or energy to leave your house to your doctor for prescription required, then queuing to a drug of pharmacy. The days are suffering from health problems and there is nobody around you the help you really do not need panic on the subject, because there are always solutions to every problem. What do you think of buying drugs online? Some of you may prefer to be away from the idea because it can not guarantee that online pharmacies to buy medicines is reliable or not. Therefore ensure that the online pharmacy before buying something on the site is highly recommended for you to do. The next thing that may cross your mind is what to do, so you can be sure that an online pharmacy is trustworthy and a few others should be avoided. You can not do it himself, because all these sites are well established and scam site. That’s why you need professional help in the field to help you. A number of web sites to visit in this case, where you can find all the information you need to know about how to determine the best online pharmacy should go for medications that can be purchased online to find it.

The first place you should go here Intermountainfertilitycare.org. This site was originally created for people who are looking for information on online pharmacy without prescription. Yes, the site of important information on the effectiveness of purchasing drugs online. Sure, you can imagine how much you can save time because they do not respect her doctor for some drugs and the amount of energy can be saved, because the online system, you do not have to be on a line just to get the drug. After the list of online pharmacies without a prescription next thing to do is find a licensed pharmacy where you can buy the medicine safely and comfortably.

The fact is that the site is not the only thing to go to the online pharmacy without prescription department, it Theburger.org Garzasprocessservice.com and you can opt for references and detailed information on the system.

MICHAEL KARIUKI – 0721 666 098, mickariuki@yahoo.com

 

Should we and can we develop an African philosophy of education?: Pedagogy of Sagacity

In 1986, Njoroge and Bennaars, published Philosophy and education in Africa; an introductory text for students of education. Since the publication of this textbook there has been an intellectual aridity in this area of educational philosophizing in Kenya. This is in spite of the said textbook being merely introductory or prolegomenon. More importantly is the model proposed and formulated in this textbook intended as a conceptual framework for developing an African philosophy of education (1986; 92). This model has remained un-attempted. 

My paper will argue in the affirmative while distinguishing should as a non-moral normative imperative and can as a question of ability. While indeed we should develop African philosophy of education this imperative remains unachievable until we have experts with requisite scholarly abilities.

 

Problem of shortage of educational philosophers

Experts in philosophy of education are called educational philosophers. They should be trained in technical philosophy and educational sciences. The two disciplines must meet in one. To ‘meet in one,’ means that an educational philosopher should integrate both technical philosophy and educational sciences as an integral area of academic specialization. Educational philosopher is the middle term between technical philosophy and educational sciences. In other words one should have academic qualification as a technical philosopher and as a trained professional teacher.

 

Lack of this ‘meeting in one’ of the two areas is to blame for lack of resources in this area. It means persons who are lesser than the ideal are teaching this discipline. There are two types of categories of teachers of philosophy of education in Africa who are lesser than the ideal.

The generalists and the specialists, the former are professional educators without philosophical footing. The latter are academic philosophers without educational training. Both as Plato would say must be debarred and be made to give way for educational philosopher.

 

Generalists make philosophy of education be about general principles, aims and goals of education. The technical philosopher makes philosophy of education too abstract and unrelated to everyday concerns of professional teacher in schooling. The latter stand accused of arm chair speculation, the latter stands accused of generality.

  

The model of African philosophy of education: Pedagogy of sagacity

  

Pedagogy of Sagacity stands on two feet – one foot is planted in Sage philosophy and the other in Pedagogy of Oppressed – both feet are rooted in the conceptual model for developing African philosophy of education as articulated by Njoroge and Bennaars (1986, 88-89).

  

  

  

Pedagogy of Sagacity or Sagacious Pedagogy is developed as an attempt to transcend the original impetus of the project of Sage philosophy of Nairobi School. As Gail Presbey states,

 

I suggest that the original impetus for starting the sage philosophy project – the defense against Euro-American skeptics who thought Africans incapable of philosophizing – has been outgrown. The present need for studies of African sages is to benefit from their wisdom, both in Africa and around the world. I also suggest that the title ‘sage’ has to be problematized. While there were good reasons to focus earlier on rural elders as overlooked wise philosophers, the emphasis now should be on admiring philosophical thought wherever it may be found-in women, youth, and urban Africans as well. In such a way, philosophy will be further relevant to people’s lives, and further light will be shed and shared regarding the lived experience in Africa.

Gail concludes by pointing out that

Whether, and in what way, sage philosophy continues and grows will be determined in part by the ideas of those who have the will to continue it; their works will help define the terms “sage” and “sage philosophy” in the future.

Pedagogy of Sagacity is contemplated here as a possible contribution to the development of Sage philosophy in terms of African philosophy of education. Njoroge and Bennaars (1986, 98) have formulated

 

…a basic framework within which philosophical thinking about African education must be located. Within this model we identified four distinct areas of concern each reflecting a specific function of Technical Philosophy, a specific approach in educational Philosophy and a specific trend in African Philosophy. These areas of concern are: the Ethnophilosophy of Education, the Phenomenology of African Education, the Critique of African Education and the Philosophical analysis of African Education.

 

The authors (1986, 88) intend this to be a normative ‘framework within which to locate educational philosophy in Africa.’ Thus they state that (1986, 89),

 

…we can now establish what ought to be the major features or concerns of an African Philosophy of Education; thus we may arrive at a MODEL that brings out the specific features of a truly African Philosophy of Education.

 

For this model to be realized two criteria or conditions must be fulfilled, namely technical and African. As regards the former criterion ‘an African Philosophy of Education, to be recognized as truly technical, (it) must display similar functions and approaches as the Technical Philosophy of Education’ (1986, 89). There are four functions of technical philosophy namely, critical, rational, phenomenological and speculative (1986, 23-24). Corresponding to these four functions respectively are four approaches to philosophy of education namely, implicational, existential, critical and analytical approaches (1986, 89).

 

With regard to the second criterion or condition African philosophy must be African that is ‘it must reflect the trends characteristic of philosophical thinking in Africa’ (1986, 89). Njoroge and Bennaars (1986, 83-89) have delineated four trends in African philosophy namely, ethno-philosophy, cultural philosophy, political philosophy and formal philosophy. Each of these trends is paired with a corresponding function from the four technical functions of philosophy. The resulting combinations are four distinct approaches to African philosophy of education these are; ethno-philosophy paired with speculative function results in implications approach in African philosophy of education; cultural philosophy paired with phenomenological function results in existential approach; political philosophy paired with critical function results in critical approach; and lastly formal philosophy paired with analytical function results in analytical approach (1986, 89).

We can therefore identify ‘four major areas of concern, which may be called the basis … of a truly African Philosophy of Education.’ These are ethno-philosophy of education; phenomenology of African education; critique of African education; and philosophical analysis of African education.[1] In Aristotelian causality technical functions of philosophy are the formal causes while trends in African philosophy are the material causes. Formal and material causes are co-constitutive principles of substantial being, the substance of African philosophy of education is possible within the framework of Njoroge and Bennaars. As Wittgenstein states (1981;2.14) ‘what constitutes a picture is that its elements are related to one another in a determinate way,’ this is ‘the pictorial form’ of reality (2.15). In a pictorial form of reality ‘a picture … attached … to reality … reaches right out to it’ so that the picture is the measure of what reality should be. (2.1521). The framework of Njoroge and Bennars is the measure of what is to be regarded as African philosophy of education.

 

Platonic middle term

The model proposed by Njoroge and Bennaars has not yet been worked out in practice. This could be due to lack of experts who are ‘extremely rare’ (1986;78) with the right combinations namely, training in technical philosophy and training as professional educators (B.Ed). Further still development of African educational philosophy requires experts with knowledge and skill in African philosophy. The requirement that African philosophers of educators be doubled edged experts in technical philosophy and professional educators (1986; 77-80) is akin to Plato’s (Republic Book, V. 473d) observation that

Cities will have no respite from evil … unless philosophers rule as kings in the cities, or those whom we now call kings and rulers genuinely and adequately study philosophy, until, that is, political power and philosophy coalesce, and the various natures of those who now pursue the one to the exclusion of the other are forcibly debarred from doing so. Otherwise the city we have been describing will never grow into a possibility or see the light of day.

  

To paraphrase Plato in the framework of Njoroge – Bennaars we can state that: Kenya will have no African philosophy of education unless philosophers teach and research in educational foundations, or those who teach philosophy of education genuinely and adequately study philosophy; until, that is, technical philosophy and educational sciences coalesce in African educational philosophers and the various scholars who now pursue one to the exclusion of the other are forcibly debarred from meddling in this area. Otherwise the proposed model of African philosophy of education will never develop into a possibility or see the light of day. Plato in the cited place provides a middle term which logically links technical philosophy and educational sciences in philosophy of education in Africa. The middle term is a technical African philosopher who is also a professional philosopher i.e. a scholar who integrates both technical philosophy and educational profession. It is from such a one that hope lies for possibility of developing an African philosophy of education. With such rare experts we can develop African philosophy of education.

 

Pedagogy of Sagacity: Thought Experiment on African Philosophy of education

Of the four trends in African philosophy identified by Njoroge and Bennars Sage Philosophy is not included, yet Odera Oruka (1990;16-17) includes it as a distinct trend in African philosophy. There are four trends in African philosophy identified by Oruka (1990, 13 – 20) namely, ethno-philosophy, philosophic sagacity, nationalist-ideological philosophy and professional philosophy. For Oruka (1991,43) ‘sage philosophy comes as a third alternative’ it lies between folk philosophy or (ethno-philosophy) and ‘the written critical discourse’ or  (professional trend); sage philosophy ‘demonstrates the fact that traditional Africa had both folk wisdom and critical personalized philosophical discourse.’ Sage philosophy is here subjected to phenomenological analysis within the model of Njoroge – Bennaars in attempt to develop African philosophy of education. As the model of Njoroge – Bennaars requires African philosophy of education should be worked out on two-fold points, firstly, technical method of philosophy and secondly a trend in African philosophy. To develop pedagogy of sagacity, phenomenology is the opted technical function of philosophy while philosophic sagacity or sage philosophy is the trend in African philosophy; from these two a new area in African educational philosophy arises namely, pedagogy of sagacity.

 

Banking versus problem-posing education

Pedagogy of sagacity is influenced by pedagogy of the oppressed. Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educationist developed a trend in philosophy of education called pedagogy of the oppressed (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed ‘is an instrument for … critical discovery … of dehumanization’. ‘The central problem’ of pedagogy of the oppressed ‘is this: How can the oppressed, as divided, unauthentic beings, participate in developing the pedagogy of their liberation?’ ‘This pedagogy makes oppression and its causes objects of reflection by the oppressed, and from that reflection will come their necessary engagement in the struggle for their liberation. And in the struggle this pedagogy will be made and remade’ (1972, 25). Pedagogy of the oppressed is a critique of traditional pedagogy that is teacher-centered; the teacher assumes the dominant role while the learners are passive. In traditional pedagogy Freire identified two dialectically opposed poles, the oppressors – who happen to be teachers, and the oppressed – who happen to be learners. The teacher is in a dialectical opposition to the learner in which case the teacher has-knowledge but the learner has-not knowledge, he is assumed to be tabula rasa. Freire employs analogy of the banking industry to expose ten contradictory pedagogical ‘attitudes and practices, which mirror oppressive society as a whole’ (1972, 46-47). The teacher acts as the ‘bank-clerk’ by use of ‘banking methods of domination’. Freire institutes a pedagogical paradigm shift where he replaces ‘the educational goal of deposit-making …with the posing of problems of men in their relations with the world’ (1972,52). This is also called liberating education which ‘consists in acts of cognition, not transferrals of information’ (1972,53). The ‘practice of problem-posing education first of all demands a resolution of the teacher-student contradiction. Dialogical relations – indispensable to the capacity of cognitive actors to cooperate in perceiving the same cognizable object – are otherwise impossible’ (1972, 53). Iconoclasm of banking education allows freedom for ‘the critical reflection of both teacher and students’ this leads to ‘emergence of consciousness and critical intervention in reality.’ (1972, 53-54).To contrast ‘banking education … and … problem-posing education’ Freire (1972;56-57states

 

… the two educational concepts and practices under analysis come into conflict. Banking education attempts, by mythicizing reality, to conceal certain facts which explain the way men exist in the world; problem-posing education sets itself the task of de-mythologizing. Banking education resists dialogue; problem-posing education regards dialogue as indispensable to the acts of cognition which unveils reality. Banking education treats students as objects of assistance; problem-posing education makes them critical thinkers. Banking education inhibits creativity and domesticates the intentionality of consciousness by isolating consciousness from the world, thereby denying men their ontological and historical vocation of becoming more fully human.

 

Freire is in total rejection of banking education the means for emancipation from ‘authoritarianism and an alienating intellectualism’ is to begin with people ‘in the ‘here and now’, which constitutes the situation in which they are submerged, from which they emerge…. To do this authentically they must perceive their state not as fated and unalterable, but merely as limiting – and therefore challenging.’ (1972;57-58)

 

Pedagogy of sagacity is an attempt to develop African philosophy of education.  It is a critical reflection on possibility of African pedagogy, as Freire notes ‘critical reflection is also action’ in the sense that ‘action and reflection occur simultaneously’ (1972, 99).

Two Typologies of Sages

Odera Oruka (1991; 34) identifies two types of sages in Africa, namely, folk sage and philosophic sage.

Findings in Kenya show that there are two main divisions of sage philosophy. One is that of the sage whose thought, though well informed and educative, fails to go beyond the celebrated folk-wisdom. Such a sage may not have the ability or inclination to apply his own independent critical objection to folk beliefs. He is, therefore, a folk sage in contrast to the second type of the sage, the philosophic sage. The former is a master of popular wisdom while the latter is an expert in didactic wisdom.

 

The philosophic sage may know, as the folk sage does, what the cardinal beliefs and wisdoms of his community are, but he makes an independent, critical assessment to what the people take for granted. Thus, while the sagacity of the folk sage remains at the first order level of philosophy, that of the philosophic sage is a second-order philosophy, that is a reflection on and a rationalized evaluation of what is given in the first order. What is given in the first order is a mixture of conventional-cum-customary beliefs and practices.

 

Oruka (1991, 37) believes that ‘There are and there will be sages even among Africans with modern education’ for instance Nyerere. To be a sage one needs ‘to be wise and able to utilize that wisdom for the benefit of one’s community.’ ‘The concern in the sage research is not to claim that sagacity is, by definition, philosophy but to look for philosophy within sagacity, that is, to get to their overlap.  ’Within this overlap, both the philosopher and the wise man have the same function: they employ abstract reasoning for the understanding and solution of the basic questions of human life’ (1991, 41). Odera Oruka (1991, 34) carried out his research project in Kenya. ‘One major aim is to look for philosophy or traces of philosophy in traditional Africa….by talking to the living sages…. Exposing the value of such thoughts is again one other important aim of the sage research’ (1991, 41). However, most importantly the sage project was meant ‘to help substantiate or disapprove the well-known claim that ‘real philosophical thought’ had no place in traditional Africa.’ This claim implied that ‘existence of philosophy in modern Africa is due wholly to the introduction of western thought to Africa’ (1991, 34). The invalidation of this claim could only be established if traditional Africa was found to host philosophic sages. The project was successful for it identified philosophic sages (individuals with didactic wisdom) in Kenya while distinguishing them from folk sages (individuals with popular wisdom) (1991, 33-34).

This European prejudice is reflected in the work of Mullin J (1965) which was meant to be an attempt ‘to lay down guide-lines for the … Christian apostolate in modern Africa’ (1965, 3). Mullin (1965, 32-33) contrasts African mentality with European mentality he states:

The African’s reasoning methods are not discursive; he knows nothing of the syllogism, he thinks inductively rather than deductively; nor is his thinking analytic: it is intuitive and synthetic …. This is a mentality different from the European, and to be respected as such …. One consequence of it is a circular manner of thinking, a collecting of impressions, a feeling of the way before coming to the kernel of a problem …. A more important consequence is the primacy in his thought of the concrete over the abstract; and the human over the institutional …. European teachers, trained in deductive thought, pass on ideas in a way impossible for the African to assimilate. They do not square with his reasoning’.

While the philosophic sage engages in sagacious didactics, the folk sage engages in narration. Philosophic sagacity is often ‘a product and a reflective re-evaluation of the culture philosophy. The few sages who possess the philosophic inclination make a critical assessment of their culture and its underlying beliefs.’ They use power of reason to produce ‘a system within a system, and order within an order’ (1991, 49). Folk sagacity is first order culture philosophy. ‘It is absolute in its ideas and truth claims and has an ideological war with anything to the contrary.’ Folk sages ‘are specialists in explaining and maintaining this order…. Their explanations or thought do not go beyond the premises and conclusions given by the prevailing culture’ (1991, 49). Philosophic sage is critical reflection on the first order philosophy of culture. It is ‘a critical rebellion against the first order conformity and anachronism’. While the first order glorifies the communal conformity, philosophic sagacity is skeptical…it employs reason to assess it. The first order is purely absolutist and ideological, the second order is generally open-minded and rationalistic. Its truths are given as tentative and ratiocinative, not as God-sent message (1991, 49). Further contrast between the two sage includes (1991, 36)

The folk sage is versed in the common-place culture, customs and beliefs of his people. He can recite or describe them with much competence.  However, he is unable to raise any critical question about them, nor is he able to observe the inherent contradictions. The philosophic sage, like the folk sage, may equally be versed in the beliefs and values of his society. His main task is to make critical assessment of them and recommend, as far as the communal pressure allows, only those beliefs and values that pass his rational scrutiny. The folk-sage is identifiable by his consistent inability to isolate his own opinion from the beliefs of the community and his ready inclination to take refuge behind the popular unexamined wisdom wherever he is intellectually challenged. The philosophic sage, on the other hand, is clearly able to isolate the given beliefs of the community from his own evaluation, rationalization and even criticism of those beliefs. He is also able to enjoy a dialectical or intellectual game with the interviewer.

 

Mullin’s characterization of African mentality is a fallacious generalization which collapses African thought to folk sagacity. There are philosophic sages capable of syllogistic reasoning in Africa both in literate and pre-literate societies. ‘There is possibility for sagacity both in pre-literate and literate societies’ (Oruka 1991, 37). To be a sage is not necessarily to be philosophic

Pedagogy of sagacity

Pedagogy of sagacity uses phenomenological method of philosophy to anayze two typologies of teachers based on the paradigms of Oruka’s two sages, philosophic and folk sages. This is in attempt to fructify Njoroge – Bennaars (1986) model or conceptual framework for developing African Philosophy of education.

 

Folkish teacher versus philosophic teacher

By use of phenomenological analysis we can draw implications from the two sages. Philosophic-sage points to a teacher who is critical and empowers learners to think for themselves. He uses student-centered pedagogy. His classroom is community of researchers; his role is to midwife students in their search for solution to problems. Classroom is related to real life problems. Folkish-sage points to folkish-teachers who merely recycle old lecture notes. They do not update themselves they dictate notes to learners who are expected to be passive recipients. Such teachers fail to criticize educational theories and practices. They are authoritarian and aim at making learners memorize notes in order to pass examinations. Such a teacher fears questions and fails in self-criticism. The folkish-teacher uses banking pedagogy, while philosophic-teacher uses problem-solving pedagogy.

In the movie Sarafina Mrs. Masumbuka exemplifies philosophic-teacher who is gadfly that stings learners to dare to think, that is to critically question the received traditions. She midwifes regeneration of learners as enlightened and emancipated active learners who demystifies the stratified sanitized syllabus. The teacher who replaces her is an example of folkish teacher. He can at best impose and popularize authorized apartheid pedagogical narrative which  is oppressive to the African students. That teacher mechanically transmits fossilized pre-packaged ideas without critical reflection. This is a dogmatic teacher who fails to emancipate himself from dominant oppressive pedagogy of white supremacist in apartheid South Africa.

Conclusion

Model by Njoroge – Bennaars is useful in developing African philosophy of education. Pedagogical Sagacity is a product of that model and proves that it is pragmatic and relevant to African philosophy of education. There remains more areas in education in Africa where sage Philosophy needs to be explored and logical conclusions be drawn to improve teaching/learning in philosophy of education in Africa, Kenya in particular. Sage Philosophy furnishes a productive conceptual framework for educational philosophizing not only in Africa but also anywhere else where critical analysis of pedagogical theory and practice is to be carried out. This is a proposal of one possible direction among others where Sage Philosophy can be relevant beyond Oruka’s original concern. It points at possible contributions of Sage Philosophy (in department of Philosophy) to educational philosophy (in department of Educational Foundations).

  

  

Bibliography

Freire P, (1972) Pedagogy of the oppressed, translated by Myra Bergman Ramos, Middlesex: Penguin Books.

  

Mullin, J. (1965) The Catholic Church in Modern Africa, a pastoral Theology, London: Geoffrey Chapman.

 

Njoroge – Bennaars (1986) Philosophy and education in Africa: An introductory text for students of education. Nairobi: Transafrica.

Odera O, (1990) Trends in Contemporary African Philosophy. Nairobi: Shirikon

________  (1991) Sage Philosophy; indigenous thinkers and modern debate on African Philosophy. Nairobi: ACTS