Ujamaa philosophy by Julius Nyerere
Ujamaa philosophy by Julius Nyerere
Author(s): Julius Nyerere
Edited By
Type: Book
Country: Tanzania
Language: English
Content:: Indigenous Knowledge
Source: Open Access
Timeline: The Contemporary Age - From 1789 to 2011
Published: 2023
Download here
Summary
Even though the role of higher education in economic development and innovation has been widely discussed, its relevance in constructing democratic and civic values that pervade citizenship education is yet to be properly explored. The significance of higher education in Tanzania has also been discussed within the broad framework of the economic benefits of such education; yet, the social relevance of universities enhancing citizenship and community values has not been properly interrogated. This research approaches universities as social institutions that play significant roles in the social construction of civic values and citizenship. The paper draws its perspective from the ujamaa philosophy of Julius Nyerere. The Swahili word ujamaa is an African philosophy that means ‘familyhood’ or ‘brotherhood’. It deeply entrenches social justice and equality via community, mutual respect, reciprocation and the responsibility of cooperating for the common good of all. This paper sets out to investigate the extent to which graduates of Tanzanian universities inculcate the values of ujamaa philosophy and citizenship education while rendering social services to communities. This enquiry carries fundamental questions, such as what social and civic values are and whether university graduates can acquire these through citizenship education that helps them to engage with their communities. How do the experiences of graduates relate to the African philosophy of ujamaa and Nyerere’s principles of community education? From the analysis of data (n = 30), this paper demonstrates that higher education institutions and graduates have great potential to embrace the values of African philosophy towards the notion of community services, social engagement, civic values and citizenship. The paper concludes that civic values and the sense of community that have been built among graduates show that citizenship education in Tanzanian universities within the framework of ujamaa philosophy can positively influence the exercising of social responsibility by the country’s higher education institutions.
Description
Learning and education can be a delicate and formal transmission of cultural and intellectual heritage from one generation to another; they can otherwise involve the constant reconstruction of experience, rather than the transmission of past values, to make experience more meaningful and capable of solving present problems (Ibanga, 2016). Julius Nyerere, the first president of the Republic of Tanzania (1964–1985), tried to bring the communal and individual values of education together into the context of African culture. Thus, within the context of African socialism, in the 1970s, Nyerere introduced his educational philosophy derived from the African concept of ujamaa. As articulated by Nyerere, ujamaa critiques colonial education that only instilled individualistic values and trained individuals for the service of the colonial state and white-collar skills (Nyerere, 1968). Even though Nyerere articulates the notion of community service and civic education within the African philosophy of ujamaa, his philosophy is influenced by the socialist ideology of the time. As such, during the formulation of Nyerere’s educational philosophy, Tanzania’s national philosophy and developmental goals were based on the policy of socialism and self-reliance enshrined in ujamaa and popularised in the Arusha Declaration of 1967 (Ibanga, 2016). Thus, Nyerere was trying to inculcate African culture and ontology into the socialist ideology of the time to inform public policies. In the 1982 version of his publication, ‘Education for Self-Reliance’, Nyerere argues that:
We have said that we want to create a socialist society which is based on three [principles]: equality and respect for human dignity; sharing of the resources which are produced by our efforts; work by everyone and exploitation by none. We have set out these ideas clearly in the National Ethics; and in the Arusha Declaration and earlier documents, we have outlined the principles and policies we intend to follow. (Nyerere, 1982, p. 239)
As such, Nyerere’s African philosophy would broadly bring contextual relevance and meaning to what we envision as citizenship education in Tanzania and the rest of Africa. Nyerere’s philosophy of education is explained in his March 1967 column and reasserted in the 1982 edition of ‘Education for Self-Reliance’. The policy demands a comprehensive transformation of Tanzania’s education systems to accommodate the socio-economic needs of the country’s peoples. Nyerere’s educational philosophy is designed to address the legacies of colonial education systems that have marginalised African perspectives. According to him, colonial systems perpetuate inequality, individualism and intellectual arrogance that disregard African ontology and epistemology. Nyerere (1967) argues that education should provide a plural space for both social and economic engagements and encourage the development in each citizen of three things; an enquiring mind and the ability to learn from what others accept/reject or adapt to their own needs; it also requires citizens to have basic confidence in their positions as free and equal members of society, who value others and are valued by them for what they do and not for what they obtain (Nyerere, cited in Liundi, 2011, p. 60).
Nyerere imagines an education system that serves social justice and equity, inculcates civic values and community services and promotes social cohesion and brotherhood (Mukhungulu et al., 2017). He refuses to create a parallel distinction between formal and informal education as he argues that an African should be trained both in academic institutions and through interactions with African communities. According to Nyerere, students should be required ‘as part of their degree or professional training to spend at least part of their vacations contributing to the society in a manner related to their studies’ (Nyerere, 1982, p. 252). His philosophy de-emphasises paper qualifications that merely assess a student’s ability to learn facts; rather, he recommends that the assessment of a student should include their relative contribution to community development (Ibanga, 2016). Nyerere asserts that the main purpose of education is to create an intergenerational space to exchange accumulated wisdom and knowledge in society from one generation to subsequent generations through formal, informal, institutional and cultural channels. He articulates the significance of experience and observation as an epistemological process of learning when combined with the idea of thought and analysis.
Nyerere sees education as the means to achieve social emancipation, human liberation and equality. He argues that the core aim of higher education must be to inspire a desire for change, and an understanding that change is possible. Through the philosophy of ujamaa, he presents an innovative and yet ‘localised’ theory of social change that is committed to bringing equality, as well as economic and social justice in postcolonial Tanzania. His point of departure is that there can be neither freedom nor social justice without human equality. Nyerere links his idea of education with the philosophy of ujamaa and argues that to have a just society, an individual should be assessed by their actions in the community and not by skin colour, material wealth or intellectual ability (Nyerere, 1968). According to him, the notion of social justice and equality is deeply entrenched in the African philosophy of ujamaa—community, mutual respect, responsibility, reciprocation and the responsibility of cooperating for the common good of all.
Nyerere (1967, p. 262–263) outlines eight ethical principles that are the basis of ujamaa. These are (1) equality of all human beings; (2) the right to the equal part in state power at local, regional and national level; (3) the right to freedom of expression, of movement, of religious belief, of association; (4) the right to protection for life and property; (5) the right to receive fair return for labour; (6) collective ownership of all the natural resources; (7) the responsibility of the state to intervene actively in economic life to prevent exploitation of any person and (8) the responsibility of the state to take an active role in the fight against colonialism. A main aspect of the ujamaa philosophy is the emphasis on community, collaboration and social justice, which Nyerere takes as a cultural foundation to resist the competitive and individualist notion of capitalist ideology. His objective was to liberate individuals from colonial values that had alienated Africans from their past. Nyerere argued that reclaiming African philosophy helps to reconstruct African identity and achieve the emancipation of the mind. He stated that in order to reclaim critical consciousness, the African must pursue intrinsic merit in his native philosophy and traditional value system.
Nyerere’s philosophy of education links social responsibility, civic education and community engagement to the functions of higher education institutions. According to the ujamaa philosophy, education must inculcate a sense of commitment to society that contributes towards human-centred development. The idea of self-reliance, the emancipation of the mind, critical consciousness, equality, social justice, common good and development dominates Nyerere’s philosophy of education. Nyerere set out some of his vision for higher education in the oft-referenced 1967 article ‘Education for Self-Reliance’ which became a part of his well-known 1968 book ‘Freedom and Socialism’, in which he voiced his arguments towards promoting self-reliance and critical consciousness. He strongly believed that higher education should not be left to the few elites as a special privilege or even be considered an investment in human capital; rather, it should be a fundamental right of all citizens (Nyerere, 1968). According to Nyerere, higher education needs to address the realities of African societies and foster the social goals of living together and working together for the common good. This research aims to articulate the implications of Nyerere’s principles of education and ujamaa philosophy on graduate students from selected Tanzanian universities.
Related Content
Opdwodowkdwiidwok djwkqdwqofhjqwlsqj jfkmclasdkjfjewlfjkwkdjoiqw fnedkwdkowfwhi jiowjiowhfiwkj rohriowjropwjrofwjrijeiwo theafricanarchives.org
Opdwodowkdwiidwok djwkqdwqofhjqwlsqj jfkmclasdkjfjewlfjkwkdjoiqw fnedkwdkowfwhi jiowjiowhfiwkj rohriowjropwjrofwjrijeiwo theafricanarchives.org