Education policies Essay

bringing up is so important in either stipulation society. For this reason, it forms a major straggle of any pre rampntial terms plans. The plans that any organization wishes to implement as regards their instruction schema is determined by alert policies. Factors which influence saying of policies form the subject of this intelligence. For nice presentation, the essay is divided into third chapters namely the introduction, the important body and conclusion.The introduction turns definitions of key terms utilise in the essay as come up as conceptual frame work, the main body outlines and discusses major pointors which influenced commandment policies in Afri earth-closet countries aft(prenominal) achieving their license and lastly the conclusion draws a summary of the essay. 1. 1 Statement of essay purpose This essay aims at discussing the factors which influenced nurture policies in African countries afterwardswardswards their act of liberty.The essay will outline these factors and later give a detailed discussion of each factor. 1. 2 Definitions of terms In point of battle to arouse this discussion meaningful, it is imperative that definitions of key terms that be gnarly ar done. The key terms involved in the discussion atomic add to take inher 18 teaching, policy and independency. The definitions of the terms are as apt(p) below discipline. consort to the join Nations discipline, Scientific and Culture Organisation (19751), discipline is outlined as organised and sustained communication designed to bring about learning thence maturement in this context involves a lifelong form by which an individual is incorporated into the group and make capable of behaving in the styluss expected by the society for an individual of a feature age, brace or status. gentility can accept lieu formally, non formally and informally. However, in this context the idiom is on formal discipline. indemnityA policy is delimi t as a deliberate plan of accomplishment which is put in house to guide decisions and strain intended outcomes. Policies differ from rules or laws. Rules or laws are established to compel or prohibit trusted behaviours while policies guide actions towards desired goals. This discussion, however, focuses on fostering policies. Bartlett and Burton (2012134), define an knowledge policy as the rafts of laws and initiatives that determine the shape and functioning of pedagogicsal organisations at both national and local takes. in that locationfore, information policies give direction to the functioning of an breeding system.independency This is defined as the freedom from macrocosm governed or ruled by a nonher ground. African countries in this discussion acquired the freedom to rule themselves from colonial mast 1. 3 Conceptual Framework Black more than than (1999), deposits that in that location are terce models of policy making namely popular intimacy, revisal and delegation models. This discussion will refer to these three models in outlining and discussing the factors which influenced knowledge policies in African countries after achieving their independence. These models are discussed in detail below. (a) Popular participation Policy making model.(b) In this model, allbody is given an fortune to contribute to the instruct of policies. People in African countries were given opportunities to make suggestions on swops to make to the breeding system. For example, Zambias reproductional reforms of 1977. (c) Decree Policy qualification beat In this model, the head of state makes pronouncements on the direction to be followed in a given fostering system. (d) Delegation Policy Making Model This involves appointing a commission to review the genteelness system of a given country. For example the Onide Commission was constitute to review the preparation system of Kenya in 1963.Policies are do with respect to the findings of the comm ission. CHAPTER TWO 2. 0 chief(prenominal) Body This chapter outlines and discusses the major factors that influenced tuition policies in African countries after achieving independence. These factors are as given and discussed below. reproduction for Economic Development The consideration given to grooming as an important vehicle for frugal culture is one of the factors which influenced education policies in African countries after achieving independence. Investment in formal education was considered as an essential precondition for economic growth.African countries learnt lessons from substantial countries that a high fundamental platform of education was a catalyst to fast economic suppuration. There was a vox populi among developing countries that the youthfulisation, industrialisation and wealth of demonstrable countries were the direct consequence of their educational systems. Coombs (1970) argues that during the mid-sixties education in developing countries was r egarded as a sort of intellectual yeast which would ferment and commute pre industrial societies by promoting knowledge, skills and attitudes which were favourable to economic and cordial learning.Therefore, education policies in African countries after the attainment of independence were erect at promoting education pro vision magnification in order to compass meaningful learning. In fact an argument is advance(a) by Anderson (1965), that analysis of evidence from major developed countries such as Britain, France, United States of America and Russia that in general terms, a thresh hold phallic literacy rate of 40 percent was postulate originally there be any significant take off of economic knowledge.To this end, African countries direct their policies on education after attaining independence towards increase feeler to education in order to reach the required thresh hold of literacy. Therefore, in the 1950s and 1960s, shut away and plans for investment in formal e ducation by African countries increased. learning was regarded to be a headliner weapon in achieving economic growth. To this end rapid quantitative expansion of the education system became the order of the day in freshly free African countries. Man forefinger Shortages.After attaining independence, African countries were confronted with paucity of man major power in diverse sectors of the economy. As a result of this scenario, they experienced economic stagnation. Man power shortages were heavily mat up in technical and managerial fields. Thus, education policies in just about African countries were directed towards resolving the man power shortages experienced. This situation was spare from what obtained in Kenya. As Eshiwani (199326), observes at independence in 1963, Kenya found her self-importance-importance with a high shortage of proficient manpower to run the economy.In order to go this problem, a commission was appointed to advise the giving medication on the formulation and interpretation of national educational policies. Therefore, it can be stated that man power planning in fresh main(a) countries of Africa gave a direction to the formulation of education policies. Consequently, the governments of newly case-by-case countries of Africa saw it paramount to expand the education systems of their countries in order to produce more graduates from the education system that would fill the manpower gaps which were experienced in various sectors of the economy.Most technical and managerial jobs at independence in about(prenominal) African countries were occupied by foreigners. Therefore, the aim of almost African governments was to decolonise the education systems, produce more return from secondary and high(prenominal) education so that manpower to participate in national development could be realised. Fafunwa (1974), Contends that education development in African countries like Nigeria was treated as a national emergency for the rea son of contain manpower shortages in crucial areas of the economy.In order to meet the requirements of manpower in various sectors of the economy, the policies of African countries after independence were directed at increase school enrolments, especially at the post primeval coil level. Rapid expansion of secondary and higher(prenominal) education was considered as a pre requisite for sustainable economic growth. Enhancing education as a basic valet decently Newly independent African countries were confronted with a task of providing to e truly fry their basic, essential business to education.The broad education that was to be exitd was supposed to be relevant to the child in his or her African setting. For this reason, most newly African countries had wide large(p) and recurrent budgets towards the financing of primary education for all. The cookery of education especially at elementary level to citizens of newly independent African countries was prompted by the 1948 w orld- extensive Declaration of Human Rights in which education is enshrined as a basic human rectify. As Bishop (19891), postulates, Everyone has the right to education. grooming shall be free at to the lowest degree in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. Therefore, from the antedate, newly independent African countries were compelled to provide education especially primary education on the grounds of human justice and equity. The newly independent African countries were supposed to consider primary education as the birth right of every child.This was overdue to the fact that education was seen as an effective way to give all children regardless of sex or family background an equal start in life. Furthermore, the leading of newly independent African countries considered education to be the great equaliser that would help to narrow the wide disparities which were apparent in conditions of living in boorish and urban communities. Before the attainment of independence, education in most African countries was a preserve for the elite.In order to correct this, African leaders made radical changes to their education systems to make them more helpful to everyone. As Carmody (199423), contends As in most African countries, from the early days Africas leaders viewed education as a right on, often the most powerful vehicle for accessible transformation. Thus, as the UNIP government expect power, among its immediate priorities were the elimination of racial segregation in schools and expansion of education homework. Tuition and boarding fees were abolished. A point was also made by Bishop (1989), which in the days of the 1950s and 1960s massive expansion of education provision was regarded as the best sum available for rooting out old prejudices and socio economic inj ustices. Therefore, education was regarded as basic human right which everyone destinyed to bask as provided in the foregoing arguments. In the pursuit of providing universal primary education, newly African countries set for themselves benchmarks. For example, the Addis Ababa collection on the development of education in Africa held in 1961 recommended that primary education was to be universal, compulsory and free by 1980.The conference further recommended that secondary education was to be provided to 30 percent of the children who completed primary school. Similarly, the conference of Arab states which met in Tripoli in 1966 also set 1980 as the target date for achieving universal primary education. To this end, it can be argued that one of the factors that influenced the formulation of education policies of African countries after achieving independence was related to the consideration that education was a basic human right which every citizen of a given country was supposed to enjoy .Hence, massive investment in the provision of education was undertaken by African countries after attaining independence in order to promote the achievement of universal primary education. As Court and Kinyanjui (197814), comment on the provision of Universal Primary information in Tanzania. prexy Nyerere had the choice of expanding the number of classes at grades V to cardinal so that those children entering primary education real seven favorable classs of schooling instead of tetrad.It can be concluded from the foregoing debate that the decision was arrived at because it enabled finances to be spent on the provision of 7 years of education to one child which helped him or her to become a useful member of society. African countries aimed at meliorate the access to education by increasing the number of school places which was facilitated by expanding already existing schools as well as construction of new schools in different split of their countries. furthera nce of Modernisation.African countries conjecture their education policies with respect to the purpose of attaining modernisation. In order to influence modernisation in their countries, there was massive investment in education. This was a result of the belief that schooling would assist in the inculcation of modern ideas and attitudes. Bishop (1989), postulate that evidence seemed to indicate that schooling influenced the development of modern traits and ideas. To this end, schooling had some impact on modernisation. This was manifestated in higher levels of modernity among urban batch and lower modernity among rural people.Consequently, some(prenominal) African leaders in newly independent countries felt modernisation of attitudes and behaviours was an important pre requisite for their countries development. According to Carmody (1994), education should complaisantise a nations nation into modern value, attitudes and personalities. For this reason there was more emphasis on the expansion of education systems in newly independent African countries in order to rear the access levels. Increased access to education meant increased modernity levels within a given country.In studies which were conducted be Inkeles and Smith (1974), indicate that education was the wizard most variable for modernisation. The studies indicate that each year of schooling improved a persons score on their modernity scale by about 2 points. training was also very effective in the development of incontrovertible attitudes and values. For this reason, formulation of education policies in newly independent African countries was influenced by the idea of modernisation. Modernisation was to be bring home the bacon by every citizen in the newly independent African countries through education.Ensuring Citizens Political Participation The citizens participation in policy-making affairs of their countries could be seen as one of the major factors which influenced education policies i n African countries after achieving independence. Political participation of citizens of a particular country was linked to the notion of modernisation. This was due to the fact that knowledge was regarded as power. For this reason, many policy-making leaders of African drafted educational policies which were responsive to the promotion of political participation of citizens in nation matters.This was highly clear in the limit of education which was offered to the citizens . Again this could tho be realised through the wide fete of education in African countries which most leaders promoted through the expansion of the education system. Cowan (1965), stressed that any political principle which governed education policy in independent African countries was supposed to regard as a top priority the provision of an education that would establish the most vigorous form of self government and independence.Therefore, extending schooling to a larger state would make more people politic ally and societally conscious and more active in the sour of nation building. Thus, if equal political rights were to be enjoyed by everyone then everyone ought to take for at least an tolerable primary school education to participate more fully in the political process of their country. Promotion of Social comparability and Removal of Divisions The attainment of social comparison is among the major factors which influenced education policies in African countries after achieving independence.Education was regarded as an instrument of social equality which was critical in the upbringing of social responsibility. Therefore, education policies which were put in place by African countries after attainment of independence were directed towards the promotion of social equality within their countries. Consequently, more and more school places were created in most parts of African countries to bring about the issue of equality within their countries in the provision of education servi ces.Equality in the provision of education was called for as it ensured that child was provided with varied and challenging opportunities for collective activities and corporate social services. Furthermore, Eshiwani (1993), points out that the promotion of social equality in the formulation of education policies in African countries after achieving independence helped young people to acquire positive attitudes of mutual respect which enabled them to live together in harmony and to make a positive donation to the national life.This contribution to national life was not supposed to be extended to every part of the country, hence the need of social equality in the provision of education. Respect and Development of Cultural inheritance The formulation of education policies in African countries after achieving independence was influenced by the need for promoting respect and development of heathen heritage. Education policies were directed towards the promotion of respect, fostering a nd developing the rich cultures which African countries have.For this reason, policy formulation as regards this situation was clearly addressed in the content of education which African countries were to provide to their people. The content of education was adapted to the culture of the people in any particular African country. In entertain of this assertion, Eshiwani (1993), states that the commission which was assigned to review Kenyas education system in 1963 recommended that Kenyan schools were to respect the ethnical traditions of the people of the country, both as expressed in social institutions and relationships.Similarly, Damachi et al (1978), reports that education policies in African countries after attainment of independence were influenced by the need to enhance every aspect of human development which implicated the promotion of cultural heritage. Consequently, African countries were to state clearly their language of instruction in their education system both at low er and higher levels. This was done with the sole aim of promoting the preservation of cultural heritage and national unity.To this end the education policies which most African countries drafted after the attainment of independence were pitch towards learners understanding of past and present cultural values and their valid place in contemporary society. Education for Self Reliance The education policies of African countries were influenced by the need for the curriculum offered to respond to the attainment of self reliance. Thus the recipients of such education were supposed to engage themselves in self employing activities.The curriculum of African countries stress practical subjects in order to ensure the achievement of self reliance by learners. It was realised that the kind of education which was offered in some countries in Africa was to a fault bookish and academic. The education system in most African countries separated manual work from learning. Thus theory was separa ted from practice. This situation further anomic young people from their societies. Therefore, education reforms in most African countries were fateful so as transposition this trend.As Bishop (1989116), reports By the mid 1950s it was being argued once again that schooling should be meliorate principally through curriculum reform to include more practical and vocational studies Similarly, Carmody (1994), reports that Zambias introductory National Development Plan pointed to the need for more and more relating secondary education to the needs of the country by diversifying the secondary school syllabus into technical and commercial-grade fields and giving a new place to agriculture. Therefore, it can be pointed out that education policies in African countries were supposed to address the concept of self reliance.Academic schooling was to be placed side by side with technical and vocational training in African countries. Improvement of Education power The education policies of most African countries after achieving independence were influenced by the need of improving the efficiency of the education systems. In education systems of African countries, it was felt that there was no correlation between inputs and out puts as well as between costs and returns. Education policies were centred on the need of making the systems of education to be more efficient.That is, the education systems were supposed to achieve their output at the lowest cost and also get the greatest return for a given cost. According to Bishop (1989), most education systems in African countries after achieving independence were inefficient, particularly at secondary and higher levels. The inputs such as expenditure per student or teacher training did not seem to have the effects on test scores which educators anticipated. Therefore, education policies were designed in a manner that would make the education systems in newly independent African countries to be more efficient.Additionally, education in many African countries was dysfunctional. It relied heavily on rote learning and led to an inappropriate reverence for paper qualifications. Furthermore, most curricular in African countries were irrelevant to pupils future lives and created an imbalance with many school leavers unemployed. Consequently, African countries hypothesise policies which were aimed at addressing the challenges which were faced in education systems. Education as a means of fostering supranational consciousness Education policies in African countries were influenced by the need to foster planetary consciousness in learners.Education policies as complimented by the content of education provided to learners was supposed to ensure that positive attitudes towards other countries as well as the international community were upheld. This was accentuate because no country existed as an island. Each country depended on others for its prosperity. Therefore, it was essential that learners were provid ed with education that would instil international consciousness for the purpose of promoting cooperation among countries. CHAPTER THREE. 3. 0 CONCLUSION Education policies in African countries after their achievement of independence were influenced by a number of factors.Some of the major factors which influenced education policies in African countries included manpower shortages, recognition of education as a basic human right, consideration of education as a tool for development, modernisation, improving education efficiency, need for citizens political participation, and promotion of international consciousness among learners as well as self reliance. Changes in education policies were inevitable due to the fact that African countries experienced change in government.A change in government is associated with an ideological shift, thus aspects of the education system in a given countrywill be in a continual state of reformation. Hence, changes occurred in education aspects such as content, teaching methodologies, assessment and structure. REFERENCES.Anderson, C. 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