education – Kokutangaza https://kokutangaza.com Learning Together Sat, 18 Sep 2021 08:07:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 https://kokutangaza.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/cropped-Kokutangaza-logo-206px-1-32x32.jpg education – Kokutangaza https://kokutangaza.com 32 32 Accessibility to Free Adult Education. https://kokutangaza.com/accessibility-to-free-adult-education-2/ https://kokutangaza.com/accessibility-to-free-adult-education-2/#respond Fri, 17 Sep 2021 18:30:58 +0000 http://kokutangaza.com/?p=5617 “The function of freedom is to free someone else.”

  • Toni Morrison

This philosophy is so essential to building a better world. Do whatever is necessary, do whatever is meaningful, do whatever is within your capacity. Enlightenment, empowerment, emancipation, empathy. These are the four E’s we need to build our future.

Several governments, organizations and educators are implementing the service of free education. The benefits of this is of the greatest magnitude for the sustainable development of all societies. Education is the one way an individual can conquer the hurdle of economic and social oppression. Free education truly is the pathway to an earthly salvation for many and it is what every nation should aim to provide.

With the power of the internet, some sources of this work for empowerment and emancipation of the people are available all over the world. When considering free education that is globally available, the following are leaders in this realm:

Let us acknowledge these revolutionaries that are implementing real and tangible change in the lives of many. They are transforming the globe in a monumental ground breaking way. Let us whole heartedly applaud them.

Now, let us also not forget that there are still many who do not have access to this free learning and are in need of education. This is the case for various reasons, such as the lack of availability of the internet or a computer or other such technology. There can also be the language barrier. As you may have discovered, all the free education providers listed in this article use English as the medium of instruction.

Considering these hindrances to accessibility, it is apparent that we still need to make committed efforts to reach the grassroots and the marginalized.

I am currently teaching free adult classes for the English language and entrepreneurship for individuals who have not been able to pursue higher education and come from deprived backgrounds. One of my students cannot read or write. It would be ideal if we could take the time to learn literacy, however, she works full-time and has responsibilities at home. Time is the one thing she does not have and this is the reality for many adult learners. So I try to meet her halfway and audio record lessons for her so she can have some way of having them documented for review.

The rise of smart phone use has made the days of internet cafes more or less a thing of the past. The unfortunate thing about this is that the common man or woman who cannot afford a computer hardly has any common access to a PC. And if a person cannot afford a smart phone there is no public service that allows for the access of the internet (or if they are, they are very few and very far between). It’s almost an all or nothing situation. If people can’t afford the gadgets then they are left with very few provisions to compensate for that. In this prospect you might say that the gap between the haves and have nots has become broader. I am using the term ‘have and have nots’ tentively to illustrate a point.

I am going to segway a bit here because for a moment it is necessary to debunk this phrase ‘the haves and the have nots’ before it blinds us of other broader horizons. This term only takes into consideration economic status but there are other things one can ‘have’ that are not related to economic wealth. Such as: cultural wealth, spiritual wealth, wealth in health, wealth in wisdom, etc. To ‘have’ is not only wealth based on currency. One of these alternative wealths could very well create a life far more enriching than money could buy. Let us not allow these terms in the English language make our perceptions narrow or our thinking obtuse.

With that being said, let us return to the topic at hand, which is: accessibility to education.  Free formal adult education is oftentimes only accessible with the knowledge of the English language and/or the availability of certain technologies.

Let us avidly cheer on the providers that are facilitating free education worldwide. Let us also look to making sure free education is available for our brothers and sisters in the grassroots or who are marginalized. Even if all you have time for is one individual person. That education could change the trajectory of their lives for generations. Let us galvanize for this, if not with our time, then in resources (technology, an old functioning phone you no longer use, books and stationary, etc). Some people collaborate with an external family or person to financial fund their school fees. Education is a necessity and a right for all. Thank you for taking the time to read this article.

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The Fading Art of Story-Telling in Tanzania https://kokutangaza.com/the-fading-art-of-story-telling-in-tanzania/ https://kokutangaza.com/the-fading-art-of-story-telling-in-tanzania/#respond Fri, 17 Sep 2021 17:49:52 +0000 http://kokutangaza.com/?p=5611 There really is no limit for the age you have to be to sit at the feet of an elder and have them tell you captivating stories.

Story-telling is a tradition and ancient art in all of Africa, Tanzania is no exception. So why is it that traditional story-telling is a fading art here? 

The only public space I know of that has story-telling for children is the Soma Book Café. Only one consistent place in the whole of Dar es Salaam. I tell stories to children from impoverished backgrounds.  All I would do is gather a group of kids from a neighborhood with the permission of their guardians, then have a story session with snacks. I’d tell a story that I then invited them to discuss and ask questions about and intriguing conversations would flourish out of this.

I once tried to do this with a puppet I personally went to a tailor to make. I named my puppet Dada Tumaini, meaning Sister Hope in Kiswahili. I tried her out several times with an audience. It was a disaster. I found out the hard way that ventriloquism is not for me. I was inspired by Jim Henson’s muppets and Lamb Chop the puppet created by Shari Lewis (I always giggle to myself when I think of her because she must have quite a naughty sense of humor to name her knitted talking lamb ‘Lamb Chop’). But my puppetering attempt did not go well with any group of kids so Dada Tumaini has since retired in a storage room at home.

My inspiration and passion for story-telling began with watching a renowned story-teller from Ethiopia known affectionately as Ababa Tesfaye when I was a child. Ababa Tesfaye is a national hero in Ethiopia. He passed away at the age of 94 in 2017 and remains a well loved legend. Ababa Tesfaye was so compelling in his art as a story-teller that he hardly needed anything to become one of the most greatest icons of Abyssinia. When you watched him tell stories on television he just sat in a chair, wearing ordinary clothes with a plain blue background. The pictures that occupanied his stories that were  usually about talking animals and carried a moral were simple and made on a black chalk board with white chalk. But Ababa Tesfaye’s stories were riveting! He was expressive, he gave the animal characters special voices. His animated facial expressions alone were enough to entertain you. He was wonderful.

We should have at least one great story-teller we broadcast across the nation and revive this art that was once so common in our villages and amongst our ancestors. Our children should have a national hero they can meet at school to talk about or reminisce about fondly 30 years from now.

Why are we not providing these kind of platforms? I subscribe to DSTV (our continent’s cable television) and on all the mainland Tanzanian channels provided there I do not see any children’s programs or story-telling on a regular week day. It is not on our radio channels either.

Where are our story-tellers, puppeteers, child entertainers? It should be a national quest to find them. And give them a platform. Collaboration is important. Because some have the will, but not the talent. And some have the talent but not the funding. And some have the funding but don’t know about the bureaucracy or the process to access a national platform.

But we can start small. In your families, in your neighborhoods, in your schools. Let us keep the tradition of story-telling alive.

 

https://web.facebook.com/Ababa-Tesfaye-%E1%8B%8D%E1%88%88%E1%89%B3-254502007942805

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Promoting Reading Culture https://kokutangaza.com/promoting-reading-culture/ https://kokutangaza.com/promoting-reading-culture/#respond Fri, 17 Sep 2021 17:32:53 +0000 http://kokutangaza.com/?p=5607 Encouraging reading culture and writers in a nation does monumental things to develop it and preserve it.

When you read a good story it has the power to make you a little more wiser, a little more empathetic (by seeing through the eyes and experiences of someone other than yourself). With regular reading being a sort of passively internalized training in the art of writing; reading books equips you with the possibility of becoming a skilled writer yourself.

When a story is written, that is a story documented, and henceforth, a story made immortal. So our nations need a tradition of reading, we need writers. For our cultures, for our history.

Why is it that the habit of reading is so rare when the benefits are so vast? I have heard people from around the world say, ‘I don’t read much but I enjoy The Harry Potter series.’ Something about this literature appeals to the masses, which is a good thing. It has won fans all over the globe but I have to point out that it is a modern fiction with no characters that are people of color. It is very western and it is very commercial. So, I only hope that it’s the gateway to more readership; readership filled with more diversity and culture.

Another reason not many pass-times are filled with book reading is because people are often made to believe that reading is only associated with academia. Yet another reason is that people find that buying books is expensive. I do realize that reading books for leisure is a luxury (it is costly) but it is also a worthwhile investment.

And of course, libraries are available and they are free. I refer to them as urban sanctuaries. Inquire with people in your town or even search on the internet for libraries in your region.

Let us normalize the joy of reading and encourage the reading of books for recreation so that kids will maintain book reading well into adulthood. Let us make a conscious effort in reading books from all over the world of narratives not spoken enough of globally. African, Asian, Middle Eastern, South American, Native American, Caribbean, Aboriginal, etc.

One place working to promote reading culture in Tanzania is the Soma organisation. They are doing beautiful work. They host several events during the year pertaining to literature, poetry, arts and culture. The last event I went to was a very lovely memorial for the late writer and Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison. Because I spoke so passionately about literature and the author at the event, the director, Madam Demere Kitunga, gave me an impromptu invitation to mediate part of their public discussion. I very enthusiaistically accepted and felt so elated to be able to contribute to the program. And that is just how Soma Book Club is: giving everyone a voice and facilitating public platforms whenever possible for all.

The Soma organisation is currently teaching extracurricular classes for children to become more exposed to literature and to also learn how to write their own stories. What a great way to uplift our children.

Here are some other places making readership and literature available to both children and adults:

  • Soma: Leisure and Culturewww.somabookclub.com
  • Mkuki na Nyota Publisherswww.mkukinanyota.com
  • Novel Idea – (If a book is not available in your store for a deposit they would happily order it in for you)
  • University of Florida’s free Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literaturehttps://ufdc.ufl.edu/baldwin/all
  • Booksie: African Childrens Bks @mybooksiebox – Available on instagram for ordering books and a free live children’s books reading every first Saturday of the month.
  • http://literacycloud.org/

Now that you know some great outlets that are facilitating the culture of reading, let’s spread the ‘word.’

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Problems with the Current State of Tanzanian Children’s Books https://kokutangaza.com/problems-with-the-current-state-of-tanzanian-childrens-books/ https://kokutangaza.com/problems-with-the-current-state-of-tanzanian-childrens-books/#respond Thu, 16 Sep 2021 20:59:07 +0000 http://kokutangaza.com/?p=5602 All over Africa the art of story-telling has existed for centuries. Stories have passed through the generations verbally and we are still honing the art, business and public service of making books.

Are there not enough Tanzanian children’s books in the United Republic of Tanzania? No, that is not the case. There are plenty. The problem exists in prevalence of quantity, but not quality. What is lacking? Not the stories. Whether simple or complex, new or old, Tanzania is not short of good children’s stories. The problem is the presentation. As children’s story writers we have to think of ourselves as chefs, and think of children as guests in a 5 star restaurant. A significant part of the literary meal we serve lies in its presentation. The presentation of the meal is part and parcel of the entire dining experience. Before that plate of delicious themes and well seasoned characters leaves your kitchen, it ought to be a delectable and glorious feast for the eyes.

Before they are old enough to read chapter books, children interpret most of the world through images and pictures. A child of 2 years of age is not going to pick up a book and say, ‘I think I’ll read this book here because it has very interesting intellectual content.’ No. She or he is going to look at the pictures and judge the book on that. Imagine how wonderful the world of literature would seem to a child if the pictures were dynamically creative, if the colors were bold and the protagonists appeared cleverly detailed. This is what I often do not see in Tanzanian children’s books.

The illustrations in Tanzanian children’s books are very often the same. There is a generic method of drawing that you would typically see in template Tanzanian newspaper comics. Not the witty, satirical comics but the type of common comic that might be about more mundane topics. Like an illustrated guide of how to get ones passport at the immigration office. Now let us think about how enthusiastic a child would be about seeing the same sort of illustrations in a book that was supposed to intrigue them.

Art is vital and Tanzania needs to learn to have more reverence for it. If the country did, I think we would encourage artists to take courses, travel abroad and collaborate in projects that would inspire more creativity and more dynamism for the world of children’s book illustration. We need this because art is part and parcel with literature in producing great children’s books. And if we want creative, innovative, articulate, well-read citizens, children’s books are where we need to start.

If you are going to be a children’s book writer be passionate about it and couple that passion with the aesthetics that make your product a sight to behold. Remember, children are sensorial beings.

Set the imagination free, appeal lavishly to a child’s eyes. If I may use the food analogy again: A child ought not to look at a shelf of children’s books and see a cabinet of dull vitamin supplements. A child ought to look at a shelf of books and see a beautiful buffet of nourishing cuisine. Serve it up! And do so with flambuoyance and pizzazz.

  books kokutangaza

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Ken Robinson on schools & creativity https://kokutangaza.com/ken-robinson-on-schools-creativity/ https://kokutangaza.com/ken-robinson-on-schools-creativity/#respond Mon, 12 Oct 2020 21:07:27 +0000 http://kokutangaza.com/?p=5509

Sir Kenneth Robinson is a true genuine legend. He must be remembered as we would remember Plato or Aristotle or any of the other great minds in history!

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190 universities just launched 600 free online courses. Here’s the full list. https://kokutangaza.com/free-online-courses/ https://kokutangaza.com/free-online-courses/#respond Mon, 12 Oct 2020 20:58:50 +0000 http://kokutangaza.com/?p=5497 By Dhawal Shah (9th October 2018)

Since the end of 2011 over 800 universities have created around 10,000 MOOCs. In the past four months alone, 190 universities have announced 600 such free online courses.

If you haven’t heard, universities around the world offering their courses online for free (or at-least partially free). These courses are collectively called as MOOCS or Massive Open Online Courses.

In the past seven years or so, over 800 universities have created around 10,000 of these MOOCs. And I’ve been keeping track of these MOOCs the entire time here at Class Central, ever since they rose to prominence.

In the past four months alone, 190 universities have announced 600 such free online courses. I’ve compiled this list below and categorized the courses into the following subjects: Computer Science, Mathematics, Programming, Data Science, Humanities, Social Sciences, Education & Teaching, Health & Medicine, Business, Personal Development, Engineering, Art & Design, and finally Science.

Here’s the full list of new free online courses. Most of these are completely self-paced, so you can start taking them at your convenience.

If you want to specifically learn more about COVID-19, Class Central has compiled a list of courses here. These courses are taught by WHO, Johns Hopkins University, Imperial College London, and other universities. A few of them also offer a free certificate!

Also check out For a Limited Time, Coursera Offers Free Certificates for 85 Courses. Here is the Full List.

Finally, numerous other course providers are responding to the pandemic by temporarily offering free online courses and additional e-learning resources. If you’re new to online education, have a look at our suggestions on how to learn online effectively.

PROGRAMMING

ENGINEERING

COMPUTER SCIENCE

SOCIAL SCIENCES

SCIENCE

ART & DESIGN

MATHEMATICS

HUMANITIES

BUSINESS

HEALTH & MEDICINE

DATA SCIENCE

EDUCATION & TEACHING

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

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Great List of Apps for Children with Special Needs https://kokutangaza.com/great-list-of-apps-for-children-with-special-needs/ https://kokutangaza.com/great-list-of-apps-for-children-with-special-needs/#respond Mon, 12 Oct 2020 20:54:37 +0000 http://kokutangaza.com/?p=5493 Source: www.educatorstechnology.com

Apps for Dyslexic Learners:

  • SoundLiteracy
  • What is Dyslexia
  • Dyslexia Quest
  • Happy Math Multiplication Rhymes
  • Read 2 Me
  • Phonics with Phonograms
  • Dyseggxia
  • DD’s Dictionary: A Dyslexic Dictionary

Apps for Autistic Learners:

  • Sight Words
  • Sequences for Autism
  • See, Touch, Learn
  • Words on Wheels
  • Verbal Me
  • Autism iHelp
  • Autism/DDT Shapes
  • Autism DDT Letters
  • Speech with Milo

Apps for the Visually Impaired:

  • VIA
  • Dragon Dictation
  • Light Detector
  • Color ID
  • TapTapSee
  • Be My Eyes – Helping Blind See
  • Talking Calculator
  • SayText
  • AccessNote
  • Visual Brailer

Apps for Learners with Writing Difficulties:

  • The Writing Machine
  • iWrite Words
  • Letter School
  • Alpha Writer
  • ABC Pocket Phonics
  • Word Magic
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The World of Women – Tanzania https://kokutangaza.com/the-world-of-women-tanzania/ https://kokutangaza.com/the-world-of-women-tanzania/#respond Thu, 20 Jun 2019 14:53:24 +0000 http://kokutangaza.com/?p=5332 ‘The World of Women – Tanzania’ by Elisabeth Thorens and Carin Salerno is one of the books published by Mkuki na Nyota:

Elisabeth Thorens and Carin Salerno

The World of Women is a new collection to discover the world through the eyes and experiences of women. It brings to light the unique role and contribution of women in their country. The first edition on Tanzania includes: a map that presents four touristic destinations of the country with brief descriptions of the greater geographic, economic and cultural contexts. These presentations will help the readers to understand the environment in which women live. The stories Women tell their stories their daily lives, dreams – in the first person. Beautiful photos and original illustrations capture the places where they live and work. “Coups de coeur” “Must see” experiences for the visitor, including the addresses of women-owned hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, etc. New themes, economic sectors and culture. Women talk about coffee harvesting in the Kilimanjaro region, creating jewellery in the Maasai land, seaweed harvesting in Zanzibar, Tinga-Tinga painting in Dar es Salaam, international criminal justice in Arusha etc. Experts offer additional insights. Éditions d’en bas in Lausanne, Switzerland, is the leading publisher for “The World of Women” collection in collaboration with Women in action Worldwide WaW, an NGO based in Switzerland whose goal is to promote the socio-economic empowerment of women across the world. “We believe in the power of women for the development of our community and of our country. We are agents of social and economic progress. We are successful Tanzanian women and want our stories to be known and be inspirational to our sisters.”

About the author

Elisabeth Thorens is a travel writer, communications expert, and a teacher for over twenty years. Convinced that art and culture can bring human beings together, she has developed innovative resources for teachers and organised cultural events to promote gender diversity and Human Rights in schools.

Carin Salerno is currently deputy director of cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in Myanmar; former director of cooperation in Tanzania. She has lived in several African countries and managed large development programs. She is particularly committed to the promotion of gender equality.

International availability:

This book is internationally distributed by African Books Collective

Location: Mkuki na Nyota, TPH Bookshop

Branch 1: 24 Samora Avenue in Posta Area, Dowtown Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Branch 2: Chimwaga Building, University of Dodoma. Dodoma, Tanzania

Source: African Books Collection

The World of Women – Tanzania

 

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Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, Tanzania https://kokutangaza.com/mkuki-na-nyota-publishers-tanzania/ https://kokutangaza.com/mkuki-na-nyota-publishers-tanzania/#respond Thu, 20 Jun 2019 14:45:19 +0000 http://kokutangaza.com/?p=5329 Mkuki na Nyota Publishers is an indigenous Book Publishing Company established in 1991, in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. With a background of 18 years as the General Manager of the Tanzania Publishing House, Walter Bgoya established Mkuki na Nyota Publishers in response to the general absence of independent scholarly publishing in Tanzania. Concentrating initially on scholarly books and general titles, MnNP have since then developed a diverse list of scholarly titles in the Social Sciences, fiction, children’s books and high quality Art books. Central to the concept of African publishing for Africa is publishing in Swahili.

Location: Mkuki na Nyota, TPH Bookshop

Branch 1: 24 Samora Avenue in Posta Area, Dowtown Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Branch 2: Chimwaga Building, University of Dodoma. Dodoma, Tanzania

Source: African Books Collection
http://www.africanbookscollective.com/publishers/mkuki-na-nyota-publishers

 

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Skills-based education is key to unlocking Africa’s potential – An article by Dr. Gwamaka Kifukwe https://kokutangaza.com/skills-based-education-is-key-to-unlocking-africas-potential/ https://kokutangaza.com/skills-based-education-is-key-to-unlocking-africas-potential/#respond Thu, 20 Jun 2019 12:56:37 +0000 http://kokutangaza.com/?p=5309 This is severely curtailing the potential for technical and vocational education to contribute to Sustainable Development – and much of the problem lies in our own attitudes and thinking. Sometimes, sustainable development challenges can be enabled through simple (note, ‘simple’ does not mean ‘easy’) solutions; in the case of the untapped potential of technical and vocational training, this is one such case. The piece stresses why a re-thinking of our attitude towards technical and vocational education is important to sustainable development.
It is a familiar story: we finish secondary school with As and Bs and a few lucky Cs will go on to university to pursue degrees. The rest of the class are ‘doomed’ to vocational and technical education. But why has this sentiment become the norm?

We all have friends, family and colleagues who are naturally gifted in different things: Some people can create magic in the kitchen, others have a knack for fixing things, others still are good at D-I-Y around the house, all of which we appreciate. So why do we not encourage people with these skills to develop them to their full potential?

From the outset we stigmatise and demotivate those with the passion and talents to work with their hands, in order to promote academic pursuits. Ill-preparation for the job market as a whole.
Education has become about getting a degree, in order to get a good job or ‘escaping’ to richer parts of the country, the continent, or the world. Increasingly we are encouraged to become ‘job creators’ instead of ‘job seekers’.
The truth is, we do need job creators. But the truth is also that we need skilled individuals to do those jobs! As it is, African labour may be cheap in terms of wages, but the trade-off for the quality of our products and services, render our labour uncompetitive due to the skills shortages in our labour pool and other related issues.
A major cause of the skills gap is poor enrolment in technical and vocational education.

In all the world, Sub-Saharan Africa ranks lowest in terms of the percentage of total secondary enrolment in technical and vocational education (hovering between 4 per cent and 5 per cent). By comparison, the richest countries in the world (OECD) average around 20 per cent. And we all feel the consequences of this. For those of you out there who own cars, or at least have been involved in getting a car repaired, you will be aware of how difficult it is to find a reliable and trustworthy mechanic to fix whatever problem your car might have. Typically in Africa one must ask around with other friends if they know someone, or know someone who might know someone… Have you ever thought to ask how and where the mechanic was trained?
In Africa, the informal economy is the largest employer, and a source of the majority of vocational learning. By 2008 in Senegal, some 400,000 young people were entering informal apprenticeships annually, compared to 7,000 graduates from the formal vocational and technical education centres! And in Ghana, it was estimated that as much as 80 per cent of skills development was taking place through the informal apprenticeship system. As these apprenticeships offer no certification or documentation, upon their completion young people are absorbed into the informal economy. This poses several risks and problems, a few of which are listed below:
• Clients and consumers have no knowledge of the quality of product or service they are receiving or purchasing.
• Training is not standardised so there is neither quality control, nor standard operating procedures.
• Costs are random.
• Those taking on apprentices are effectively training their competition and so have conflicting interests.
• Apprentices have no proof of skills and so have difficulty in presenting credentials to clients, or to financial service providers in case they would like to start their own businesses.
• Governments are losing revenue.
• Job creators and investors are unable to source local skills because they are not able to identify individuals even where they exist.
And the situation is likely to get even more complicated… Nepad estimates that by 2025, there will be 330 million young Africans eligible to enter the labour market. Africa needs jobs, yes – but it also needs people qualified to fill those jobs. As the world’s attention focuses on Africa, we are witnessing a growth in the immigrant population, many of whom are finding meaningful employment and economic activity on the continent. The diversity is welcome, however it also points to three facts that we cannot ignore. There are jobs in Africa; Africans are not able to access these jobs; and, we must do something in order for Africans to be able to compete for these jobs.
The perception that vocational and technical education will lead to being a ‘job seeker’ is misleading. University degrees do not guarantee that you will be a job creator or your own boss. You are just as likely to work for someone else in following either education pathway. Furthermore, from a development perspective, as the African market grows in terms of population, better linkages and spending power, there are huge opportunities for intra-African exchange. Why can these products and services not be produced in Africa? Currently Africa is outsourcing the very jobs that countries like Vietnam, Korea and China are using as the engine of their economic growth. Processing goods for the African market can and should take place in Africa – where the raw materials are found in any case. As the intra-African linkages get better, the reality is that there are many more opportunities for skilled labour (through vocation and technical education) as a starting point.
So why do we stigmatise vocational and technical education and prevent youth from pursuing viable, dignified and (frankly) needed careers based on vocational skills? Why are we not encouraging more skills and vocation-oriented education in our secondary schools so we can identify, nurture and encourage those with talents that are not academic to provide vital contributions to our societies? If science and technology education is a priority, where will we source the lab technicians or the mechanics? We are appreciative of good quality technical service, indeed sometimes we are dependent on it (from fire alarms to construction work), and yet many parents would not encourage (indeed may actively discourage) pursuit of excellence in technical and vocational fields. Why?
Furthermore, there is nothing preventing us from complimenting vocational and technical education, with entrepreneurship skills development. When we train chefs in nutrition, flavour balancing, and so forth, why do we not also impart them with knowledge on how to start and/or run a restaurant thereby becoming a potential job creator in the process? Africa will need entrepreneurs who are able to develop solutions from within as much as it needs entrepreneurs who adapt technologies, processes and ideas to the African context. In this area, those with the skills and experience in an industry can play a critical role in ensuring innovation is suitable to the needs and conditions of our context.
So what can be done? First of all we need to break the perception that vocational and technical education is the pathway for ‘those who don’t do well at high school’, added to this we need to identify and nurture those talented in non-academic ways so that they can prosper and contribute to their societies and communities using the passions and skills they are blessed with. Secondary education must incorporate more practical classes to expose pupils to alternatives in terms of future careers and possibilities (both as employees and employers).
Governments can work with informal traders and service providers by providing guidelines and certification, individuals that collaborate and meet quality standards may be fast-tracked into the formal economy where they then have access to financial products and services to expand their business – various incentive packages to encourage enrolment may also be considered. These are just some of the ideas that could be considered.
Fundamentally however the change needed, as is often the case in Africa, is our own attitudes and approaches (‘mind-set’ to use the current phrase of choice). It is we Africans who must move away from thinking of vocational and technical education as the result of poor academic performance; of worshipping some kind of intellectual elitism. We must de-stigmatise technical and vocational education in order to enable individuals with passion and talent that are not captured in the current essays and written exams. We must recognise and encourage individuals to pursue excellence and an attitude of life-long learning in whatever field we are passionate about or talented in. The university-educated are just as job-seeking as they are job-creating. The same is true for those of vocational and technical educational backgrounds.
Vocational and technical skills have an important role to play in Africa’s future, so we must take education for these skills seriously. There are, and will be, many opportunities for people in Africa to prosper by pursuing this if they so choose. Because at the end of the day, what is development, if not to enable people the freedom to pursue their aspirations and ambitions and contribute to society through public and private pursuits?

Dr Gwamaka Kifukwe is a programme coordinator for sustainable development at Uongozi Institute. You can read more of his articles in Uongozi Institute’s blog: www.uongoziblog.wordpress.com.

Source: The Citizen/News
https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/News/1840340-3368994-k55lm2z/index.html

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