Ujamaa- Elimu ya Kujitegemea: Ni wapi tulipotea?

[Rev. Kishoka]

Kwa siku kadhaa nimekuwa nikisoma Kitabu cha Ujamaa cha Julius Nyerere, na ni mengi ninajifunza tena na kubaini kuwa Mwalimu aliandika vision ya kutujenga kama Taifa hata kabla ya Azimio la Arusha.

Ni rahisi sana kwa wasiopenda kusoma na kutafakari kuamini kuwa Ujamaa(mfumo wa wzalishaji) ndio uliangusha Uchumi wa Tanzania na kuulundika kwenye fungu moja la Ujamaa (mfumo wa maisha) ambaondio chimbuko la Nyerere kuandika kitabu chake nakuwa muumini wa Ujamaa wa kiafrika ili kujenga mfumo na uchumi wa ujamaa na kujitegemea.

Kilichonisisimua zaidi ni sehemu ya Elimu ya Kujitegemea http://hakielimu.org/files/publications/document169Elimu_Kujitegemea.pdf

Nyerere alipoandika hili mwaka 1967, alidhamiria kuwepo kwa mfumo wa elimu ambao ulikuwa una manufaa kwa kila Mtanzania.

Nikipima hali halisi ya Ujinga na Umasikini wa leo Tanzania, najikuta najiuliza ilikuwaje tulishindwa kujenga mfumo wa elimu na ufahamu ulio madhubuti kuleta maendeleo na kujizatiti kama Taifa linalojitegemea?

Mapungufu makubwa tunayoyaona leo katika soko la ajira, ubwanyenye na unyapara wa waajiriwa, kuongezeka wa uduni na ujima katika uzalishaji unaniambia wazi kuwa kuna mahali tulipotea na kuachana na vision ya taifa iliyoandikwa na Rais wetu.

Ningependa sana kwa kila mmoja wetu kuchukua muda na kutumia fursa ya kusoma Elimu ya Kujitegemea na kisha tuje tujadiliane tulikotoka, tulipo na tunapoenda.

Kuna mengi sana ya kujifunza na hata kuunda mitaala kuanzia shule za chekechea mpaka vyuoni kuhakikisha mfumo wetu wa elimu unadhamiria kujenga watu wenye ufahamu na dhamira za kujitegemea na kuwa wenye umahiri wa uzalishaji mali.

Maendeleo yetu hayatatokana na idadi ya wahitimu vyuoni pekee, bali kuuelewa mfumo wa Elimu na Ufahamu ambao unaendana na mazingira yetu.

 

[Mlenge]

Mtumishi,

"Kadhalika, wananchi huru wa Tanzania watapaswa wajiamulie wenyewe mambo yote yanayohusu maisha yao. " Hili halikuwekewa msititizo. Uhuru wa mtu binafsi kujiamulia mambo yote yanayohusu maisha yake haukuwekewa msisitizo unaostahili.

Nyerere, ofkozi, alikuwa ni mwelewa sana. Hotuba yake ingeweza kutolewa leo hii, hadhira ingeshangaa kuona inaendana na matatizo ambayo bado tunayakabili.

Asante sana. Ile document uliyoilinki ni muhimu sana.

Angalia pia: Elimu ya Ufundi Katika Utumishi wa Umma

 

[TUJITEGEMEE]

Nimeguswa moja kwa moja na uzi huu.

 

[Mzuvendi]

Kwa siku kadhaa nimekuwa nikisoma Kitabu cha Ujamaa cha Julius Nyerere, na ni mengi ninajifunza tena na kubaini kuwa Mwalimu aliandika vision ya kutujenga kama Taifa hata kabla ya Azimio la Arusha.

Ni rahisi sana kwa wasiopenda kusoma na kutafakari kuamini kuwa Ujamaa(mfumo wa wzalishaji) ndio uliangusha Uchumi wa Tanzania na kuulundika kwenye fungu moja la Ujamaa (mfumo wa maisha) ambaondio chimbuko la Nyerere kuandika kitabu chake nakuwa muumini wa Ujamaa wa kiafrika ili kujenga mfumo na uchumi wa ujamaa na kujitegemea.

Kilichonisisimua zaidi ni sehemu ya Elimu ya Kujitegemea http://hakielimu.org/files/publications/document169Elimu_Kujitegemea.pdf

Nyerere alipoandika hili mwaka 1967, alidhamiria kuwepo kwa mfumo wa elimu ambao ulikuwa una manufaa kwa kila Mtanzania.

Nikipima hali halisi ya Ujinga na Umasikini wa leo Tanzania, najikuta najiuliza ilikuwaje tulishindwa kujenga mfumo wa elimu na ufahamu ulio madhubuti kuleta maendeleo na kujizatiti kama Taifa linalojitegemea?

Mapungufu makubwa tunayoyaona leo katika soko la ajira, ubwanyenye na unyapara wa waajiriwa, kuongezeka wa uduni na ujima katika uzalishaji unaniambia wazi kuwa kuna mahali tulipotea na kuachana na vision ya taifa iliyoandikwa na Rais wetu.

Ningependa sana kwa kila mmoja wetu kuchukua muda na kutumia fursa ya kusoma Elimu ya Kujitegemea na kisha tuje tujadiliane tulikotoka, tulipo na tunapoenda.

Kuna mengi sana ya kujifunza na hata kuunda mitaala kuanzia shule za chekechea mpaka vyuoni kuhakikisha mfumo wetu wa elimu unadhamiria kujenga watu wenye ufahamu na dhamira za kujitegemea na kuwa wenye umahiri wa uzalishaji mali.

Maendeleo yetu hayatatokana na idadi ya wahitimu vyuoni pekee, bali kuuelewa mfumo wa Elimu na Ufahamu ambao unaendana na mazingira yetu.

Rev Kishoka:

Nyerere was in power for at least 17 years since the proclamation of this work. And not only he had ample time lay a solid foundation for his vision but also he had enough time to implement it. So where did he go wrong? Can he take some blames for being unrealistic? How did he expect Tanzanian students achieve academic excellence while performing manual and primitive labor after school hours? How did he expect a person who worked hard his entire academic life to escape poverty to go back to village to become a peasant?

I think sometimes we give this guy to much credits for something that could be only achieved theoretically. There are many African countries which didn't implement whack education policies like Tanzania, but they are doing just fine or even better than us. I think sometimes politicians should stay away of education and let professionals do their job.

 

[Mzuvendi]

Mtumishi,

"Kadhalika, wananchi huru wa Tanzania watapaswa wajiamulie wenyewe mambo yote yanayohusu maisha yao. " Hili halikuwekewa msititizo. Uhuru wa mtu binafsi kujiamulia mambo yote yanayohusu maisha yake haukuwekewa msisitizo unaostahili.

Nyerere, ofkozi, alikuwa ni mwelewa sana. Hotuba yake ingeweza kutolewa leo hii, hadhira ingeshangaa kuona inaendana na matatizo ambayo bado tunayakabili.

Asante sana. Ile document uliyoilinki ni muhimu sana.

Angalia pia: Elimu ya Ufundi Katika Utumishi wa Umma

If Tanzanians were allowed to decided their own fate or make decisions that empower their own lives, they wouldn't have followed Ujamaa or Elimu ya kujitegemea.

 

[a4afrika]

If Tanzanians were allowed to decided their own fate or make decisions that empower their own lives, they wouldn't have followed Ujamaa or Elimu ya kujitegemea.

Si kila WATAKACHO watu kupata ni Sahihi. Ni lazima Watu wapate WAPASWACHO na si WATAKACHO.

Ni wajibu wa Serikali kujua kile watu wanachopaswa watu kupata kwa mujibu wa Mazingira na Nyakati zao Mahususi.

Mungu wetu Yu tayari kutushindia vitani. Anaita sasa!

 

[Mzuvendi]

Si kila WATAKACHO watu kupata ni Sahihi. Ni lazima Watu wapate WAPASWACHO na si WATAKACHO.

Ni wajibu wa Serikali kujua kile watu wanachopaswa watu kupata kwa mujibu wa Mazingira na Nyakati zao Mahususi.

Mungu wetu Yu tayari kutushindia vitani. Anaita sasa!

Since independence, the population of Tanzania has been above 10 million people. If you take this number into account, you will find out that it will be an impossible task for the government to know, even remotely, what people want really in any given point. Further, the government doesn't solve problems in real time. It solves them when they are apparent and when there are financial resources to pay for solutions. So, the roles of government should be limited to issues it can serve better and it shouldn't encroach the rights of individuals to thinks or make self determination.

Take for example education for self reliance in Tanzania. On paper, the entire concept looks dandy and done. You expect that once students graduate, they will be able to think for themselves or seek employment based on what they have learned in school. And this is exactly what Nyerere had in mind. However, in reality, the market forces couples with other dynamics shape what professions or trades the students should pursue after the studies. So instead of introducing these types of whack concepts such as education for self reliance, why the country doesn't instill the value of critical thinking in schools?

 

[Rev. Kishoka]

Since independence, the population of Tanzania has been above 10 million people. If you take this number into account, you will find out that it will be an impossible task for the government to know, even remotely, what people want really in any given point. Further, the government doesn't solve problems in real time. It solves them when they are apparent and when there are financial resources to pay for solutions. So, the roles of government should be limited to issues it can serve better and it shouldn't encroach the rights of individuals to thinks or make self determination.

Take for example education for self reliance in Tanzania. On paper, the entire concept looks dandy and done. You expect that once students graduate, they will be able to think for themselves or seek employment based on what they have learned in school. And this is exactly what Nyerere had in mind. However, in reality, the market forces couples with other dynamics shape what professions or trades the students should pursue after the studies. So instead of introducing these types of whack concepts such as education for self reliance, why the country doesn't instill the value of critical thinking in schools?

Tunasahau progression katika kila hatua. Tunasahau incorporation ya watu we are accustomed to versus new knowledge, hatutaki kufanya integration wala kuwekeza kufanya merge of old known methodologies versus new day SI.

I recent learned of Tassa Irrigation kule Mali that goes so many years hata before colonialist kugusa Mali... also Gachacha (gacaca) local tribunals Rwanda dealing with mashauri ya jamii na kuleta upatanishi!

Ukienda mikoa yetu utakuta kuna mifumo ya elimu na hata ancient technology ambao kutokana na kasumba, we decided to rid them. Hata traditional customs za healing, peace keeping, health, education we abandoned them for the new methods za Kizungu.

We have taken knowledge away from being the norm of our society to create empowerment, tumekimbilia nidhamu ya utegemezi na kibakuli "Bakulism" na tunategemea sana kuambiwa what to do na wenye "ujuaji" and hence kill the spirit of curiosity, innovation and mechanical improvement of our own known ways.

Adaptation ya modern education should have focused on learning the know how, relate it to mazingira and not the weeding out through mitihani.

Just my two cents for now....

 

[Mzuvendi]

Tunasahau progression katika kila hatua. Tunasahau incorporation ya watu we are accustomed to versus new knowledge, hatutaki kufanya integration wala kuwekeza kufanya merge of old known methodologies versus new day SI.

I recent learned of Tassa Irrigation kule Mali that goes so many years hata before colonialist kugusa Mali... also Gachacha (gacaca) local tribunals Rwanda dealing with mashauri ya jamii na kuleta upatanishi!

Ukienda mikoa yetu utakuta kuna mifumo ya elimu na hata ancient technology ambao kutokana na kasumba, we decided to rid them. Hata traditional customs za healing, peace keeping, health, education we abandoned them for the new methods za Kizungu.

We have taken knowledge away from being the norm of our society to create empowerment, tumekimbilia nidhamu ya utegemezi na kibakuli "Bakulism" na tunategemea sana kuambiwa what to do na wenye "ujuaji" and hence kill the spirit of curiosity, innovation and mechanical improvement of our own known ways.

Adaptation ya modern education should have focused on learning the know how, relate it to mazingira and not the weeding out through mitihani.

Just my two cents for now....

Rev Kishoka;

Correctly so! The goal of education of any kind should be to empower people in their own environment first. If you educate people with this frame of mind, then you don't need a philosophical treatise to describe the type of education you dispense.

Now with regard to education for self reliance, I think there's a mismatch or huge gap between what original goals were and its implementation at various levels of education hierarchies. Some educators have thought that the intention was to form full blown production units. Whereas, other have used the idea to profit themselves politically and financially at the expense of students. If self-education is still in place, the governments should try to some put controls to make sure that students get what they deserve.

 

[Rev. Kishoka]

Rev Kishoka;

Correctly so! The goal of education of any kind should be to empower people in their own environment first. If you educate people with this frame of mind, then you don't need a philosophical treatise to describe the type of education you dispense.

Now with regard to education for self reliance, I think there's a mismatch or huge gap between what original goals were and its implementation at various levels of education hierarchies. Some educators have thought that the intention was to form full blown production units. Whereas, other have used the idea to profit themselves politically and financially at the expense of students. If self-education is still in place, the governments should try to some put controls to make sure that students get what they deserve.

On the mismatches and gaps as you describe... I think the heavy hand of Government and Authority control with aspirations to "celebrate success stories" (think of Ari, Kasi, Nguvu Mpya, Big result Now, HapaKaziTu) of such programs without complete buy in and inclusive participation ya wananchi led to the failures we have been observing in the last 45 years!

 

[Mzuvendi]

On the mismatches and gaps as you describe... I think the heavy hand of Government and Authority control with aspirations to "celebrate success stories" (think of Ari, Kasi, Nguvu Mpya, Big result Now, HapaKaziTu) of such programs without complete buy in and inclusive participation ya wananchi led to the failures we have been observing in the last 45 years!

One of reasons for heavy handednes is colonial mindsets of our rulers. They want power, but they don't want to be responsible when things go wrong. What's worse, they amplify the mediocre performance and want everybody else to believe and celebrate as success. For example, if we enumerate and evaluate every program or policy that government has brought forward since the independence, we will find out that we have underachieved in every initiative of national interests.

Take for example the topic at hand, the education for self reliance. It is only good on paper. However, if you evaluate its implementation at every education level , you will find out it didn't induced the desired effect. It didn't prepare students to see themselves as problem solvers or to apply their education to solve simple problems in their own surroundings.

We always use lack of financial resources as a defensive mechanism. However, in this instance we shouldn't. This is because, the education for self-reliance was supposed to be an integral part of our learning experience. At secondary school level and above, the policy was aligned with student specialization. For instance, students who went to agriculture secondary schools were supposed to engage in activities related to agriculture. Whereas, those in technical schools were supposed to apply their trades.

So we are honest about ourselves, the implementation of this policy and other earlier national policies set standards on how we plan and execute. In our country it isn't a sin to celebrate mediocrity. I thinks had we set higher expectations about ourselves, we will have not accepted any type of implementation with no return of investment.

 

[Rev. Kishoka]

One of reasons for heavy handednes is colonial mindsets of our rulers. They want power, but they don't want to be responsible when things go wrong. What's worse, they amplify the mediocre performance and want everybody else to believe and celebrate as success. For example, if we enumerate and evaluate every program or policy that government has brought forward since the independence, we will find out that we have underachieved in every initiative of national interests.

Take for example the topic at hand, the education for self reliance. It is only good on paper. However, if you evaluate its implementation at every education level , you will find out it didn't induced the desired effect. It didn't prepare students to see themselves as problem solvers or to apply their education to solve simple problems in their own surroundings.

We always use lack of financial resources as a defensive mechanism. However, in this instance we shouldn't. This is because, the education for self-reliance was supposed to be an integral part of our learning experience. At secondary school level and above, the policy was aligned with student specialization. For instance, students who went to agriculture secondary schools were supposed to engage in activities related to agriculture. Whereas, those in technical schools were supposed to apply their trades.

So we are honest about ourselves, the implementation of this policy and other earlier national policies set standards on how we plan and execute. In our country it isn't a sin to celebrate mediocrity. I thinks had we set higher expectations about ourselves, we will have not accepted any type of implementation with no return of investment.

Ewe Mzuvendi,

Nami Umsolopagaas nimeyafurahia maandiko yako.

Seriously I think we have become nyumbu,trending and swaying ourselves whichever the direction the wind blows. We havent taken a minute and do a fair an honest assesment of what has failed us!

Normally, we are supposed to pause, and evaluate things. we are to remove bias, have honest conversation, brainstorm and identifying failures as part of problem solving session.

Leo sidhani kama tunaweza kuivumilia fishbone ya kwa nini elimu imezorota... badala ya kuwa bold and stong to face the reality.. tutaona aibu na kuanza solutioning na hivyo kutengeneza tatizo lingine.

Yes, tunashangilia mediocrity and worse tunatoa shukrani na visingizio "ni mapenzi ya mungu".

We can Uturn the direction and how things are being thought... and first place for real change is Mindsets!

 

[Nguruvi3]

On the mismatches and gaps as you describe... I think the heavy hand of Government and Authority control with aspirations to "celebrate success stories" (think of Ari, Kasi, Nguvu Mpya, Big result Now, HapaKaziTu) of such programs without complete buy in and inclusive participation ya wananchi led to the failures we have been observing in the last 45 years!

Mjadala mzuri sana. Hayo uliyoeleza ndiyo matatizo yetu. Tumejikita katika top to bottom badala ya Bottom up na kuwaacha wananchi kama spectators katika kuamua destination yao

Ku 'borrow' idea si jambo baya, ubaya ni idea inapochukuliwa na kuwa ''copy and paste'' kama BRN

Kwa mfano, tumeamua kuwa na national ID kwa wananchi, wakati huo huo tumeua mfumo wa balozi wa nyumba kumi. Unawezaje ku identify uraia wa mtu kama huna background yake kutoka grassroots level?

Self reliance ni idea nzuri na wala si ngeni. In fact katika nchi zilizoendelea inatumika sana
Mtoto anafundishwa namna ya kukabiliana na mazingira yake kwa kutumia elimu aliyopewa

Implementations ya self reliance katika nchi yetu ilikuwa mbaya.

Lengo lilikuwa kutoa elimu ya kujitegemea katika mazingira yetu.
Mfano, shule za Kilimo ziligeuka kuwa kambi za wakulima badala ya kufunza wanafunza mbinu

Lakini pia tume feli kwasababu ya 'centralization' , kwamba idea zinatengenezwa Dar es Salaam halafu kupelekwa mikoani na vijijini 'katika makontena' yanayoitwa miradi ya maendeleo

'Makontena' hayo yanapofika vijijini wananchi wanayashangaa hawaku participate katika kupanga, kuamua na namna ya kutekeleza. Kila kitu kinakuwa imposed kwao

Ni kwasababu hizo, wananchi wameacha shughuli zao wenyewe kama za kujitolea ilivyokuwa siku za nyuma chini ya machifu na watawala wa maeneo, siku hizi wanaongelea 'Wafadhili'

Tukitaka kufanikiwa, kwanza tuachane na suala la ku import kila idea.
Ikibidi tufanye hivyo basi tuchukue kama sample lakini tuifanye katika mazingira yetu

Tusitumie App kuonyesha watoto wetu Cardbury coco au Kitkat ni nzuri na tamu kiasi gani
Tutengeneze App za kuwaonyesha watoto faida za kunawa mikono na madhara ya kipindu pindu

 

[Nguruvi3]

Rev Kishoka;

Correctly so! The goal of education of any kind should be to empower people in their own environment first. If you educate people with this frame of mind, then you don't need a philosophical treatise to describe the type of education you dispense.

Now with regard to education for self reliance, I think there's a mismatch or huge gap between what original goals were and its implementation at various levels of education hierarchies. Some educators have thought that the intention was to form full blown production units. Whereas, other have used the idea to profit themselves politically and financially at the expense of students. If self-education is still in place, the governments should try to some put controls to make sure that students get what they deserve.

I couldn't agree more!

 

[Mzuvendi]

Ewe Mzuvendi,

Nami Umsolopagaas nimeyafurahia maandiko yako.

Seriously I think we have become nyumbu,trending and swaying ourselves whichever the direction the wind blows. We havent taken a minute and do a fair an honest assesment of what has failed us!

Normally, we are supposed to pause, and evaluate things. we are to remove bias, have honest conversation, brainstorm and identifying failures as part of problem solving session.

Leo sidhani kama tunaweza kuivumilia fishbone ya kwa nini elimu imezorota... badala ya kuwa bold and stong to face the reality.. tutaona aibu na kuanza solutioning na hivyo kutengeneza tatizo lingine.

Yes, tunashangilia mediocrity and worse tunatoa shukrani na visingizio "ni mapenzi ya mungu".

We can Uturn the direction and how things are being thought... and first place for real change is Mindsets!

Salute the brave one Rev. Kishoka !!!

Correctly so. We have been following the trend without putting any thoughts to make sure that there’s a return of investments and that our efforts are sustainable in a long run.

When Joseph Stalin was in power, he deviated from Leninism. The reason he gave for his divergence was that under Vladimir Lenin, the Soviet Union created a socialism laboratory within itself, and within this laboratory one could look and find out what works or doesn’t work in socialism under Lenin. In other words, Stalin was saying that, unlike Karl Marx, Lenin was pioneer of socialism who was able to put his political theories into practice and at the end of his reign, his successors have the right to change course.

I am not fond of socialism. However, if I had to apply Stalin view in the context of Tanzania development strategies, I could say that Nyerere was pioneer who created and applied social theories to develop his nation the way he knew best. And as a pioneer, he didn’t have the luxury to learn from others and he didn’t have his own laboratory or data to refer to. Furthermore, he was blinded by his own biases, experience, environments, and the politics of the time.

Take for instance the issue at hand, the education for self-reliance. It is still there. However, there’s a huge gap between the theoretical work that Nyerere envisioned 50 years ago and the actual implementation that educators pursue. Nyerere’s main theme was to empower Tanzanian students. However, many educators haven’t shared his view. They think education for self-reliance involves projects that generate extra income for their schools. And in some schools, teachers aren’t afraid to reduces that number of classroom hours so the students could engage in outside projects.

Theoretically, education for self-reliance is still valid. The question is how can we make it relevant in 21st century? And equally important, how can we address previous deficiencies? If we can discuss this openly, then we should be able to address other issues as well.

 

[Mzuvendi]

Mjadala mzuri sana. Hayo uliyoeleza ndiyo matatizo yetu. Tumejikita katika top to bottom badala ya Bottom up na kuwaacha wananchi kama spectators katika kuamua destination yao

Ku 'borrow' idea si jambo baya, ubaya ni idea inapochukuliwa na kuwa ''copy and paste'' kama BRN

Kwa mfano, tumeamua kuwa na national ID kwa wananchi, wakati huo huo tumeua mfumo wa balozi wa nyumba kumi. Unawezaje ku identify uraia wa mtu kama huna background yake kutoka grassroots level?

Self reliance ni idea nzuri na wala si ngeni. In fact katika nchi zilizoendelea inatumika sana
Mtoto anafundishwa namna ya kukabiliana na mazingira yake kwa kutumia elimu aliyopewa

Implementations ya self reliance katika nchi yetu ilikuwa mbaya.

Lengo lilikuwa kutoa elimu ya kujitegemea katika mazingira yetu.
Mfano, shule za Kilimo ziligeuka kuwa kambi za wakulima badala ya kufunza wanafunza mbinu

Lakini pia tume feli kwasababu ya 'centralization' , kwamba idea zinatengenezwa Dar es Salaam halafu kupelekwa mikoani na vijijini 'katika makontena' yanayoitwa miradi ya maendeleo

'Makontena' hayo yanapofika vijijini wananchi wanayashangaa hawaku participate katika kupanga, kuamua na namna ya kutekeleza. Kila kitu kinakuwa imposed kwao

Ni kwasababu hizo, wananchi wameacha shughuli zao wenyewe kama za kujitolea ilivyokuwa siku za nyuma chini ya machifu na watawala wa maeneo, siku hizi wanaongelea 'Wafadhili'

Tukitaka kufanikiwa, kwanza tuachane na suala la ku import kila idea.
Ikibidi tufanye hivyo basi tuchukue kama sample lakini tuifanye katika mazingira yetu

Tusitumie App kuonyesha watoto wetu Cardbury coco au Kitkat ni nzuri na tamu kiasi gani
Tutengeneze App za kuwaonyesha watoto faida za kunawa mikono na madhara ya kipindu pindu

Salute Nguruv1 !!!



There are at least two items that have stood out in your post. First is widely use of the top-bottom approach in rolling out and implementing government policies. Second is the idea that you can make your way out of poverty by copying and pasting the work of others.

With regard to the top-bottom approach, it works in certain settings if those at the top are very serious in getting results. However, in a country where leaders are used to giving orders and then move to the next new popular ideas, it doesn’t work very well. This is because it takes years to successfully implement government policies. So, it is very important for us to start to hold our leaders accountable. For example, before, they move to the next big thing, let us ask them their past achievements.

Furthermore, the top-bottom approach assumes that the country is homogenous and you can apply one template of solution for their entire nation. The truth of the matter is for big and diverse country like ours, it is very difficult to have templates that fit the entire nation. Take for example, the implementation of education for self-reliance, it didn’t take into consideration the environments in which students live and their backgrounds.

Now, with regard to the copy and paste approach, it is very problematic. The approach, if not well thought, has the same hallmarks as the top-down approach. For, it doesn’t take into consideration the diversity of the people. What’s worse, it doesn’t nurture the sense of responsibility. For example, if you have a problem and call experts for the World Bank, the first thing they will do is to look into their archive to find a template or model that could address your problems. If they find one, they will copy and paste it for you to follow through. The question is do World Bank experts understand our diversity? The answer is no.

As you have mentioned above, borrowing isn’t a bad word. If you don’t have financial resources and expertise capability, it doesn’t hurt to borrow or buy from those who have. However, it should be done with critical questions in mind? For example, before we buy or borrow we should ask ourselves if we could build our own capabilities in the future. We should ask if there’s a competitive advantage to buy or borrow. I believe we become people who think and engage in critical analysis, we can change our people and the way we run our country.

 

[Rev. Kishoka]

Kuna ndoto yangu ya muda mrefu ambayo imekuwa ikinijia nikijiuliza kwa nini 50 plus years after we had UDSM and had degree offered such as Economics, Engineering, Science, Accounting, Law, and hata za SUA focused on Agro or Muhumbili with medicine bado kama Taifa tumekwama kwenye tope kana kwamba we are unable to integrate the knowledge to practical things nyumbani na katika jamii. This includes hata elimu ya ufundi.

I often wonder what would have been a result of Prof. Kishoka of Department of Economics declare on day one as part of Economics curriculum for next 3 years, 40% of student course work and passing marks to get the degree would involve a practical work to be submitted for grading during student's final year.

I would have given an assignment on day one in class for all my students to find a rural community of their choice, and invest (spend) time as part of their practical training to develop the chosen area economically.

My curriculum would't have been focused on complex money matters and global economies or standard curriculum but add more practical value based on our environment.

Fikiria mwanafunzi anakwenda kwenye kijiji, and he/she has to apply knowledge katika hilo eneo na kufanya kazi na wanakijiji kuboresha mfumo wa uzalishaji na kufanya nao kazi kwa miaka mitatu na kuleta matokeo ya kuonyesha kama ameweza kusaidia kuboresha mfumo wa uzalishaji na boosting quality of life of the area.

As ujima as my thought process might be, great economists wa Dunia didn't rely on just their understanding of maths, political science, science and human behaviors... but also were deeply engage in understanding basic things on communities relative to production and quality of life.

Leo an economist wa Tanzania it is for them to read data and break it down, with few hypotheses kusema GDP, GNP and all complex jargons za Kifalsafa za uchumi.

Think the potential ya Kijiji kuneemeka kwa na mtu ambaye would spend time engaged and participate with them kuboresha uzalishaji (regardless if they will carry on after the student graduates and keeps tabs to monitor the growth) na hata uwezo wa kijana huyu mhitimu to be labor ready with tangible knowledge of not just text book information but actual measurable work.

Think if Kijana huyu mchumi would have partnered with 3 of his friends (students of engineering, agriculture, science, commerce or law) and they invest time as their practical (field work) with such community and empower such community. Teach them planning, marketing, improving quality of goods, wape structure ya kujiongoza, and anything that leo hii we want DED, RAS na kina DC/RC to do (they are more of political reasons).

Let's assume each year kuna 100 first year students in 50 years 5000 communities would have benefited to have such partnership programs!

Hivi kweli leo bado tungekuwa tunalalamika kuwa jamii zetubadoziko backwards hazina nyumba bora, maghala, mifereji, barabara, shule,hospitali na wakulima wanalima si kuhemea bali kujitosheleza na kuwana uwezo wa processing industries of their goods?

Well I realize it is a dream just like Wakanda or Avataror worse Star Wars... just fantasy dreams....

 

[Mzuvendi]

Kuna ndoto yangu ya muda mrefu ambayo imekuwa ikinijia nikijiuliza kwa nini 50 plus years after we had UDSM and had degree offered such as Economics, Engineering, Science, Accounting, Law, and hata za SUA focused on Agro or Muhumbili with medicine bado kama Taifa tumekwama kwenye tope kana kwamba we are unable to integrate the knowledge to practical things nyumbani na katika jamii. This includes hata elimu ya ufundi.

I often wonder what would have been a result of Prof. Kishoka of Department of Economics declare on day one as part of Economics curriculum for next 3 years, 40% of student course work and passing marks to get the degree would involve a practical work to be submitted for grading during student's final year.

I would have given an assignment on day one in class for all my students to find a rural community of their choice, and invest (spend) time as part of their practical training to develop the chosen area economically.

My curriculum would't have been focused on complex money matters and global economies or standard curriculum but add more practical value based on our environment.

Fikiria mwanafunzi anakwenda kwenye kijiji, and he/she has to apply knowledge katika hilo eneo na kufanya kazi na wanakijiji kuboresha mfumo wa uzalishaji na kufanya nao kazi kwa miaka mitatu na kuleta matokeo ya kuonyesha kama ameweza kusaidia kuboresha mfumo wa uzalishaji na boosting quality of life of the area.

As ujima as my thought process might be, great economists wa Dunia didn't rely on just their understanding of maths, political science, science and human behaviors... but also were deeply engage in understanding basic things on communities relative to production and quality of life.

Leo an economist wa Tanzania it is for them to read data and break it down, with few hypotheses kusema GDP, GNP and all complex jargons za Kifalsafa za uchumi.

Think the potential ya Kijiji kuneemeka kwa na mtu ambaye would spend time engaged and participate with them kuboresha uzalishaji (regardless if they will carry on after the student graduates and keeps tabs to monitor the growth) na hata uwezo wa kijana huyu mhitimu to be labor ready with tangible knowledge of not just text book information but actual measurable work.

Think if Kijana huyu mchumi would have partnered with 3 of his friends (students of engineering, agriculture, science, commerce or law) and they invest time as their practical (field work) with such community and empower such community. Teach them planning, marketing, improving quality of goods, wape structure ya kujiongoza, and anything that leo hii we want DED, RAS na kina DC/RC to do (they are more of political reasons).

Let's assume each year kuna 100 first year students in 50 years 5000 communities would have benefited to have such partnership programs!

Hivi kweli leo bado tungekuwa tunalalamika kuwa jamii zetubadoziko backwards hazina nyumba bora, maghala, mifereji, barabara, shule,hospitali na wakulima wanalima si kuhemea bali kujitosheleza na kuwana uwezo wa processing industries of their goods?

Well I realize it is a dream just like Wakanda or Avataror worse Star Wars... just fantasy dreams....

Rev. Kishoka:

You are raising important issues in this post. We have always made to believe that education is an important ingredient to the development of our nation. The question is when our 50 years investment in education should start paying off? If we look at developed nations such as the USA, Japan Canada and UK, they took off when education wasn't accessible to everybody or for that matter the majority of the population. As a matter of fact in 1970s, only 10% of students in the UK went to universities. The ratio was even smaller in 1940s or 1920s.

The point is you don't need to educate the entire nation in order to reap the benefit of education. If we continue to investment in education but forget to believe in our own ability, probably we won't be able to liberate ourselves. There was a time I thought probably we aren't producing enough university graduates to come up with novel ideas that could spur economic development and social changes. However, if you take into consideration that high school education is in the same level as one or two years of college in the USA, then we have a number good number of people to engineer our own development.

Personally, I believe that in terms of education, we have reached the magical number to push the country forward. The number might be 2% or 5% of the population, but we must start believing that the number is there. It might be smaller than that of Kenya, Uganda or Rwanda, but it is ours and we should start taking advantage of it. If we wait for confirmation from other people, we won't go anywhere and that's truth.

Having said that, we should also be aware that having educated workforce is one thing, but having a robust environment that motivates individuals to pursue and excel in economic endeavors is entirely a different story. Certainly, education is a key to our development. Nonetheless, it isn't the only ingredient. I think, we as a society we should start paying attention to other factors that are equally important in the development of the complex and advance systems. Take for example high school education in Tanzania. The two years education is designed to prepare students for university education. The question is what happens if a student doesn't make the grade to go to university, the entire two years of high school become useless.

Four years of secondary school and two of high school are formative years for a young person. We, Tanzanians, like to talk about football and we all know that if if an individual can't master soccer skills when he's young or during his formative years, he won't make it forever. We take this as a fact. I think we should take it as a fact that it is difficult to produce talented scientists, engineers, and professionals in other fields if we have mediocre primary and secondary schools.

 

[Rev. Kishoka]

Rev. Kishoka:

You are raising important issues in this post. We have always made to believe that education is an important ingredient to the development of our nation. The question is when our 50 years investment in education should start paying off? If we look at developed nations such as the USA, Japan Canada and UK, they took off when education wasn't accessible to everybody or for that matter the majority of the population. As a matter of fact in 1970s, only 10% of students in the UK went to universities. The ratio was even smaller in 1940s or 1920s.

The point is you don't need to educate the entire nation in order to reap the benefit of education. If we continue to investment in education but forget to believe in our own ability, probably we won't be able to liberate ourselves. There was a time I thought probably we aren't producing enough university graduates to come up with novel ideas that could spur economic development and social changes. However, if you take into consideration that high school education is in the same level as one or two years of college in the USA, then we have a number good number of people to engineer our own development.

Personally, I believe that in terms of education, we have reached the magical number to push the country forward. The number might be 2% or 5% of the population, but we must start believing that the number is there. It might be smaller than that of Kenya, Uganda or Rwanda, but it is ours and we should start taking advantage of it. If we wait for confirmation from other people, we won't go anywhere and that's truth.

Having said that, we should also be aware that having educated workforce is one thing, but having a robust environment that motivates individuals to pursue and excel in economic endeavors is entirely a different story. Certainly, education is a key to our development. Nonetheless, it isn't the only ingredient. I think, we as a society we should start paying attention to other factors that are equally important in the development of the complex and advance systems. Take for example high school education in Tanzania. The two years education is designed to prepare students for university education. The question is what happens if a student doesn't make the grade to go to university, the entire two years of high school become useless.

Four years of secondary school and two of high school are formative years for a young person. We, Tanzanians, like to talk about football and we all know that if if an individual can't master soccer skills when he's young or during his formative years, he won't make it forever. We take this as a fact. I think we should take it as a fact that it is difficult to produce talented scientists, engineers, and professionals in other fields if we have mediocre primary and secondary schools.

Education- Elimu, Knowledge-Maarifa/Ufahamu!

We are focused on Elimu, and we even made a methali: Elimu ni Ufunguo wa Maisha, Elimu ni Bahari.... but we never spoke of Ufahamu.

We sort of talked about Juhudi (efforts) na Maarifa (knowledge)but never made an emphasis towards more maarifa, identifying basic maarifa and develop to secondary to tertiary stages to make us smart-werevu kujenga ustawi wa uzalishaji na kutuletea maendeleo.

TIB (Tanzania Investment Bank) had a logo of someone pushing a big tire up the hill.... that wasn't being smart but more or so showing juhudi :more muscle, more manual labor than showing smart tools learned through education of using a pulley and an engine to wheel the tire up the hill(did we shortchange science ?)!

I agree, if we would have turn the focus into sharpening and honing skills than aspiring to have more certificates hanged into our living rooms, we could have owned patents and copy rights of innovative work and ensure we are suffocating markets with products out of our own backyard workshops.

Two days ago, I saw an old video clip somewhere in Mbeya, women crossing a river walking through ropes hanging.. yes carrying whatever vichwani mwao.

I asked myself, would have the 2nd year engineering student failed to design a hanging walk bridge?

 

[Mlenge]

I often wonder what would have been a result of Prof. Kishoka of Department of Economics declare on day one as part of Economics curriculum for next 3 years, 40% of student course work and passing marks to get the degree would involve a practical work to be submitted for grading during student's final year.

I would have given an assignment on day one in class for all my students to find a rural community of their choice, and invest (spend) time as part of their practical training to develop the chosen area economically.

My curriculum would't have been focused on complex money matters and global economies or standard curriculum but add more practical value based on our environment.


Well I realize it is a dream just like Wakanda or Avataror worse Star Wars... just fantasy dreams....

Your dream Reverend is non-starter: The Senate of your university has set rules written on stone on how you are supposed to ostensibly transfer the knowledge you possess and how to assess your efforts. The Authorities that accredit your university have even more rigid rules on what they consider to be university education...