In the spirit of the dedicated
Black history month of February, attention has gone to the need for more
Afro-centered history curriculum in African classes, something that has been
missing across the board in Africa and the diaspora. Worth noting, is the fact
that it’s not a coincidence that no real intellectual discourse and
dispensation happens in African classes thus depriving young African minds the
knowledge of self.
When the shallow
teaching o African history is taught in schools, it happens more often than not
to be distorted in fact and there very much equal to propaganda rather than
actual accounts of what happened in the parts in regards to African culture
systems, civilization and the eventual result of battles and conquest across
the whole continent. Without a knowledge of own history, it is rather difficult
to instill pride in the young on their African identity and heritage.
After the attainment of
self-rule by many African nations, the curriculum adopted for teaching in
schools was that by the former colonial powers, perfect example being the fate
of common wealth nations in Africa including Kenya, Ghana, Uganda , Nigeria
among others. Very little was done to make sure that the knowledge was in any
sense suited to the needs of the African child especially in regards to the
history taught, that is centered around the colonial era and nothing much past
that.
In the years preceding
the conquest of Africa, a destruction of archives of African knowledge took
place around the continent in places such as Egypt, Mali, South Africa among
others, but the knowledge of what was left preserved either written on in other
form is the heritage of the African people and therefore, also ought to be
incorporated in the curriculum to give it depth and make it useful in the
impact of the teaching in African classrooms worldwide.
Another reason African
history has been lacking from the classrooms is the global campaign against
African culture and traditional systems. The demonizing of the African culture
especially through westernization has left African culture and history in
jeopardy. Various tools such as Hollywood films and electronic as well as print
media have been used for a long time to white wash African history and
discredit the true history of the African people but taking away all the great
elements such as Hannibal’s military legacy, the history of the ancient Kemet
and Nile valley civilization among others and turned that to non- African
history for the benefit of the west.
The most significant
solution in addressing this gap in the classrooms would be the creation and
adoption of a curriculum developed by Africans for use in the classrooms. With the
first step being the recognition of the need and admitting that it exists and
bringing together stake-holders in education sector from different nations to
make right what has been an overlooked problem in the education system in
Africa for the future generations and for a better destiny for the African people
globally.
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