AFRICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM

Education is a process of imparting knowledge, skills and attitudes by the teacher to the learners.

Education is in two i.e. formal and informal educations.

Formal education is the European type of education introduced in East Africa by the missionaries and it involves reading and writing while informal does not involve reading and writing.

Characteristics of informal education (African education)

It was conducted outside the classroom and learners were taught together without grouping them in different classes.

It was conducted in open places i.e. did not have schools but it was taught from home.

It had no trained teachers, elders, parents or any knowledgeable relative conducted it.

It had no teaching syllabus to be followed. The content taught was got from the environment and cultural norms.

It lacked a formal time table to be followed, at any time the elder felt like teaching he or she would do it.

It lacked formal or regular assessment and evaluation of learners.

It lacked exams or tests to find out whether learners had understood or not.

It was not literate i.e. did not involve reading and writing.

It was cultural in nature i.e. it promoted the preservation of cultural norms by the people.

It was mainly practical since it involved practical skills for example cooking, digging and planting.

It emphasized promotion of morals among the children in order to live a successful life.

It involved sexual education especially to the children at puberty.

It emphasized respect for one another i.e. girls were taught to below so as to respect their husbands.

African education was free of charge i.e. did not involve paying of school fees like formal education.

There were no educational credentials to the learners, but practical outcomes were got after attaining this education e.g. circumcision of boys was a credential and qualification for adulthood among the Kikuyu of Kenya.

The content of this education system varied with the age of the learners. Sex education e.g. was exclusively for the adolescent and not the young.

Strengths/ advantages of an informal education

Positively, it helped to produce morally upright people in the society. This is because morals were highly appreciated.

It helped the young people to fit in the society in which they were born, however harsh it was.

It promoted equality because it did not grade learners and separated them into classes.

It made the youths to get to know why certain things in an area e.g. lightening, famine, earth quakes and the will get to know how to overcome them.

It taught young ones their historical background and made them aware of past experiences such as origin, migration pattern, battles fought.

It promoted unity because the content taught was the same and learners were allowed to interact with one another.

It promoted the spirit of social concern for one another because the spirit of brotherhood was imparted into them.

It equipped the young ones with practical skills for their own survival e.g. they were taught domestic work for example digging, hunting, fetching water and collecting firewood.

It also prepared the young people for social responsibilities in the society as some of them became leaders while others became medicine men and women.

It helped youth for marriage relation, promoting stability of marriage, as every one well knew and performed required duties respectively.

It served to respect and preserves the African cultural beliefs and practices, since the content was got from the cultures of the communities.

Weaknesses of African informal education

It created inequality and classes in the society based on sex. This is because women were undermined and seen as inferior to men.

Content taught was not universal but societal i.e. it varied from culture to culture which created disunityamong the people.

It was not literate and therefore it produced people who never knew how to read and write.

Since it lacked academic papers or credentials, it undermined the position of leaders since their education could not qualify them.

Some forms of informal education like circumcision was unfair and painful to human life.

It involved punishment that were unfair e.g. ex-communicating the girl who become pregnant before marriage or even killing them.

Since it depended on the elders as teachers, these could become tired and sick hence making the children miss their lesson.

Sex education in traditional Africa

Sex education was that type of education that involved imparting of information about sex to the young people at puberty stage and were about to get married.

In African traditional society, different societies taught different things to their children concerning sex as seen below:

Content of sex education taught to children

Sex education was that education that involved imparting of information about sex to the young people at puberty stage.

It was mainly taught to the adolescent by the elders, parents, relatives and friends.

Boys were usually taught by their uncles who gave them marriage roles and responsibilities.

The girls were usually taught by their Aunties who also gave them tips on how to behave while in marriage.

Sex education involved separation of the learners from the rest of the public to teach them.eg among the Kikuyu, the boys were taken to the forest.

The adolescent boys and girls who were about to get married were taught the different sex techniques and styles which they were to use while in marriage.

The children were taught to be morally upright and disciplined and respect all elders in the society.

The girls were called upon to keep their virginity until marriage and heavy punishments were given to those who broke it before marriage.

The Aunties always told the girls to show respect to their husbands by kneeling while greeting and giving them anything. This was common among the Baganda.

In some societies, it involved mutilation of sex organs e.g. among the Kikuyu of Kenya, circumcision was done in order to bring sexual satisfaction among the partners in marriage.

Life skills were also imparted into the young to prepare them for the future e.g. among the Baganda boys were taught how to hunt, Masai girls were taught how to build house etc.

The boys were also taught by the uncles to be hardworking in life in order to able to take care of their wives and children.

The girls in Buganda were told not to respond when their husbands were quarreling. They were told to put water in the mouth to prevent responding.

Sex education also involved taking the girls to the bush schools where they were taught how to elongate their Labia. This was common among theBaganda, Basoga, Batoro etc.

The girls were also taught not to fear sex while in marriage and to always give sex to their husbands any time they wanted.

The girls were made aware of their menstrual periods and they were taught how to handle/clean themselves during those periods.

Girls were told to Love their husbands and always be clean at home through washing the clothes, utensils and cleaning the house and the compound.

Both boys and girls were taught to produce as many children as possible while in marriage in order to expand the clan.

Both boys and girls were taught to produce as many children as possible while in marriage in order to expand the clan.

Girls and boys were taught to get married and not to fear getting married for their own good.

Both boys and girls were a lot about their culture during sex education so as to be able to pass it on to their children.

The children at puberty were taught to have sex as many times as they wanted while in marriage.

In some societies, girls were also circumcised during sex education. This was to reduce their feelings sexually in marriage e.g. among the Sabiny of Eastern Uganda.

Importance of sex education in African traditional society

Sex education referred to the Imparting of information about sex into the young people at puberty stage.

It was important as shown below:

It provided information which helped the young to develop into healthy and responsible adults.

It also enabled the children to get married at the right time.ie not too early and not too late.

It helped to prevent sexual abuses/ misuses in the society such as fornication, rape, homosexuality etc among the youth.

It also helped to prevent early and unwanted pregnancies as well as sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis.

Sex education promoted hygiene and sanitation because children especially girls had to be clean during their menstrual periods.

Sex education helped the girls to keep their virginity until marriage hence attracting big bride price for their parents.

It promoted hard work especially among the boys because they were taught by the uncles to be hardworking people.

It also promoted culture because a lot of cultural norms and values were taught to the young during sex education.

It enabled the parents to get a lot of bride price from their daughters during marriage.

It brought satisfaction of both partners in marriage and made it possible for children to be produced.

Sex education promoted permanent marriages because the young were taught to have permanent marriage during sex education.

It promoted Love among married people due to the fact that the young were taught to Love their roles in case of marriage.

It enabled the girls to know their biological changes of menstruation before it happened hence preparing for it.

It promoted respect for elders in the society and respect for one another in marriage.

Through sex education, children became morally upright and well disciplined.

Methods of imparting sex education in traditional African society

It was imparted through punishing sex offenders.eg killing of the fornicators among the Bakiga and the Karamajongs

It was imparted through Age mates who taught their fellow peers about sex.

It was passed on through African poems which revealed a lot of secrets regarding sex.

Through African dances like Mbaga dances in Buganda, circumcision dance among the Bagishu,Mpango dance among the Batoro etc.

The Aunties also taught the girls much about sex during the puberty stage e.g. the Sengas in Buganda.

Through initiation rituals like circumcision, pulling of the Labiasetc sex education was also imparted into the young people.

The uncles especially in Buganda also gave the boys a lot of information about sex.

Sex education was also passed on through elder brothers and sisters to their young siblings.

It was imparted through telling stories to the young from the grandparents usually in the evening around the fire places.

It was also taught through cultural taboos. E.g. the Kiganda taboos that discouraged sleeping of mature brothers and sister together.

Through giving different kinds of work to girls and boys e.g. in Buganda, boys were to hunt while girls were to cook.

Through composing and singing of songs to the young that contained information about sex.

Through rewarding those who kept their virginity until marriage.

Sex education was passed on through bush schools e.g. in Buganda girls were taken to the bush where they were told to pull their Labias.

It was imparted through living exemplary lives sexually e.g. mothers being faithful to their husbands.

Why sex education is collapsing today

The Elders and the parents are too busy with their work hence have no time to impart sex education.

The big gap between the youth and the elders has hindered free discussion about sex.

Peer group influence has made youths to only listen to their own experiences and disregard the advice of the elders.

Lack of appropriate Literature about sex education is another challenge faced in imparting sex education

Sex education is commercialized today and this has made many poor people to miss out these wonderful Lectures.

Influence of formal education which has made many educated people to look at sex education as something out dated and primitive.

Emergence of nuclear families which have eroded extended families and their roles.

There is high rate of permissiveness where youths have a lot of freedom to do whatever they want and refuse sex education.

Some parents are too shy to impart sex education into their children.

The influence of western culture which has eroded traditional cultures hence distorting the practice of sex education.

The presence of mass media that are pornographic is another problem faced in trying to impart sex education today.

Most parents think that teachers will impart sex education to their children at school and so, both sides end up missing out.

Some parents look at sex education with suspicion i.e. they think that it will instead ignite sex urge among the youths.

Family instabilities/disintegration in form of divorce and separation has also hindered the practice of sex education today.

Political instability/unrest has made parents unsettled hence being unable to impart sex education.

There is the selfishness of some family members like stepmothers who out of Jealous refuse to pass on sex education to their stepdaughters.

Influence of boarding schools where most children stay have also limited the time parents have to teach their children about sex.

Most parents today were not taught about sex in their youthful stage and so, they lack the real information to teach their children.

Poverty has also made it hard to uncles and Aunties today to keep boys and girls in their homes teaching them about sex.

The decline in African traditional beliefs has also made sex education useless as modern people consider it to be for long ago.

The high cost of living today has made it impossible for the aunts and uncles to fear teaching their girls and boys at their home.

The influence of religions like Christianity that do not emphasize culture has made it hard for sex education to go on today.

The rapid growth of urbanization has also limited the practice of sex education. This because there are no secret places (bush) in towns where girls can be taken to teach them secrets.

How is sex education imparted today

Sex education is imparted through news papers, Novels and magazines like straight talk, Newspapers like Red pepper, Bukedde, Kamunye etc.

It’s imparted by teachers in schools during their Lessons especially C.R.E and Biology teachers, Senior Woman and senior man etc.

Drama plays like Emboozizabagalana by alina talents,Obufumbobwabatoetc is another way of imparting sex education into the young.

It’s also imparted through television programmes like soaps, movies, films, “Akasale” on bukeddeTv etc.

Through medical professionals like doctors and Nurses who teach their patients a lot about sex and family planning.

It is taught through religious leaders like reverends, priests and pastors who teach those about to be wedded a lot about sex.

Cultural organizations like “Kisakate of the Queen of Buganda is another way of imparting sex education today.

It is taught by counselors to those who have challenges in marriage.

Some courageous parents today still teach their children about sex.

It is taught through fellow peers/friends e.g. most girls today get to know about pulling of the Labias from their Friends.

It is imparted through cultural ceremonies like circumcision among the Bagishu.

Through social media on the internet.eg Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Skype etc.

It is imparted through government initiatives and programs like piassy.

Some uncles and Aunties also teach their children about sex.

Sex education is imparted through songs; both local and international contain a lot of information about sex.

Reasons why parents are against the use of mass media to impart sex education

Mass media involves use of radios, Televisions and Newspapers to impart sex education, so the question wants reasons why parents today don’t want sex education through the media to their children.

Answers;

Mass media involves a lot of permissiveness.ie it gives the youths a lot of freedom to do whatever they want.

Mass media especially televisions show pornographic pictures which instead spoil the youths sexually.

Some radio presenters and sex educators over the media speak sexual words directly to the public which also spoil the morals of the youths.

Sex education is supposed to be private and secret affairs but mass media makes it a public affair.

Mass media cannot be accessed by all youths in the country.ie not all youths can get Newspapers or afford radios and televisions.

Traditionally, sex education was supposed to be imparted by the biological uncles and Aunties to the children but those of mass media are not.

Mass media is aimed at making money but not improving the morals of the youths in the society.

Traditionally, fathers were not supposed to be around when teaching their daughters about sex but mass media does not consider this.

Mass media aims at arousing and inspiring the youths into sexual abuses instead of making them to have self-control sexually.

Mass media teaches both boys and girls together yet traditionally, boys are supposed to be separated from girls during sex education.

Using mass media to teach about sex originated from Europe and that is why most African parents today are against it.