A Relevant Education for African Development—Some Epistemological Considerations

By Francis. B. Nyamnjoh

This paper argues that education in Africa is victim of a Western epistemological export that takes the form of science as ideology and hegemony. Under the Western epistemological export, education in Africa and/or for Africans has been like a pilgrimage to the Kilimanjaro of Western intellectual ideals and also the tortuous route to Calvary for alternative ways of life.

Sometimes with justifying rhetoric on the need to be competitive internationally, the practice has been for the elite to model education in Africa after educational institutions in the West, with little attempt at domestication. Education in Africa has been and mostly remains a journey fuelled by an exogenously induced and internalised sense of inadequacy in Africans, and endowed with the mission of devaluation or annihilation of African creativity, agency and value systems. Such cultural estrangement has served to reinforce in the Africans self-devaluation and self-hatred and a profound sense of inferiority that in turn compels them to ‘lighten their darkness’ both physically and metaphorically for Western gratification.

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Comments

[Yorokee Kapimbua]

its amazing to find that some universities abroad especially in North America are opposed to analyses of African students' education systems.after reading this article, i felt sorry for myself because i had two papers that were not accepted by instructors, and the reasons for that being that what i say is provocative and cannot be achieved. i was told to write that "governments in Africa are not transparent, are corrupt and HIV/AIDS".being a student i had to submit, but i felt that my scholarship was at stake. so the arguments by Prof.Nyamnjoh about developing a relevant curricula for Africa(with its diversity cultures)are reasonable, and some of those trying to regain their conscience and lead the path to African education transformation are already meeting with violent opposition.

[Lilly Irani]

Professor Nyamnjoh -

Thank you for writing this paper. I am a PhD student in the United States, studying the information technologies and society. I am interested in understanding how methods of computer and software design might have western epistemological commitments and am concerned about the possible attempts at cultural imperialism in technology development projects such as One Laptop Per Child. If you have any thoughts or opinions on this matter, I would be very interested in hearing them -- or seeing the world hear them.

Thank you! I will continue reading this blog!

~lilly irani
University of California, Irvine

[nyamnjoh]

Dear Lilly Irani,
Thanks for your comments on "A Relevant Education...", also posted on this blog is a paper on Media, Globalisation and Children: A Research Agenda. Similar concerns are raised therein that could answer your question on one laptop per child. A second paper is that on Publish and Perish, which is also on this blog. don't hesitate to let me know if I could be of further assistance with your research. Warm regards
Nyamnjoh

[Keziah]

I would be very interested in hearing them -- or seeing the world hear them. Thanks for sharing