INTRODUCTION...................................................................... 2
1. PLATO’S CONCEPT OF EDUCATION................................ 4
1.1 The Meaning Of Education............................................. 4
1.2 Plato’s Understanding Of Education............................ 4
1.3 The Role Of Education................................................... 7
1.4 Education In Greek Society............................................ 8
1.4.1 Main Features Of Greek Education......................... 8
1.4.2 Stages Of Education............................................... 10
2. NYERERE’S CONCEPT OF EDUCATION......................... 12
2.1 Nyerere’s Understanding Of Education..................... 12
2.1.1 Informal Education In Tanzania............................. 13
2.1.2 Colonial Education In Tanzania.............................. 13
2.2 Education In
Tanzania.................................................. 14
2.2.1 Education After Independence.............................. 16
2.2.2 Systems Of Education............................................. 17
2.2.3 Adult Education..................................................... 20
2.3 The Role Of Education................................................. 21
2. 4 Importance Of Education............................................. 22
3. EXISTING SIMILARITIES AND DISMILARITIES............ 24
3.1 On Understanding Education....................................... 24
3.2 The Role Of The Teacher.............................................. 24
3.3 Selection Of Students.................................................. 25
3.4 On The Question Of Special Schools............................ 25
3.5 Practical Work............................................................. 25
3.6 Against Gender Discrimination..................................... 26
3.7 The Minister Of Education........................................... 27
3.8 On The Question Of Morality...................................... 27
3.9 The Role Of Education................................................. 27
3.10 Physical Education..................................................... 28
3.11 Absolute Knowledge.................................................. 28
CONCLUSION......................................................................... 30
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................... 32
The question of education has been given particular consideration by many Societies, Western or African. By definition, education is a transfer of knowledge from one generation to another; it is a system or practice of teaching and learning. Also in its broadest meaning, “education is any process by which an individual gains knowledge or insight, or develops attitudes or skill”[1].
This thesis writes about the contributions of two philosophers namely Plato and Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere and their understanding and importance of education.
“Plato was born in
Nyerere is an African, a Tanzanian
who is considered to be a political philosopher and teacher. He “was born
at Butiama, in a village near Musoma
on the shores of lake Victoria, in 1922”[4],
he was the first president of the United Republic of Tanzania and his ideas
about education are found in his famous paper called Education for
self-reliance, which was issued on March 1967 after the Arusha
Declaration. Historically up to independence in 1961,
Education for self-reliance in
The aim of this thesis is to show how these two philosophers considered the concept and importance of education though they differed in culture, environment and also in time and place in which they lived. For them education is something, which is very important in society, whereby an individual will be formed and becomes a useful member of society and enable him to promote his culture and to lead a good life.
This work is divided into three chapters. The first chapter is about Plato’s concept of education, the second chapter is about Nyerere’s concept of education and the third chapter is about comparative aspects. In this part I shall indicate the similarities and differences in these two philosophers. Finally, this will be followed by a conclusion and bibliography.
I have already explained in the introduction the general meaning of education, which is the transfer of knowledge from one generation to another. However, Plato would say that:
education the initial acquisition of virtue by the child, when the feelings of pleasure and affection, pain and hatred, that well up in his soul are channelled in the right courses before he can understand the reason why… education, then is a matter of correctly disciplined feelings of pleasure and pain [6].
Apart from this definition, Plato sees education as “… to ensure that the habit and aspirations of the old generation are transmitted to the younger- and then presumably to the next one after that”[7]. Means of transmitting knowledge according to Plato are: father-and- son and teacher- and- pupil; but beyond these, there are others, such as mother- and- child, Officer- and –soldier, court, priest- and –layman, speaker-and- audience, Lawyer-and- Law”[8].
If one studies Plato’s morality, politics, education etc. one cannot avoid reading his Allegory of the Cave, and the theory of a divided line. It is upon these theories Plato departed in making the explanation of education. There is a great similarity between the Allegory of the Cave and the theory of a divided line due to the fact that all have been divided into two worlds i.e. the world of shadow and the world of ideas. In these theories, Plato wanted to show how an individual could acquire knowledge from one stage to another. In these different stages of development of human mind, Plato assigned a kind of soul. In the allegory of the cave, Plato says that,
most mankind, this allegory would suggest, dwells in the darkness of the cave. They have oriented their thoughts around the blurred world of shadow. It is the function of education to lead men out of the cave into the world of light. Education is not what some people declare it to be, namely, putting knowledge into souls that lack it, like putting sight into a blind eye. Knowledge is like vision in that it requires an organ capable in receiving it. Just as the prisoner had to turn his whole body around in order that his eyes could see the light in stead of the darkness, so also it is necessary for the entire soul to turn away from the deceptive world of change and appetite that causes a blindness of the soul[9].
However, according to Plato, education is a matter of conversion. i.e. a complete turn around from the world of appearances to the world of the reality. ‘The conversion of the souls’, says Plato, ‘is not to put the power of sight in the soul’s eye, which already has it, but to insure that, instead of looking in the wrong direction, it is turned the way it ought to be’ [10].
On the other hand, it is showing that the power to learn is present in anyone’s soul and that the instrument with which each learns, is like an eye that can not be turned around from darkness to light without turning the whole body.
Following this statement one can realise that because every one possesses the power to learn in his soul, what is needed is to turn our soul in a proper way that is to prepare a good environment for learning. It is shown that the more you move up the more you acquire knowledge. Plato sees various stages of the human mind i.e. from ignorance to true knowledge. The lowest stage of knowledge is imagination: “Here the mind confronts images, or at least the amount of reality”[11]. In using the word imagination Plato wanted to show “simply the sense experience of appearances wherein these appearances are taken as true reality”[12]. The characteristic of this stage is the failure of one to know what is shadow or an image, this man is not aware that he is observing such a thing i.e. image. Plato assigned to this stage the appetitive soul. A further stage of development of human mind is belief. So to a certain extent there is a light compared with the lowest stage; there is a strong feeling of certainty, but not absolute certainty. Someone can observe things that are visible and tangible but Plato would say “visible objects depend upon their context for many of their characteristics”[13]. To this stage, Plato also assigned the appetitive soul. All these stages of development of human mind are found in the world of shadow; finishing these stages one can now move from one world to another, i.e. from visible world to the intelligible world. Thinking was the stage where the great lights are found; entering into this world you have already moved from the realm of opinion to the realm of thinking; reason is used here. The act of moving from the visible world to the intelligible world is progress; but it needs effort and mental discipline. The last stage of development of the human mind is the attainability of perfect knowledge. “Perfect intelligence represents the mind as completely released from sensible objects. At this level, the mind is dealing directly with the forms.”[14] Knowledge that was discussed by Plato was not knowledge of particulars but was knowledge of universals; knowledge of particulars was in the lowest stage while knowledge of universals was equated as abstract.
In short, the theory of the divided line contains four sections; which are intelligence for the highest, thinking for the second, belief for the third and the lower section is imagination. Moving from one stage to another need effort and mental discipline hence one cannot acquire knowledge without great effort.
In every place where Sophists appear in the dialogue, the process of education was given some examination, even when military life is discussed. Likewise some educative features were also mentioned. We can see how much the question of education was considered or how much education was given priority. The whole process of learning requires teachers and students; teachers are the ones who know the subject matter to be taught. In addition to that, Plato would say:
He is the man who persuades in the market place or in the privacy of a small gathering; he is a person with a skill such as weaving or flute playing; he is the head of the state who guides his subject; he is person who discloses arcane mysteries to the particular audience fitted to receive them[15].
The process of learning, was suggested to be in the form of discussion
between students and teachers. Plato’s idea of education was primarily
intended for those who were to be statesmen. What made him to emphasise the statesmen more was to avoid blind leaders; because these statesmen will be
given a state, and if they are not educated will lead the country or the state
into a terrible situation.
Plato’s interest in the epistemological ascent is thus no mere academic or narrowly critical interest; he is concerned with the conduct of life, tendency of the soul and with the good of the state. The man who does not realise the true good of man will not, and cannot, lead the truly good human life, and the statesman who does not realise the true good of the state, who does not view political life in the light of eternal principles, will bring ruin on his people[16].
Therefore, Plato was fully convinced that education would help one to know many things; he/she will be able to know what to do in his/her state in order to avoid disaster in the state. So much so, that those who have different tasks in the state were supposed to get education, not merely any education, but education for the real true and good, or, in other words, they should become philosophers. After the long years of studies it was suggested that those who wanted to rule the state were supposed to work or hold some office for fifteen years before starting service to the. State, in order to get experience and also to learn to stand firm when confronted with difficulties and problems. Whoever survived all these tests was qualified to be Philosopher king. Moreover,
These tests are supposed to determine prospective rulers from those who are to be soldiers and artisans. The whole range of the educational system would be in part physical, in part intellectual, and in part moral. If a man cannot withstand moral temptation, then he might sacrifice the interest of the society in order to satisfy his own interests [17].
Education should make people fit for their different social roles; as he said, “A purpose of education is to create a balance, a harmonious state; where the workers are to be trained to obey their masters and offer important economic services to the state”[18].
Education also helps to prepare the ruler of the state, on this he said,
The ruler of the state should be the one who has the peculiar abilities to fulfil that function … the ruler, said Plato, should be the one who has been fully educated, one who has come to understand the difference between the visible world and the intelligible world, between the realm of opinion and the realm of knowledge, between appearance and reality. The Philosopher-king is one whose education in short, has led him up step by step through the ascending degrees of knowledge of the divided line until at the last he has a knowledge of the Good, that synoptic vision of the interrelation of all truths to each other[19].
He thought also that the Philosopher king must have been undergoing many stages of education. The role of education also is to improve the ability of an individual, by dialogue one gets deeper understanding and becomes more creative. It helps to promote the culture of people and enable them to have a good life by preparing children creating good atmosphere, by using play, music, discussion and criticism. “Education must promote a new type of leadership; and this leadership, once found, isolated, and trained, must by rights become supreme”[20]. Education was for the betterment of state and individual.
Education in
Plato’s attitude
toward these itinerant teachers, who picked up as much information and technic as possible in town and moved on to the next to
purvey it, who usually lacked any firm commitment to truth, and who were happy
to sell what they had picked up in rather expensive packages of private or semi
private instruction, is a mixed one[21].
Therefore, Plato proposed the state to be responsible for education rather than to leave it to the private individuals, as it had always been the case. So, Plato proposed to have a Minister of Education; this was considered as the most important minister, and his office also was considered as the greatest one. He advised that education of children should not become secondary or an accident. In addition to that Plato proposed that:
Education should be carefully planned as it is universal, with subject matter, admissible candidates, age levels, examinations and rewards being taken up as pressing considerations in state- supported and state- administered schooling[22].
The Platonic approach to education comprises the following aspects: sciences and arts, which were to be communicated by teachers to their pupils; moral virtue, necessary to teacher and students, and finally political institutions, which were connected with the learning process. But practically, Plato was interested in the method and purpose of education, its transmission through the institutions, which help in education. Teaching and training in accordance with their ages, selection of educators (teachers) and pupils, content of education, effectiveness of those who have already acquired that education. Tradition according to Plato was one of the fundamental factors required in any successful grasp of teaching[23]. Here Plato wanted to show the role of tradition in the whole process of learning since it is through tradition that we can get knowledge of the past. It is through tradition man connects with his past and with the past of society and his city. Moreover, Plato believed that in order to create a balanced and harmonious state, various social orders such as workers, soldiers and guardians should be educated separately in order to fit for their different social roles; e.g. workers were to be trained to obey their masters so that they can offer an important economic service to the state.
Following the mistreatment of women in
are dogs divided into hes and shes, or do they both share equally in hunting and in keeping watch and in the other duties of dogs? Or do we entrust to the males the entire and exclusive care of the flock, while we leave the females at home, under the idea that the bearing and suckling the puppies is labour enough for them? “No” he said, “they share alike; the only difference between them is that the males are stronger and the females weaker”[25].
So, women have got the same duties as men, and in order to fulfil their duties they must have the same nurture and education.
…then there is no way of life concerned with the management of the city that belongs to a woman because she is a woman or to a man because he is a man, but the various natures are distributed in the same way in both creatures. Women share by nature in every way of life just as men do, but in all of them women are weaker than men[26].
The only difference noted between men and women is physical
function, i.e. one begets, the other bears children. Apart from physical
function, all can perform the same functions. Therefore, in order to perform
all these duties, education was necessary for them so that society could get
best values from both men and women. But this idea was revolutionary to Greek
women, since in
However, Plato recognised also some differences in intelligence and talents; so it was suggested to have different schools for those who have got special talents, i.e. he advocated an educational system, which would distinguish and identify rulers, soldiers and the populace.
Plato named three stages of education: reading and writing as the first stage; second stage: physical education; and the third stage: secondary or literary education.
Education was not started for the children after birth, even before birth a mother was supposed to exercise properly, to ensure the health of the baby. After birth, exercise must be supplemented by various means that will keep the child from becoming frightened or emotional. This was followed by supervised play, instruction for both boys and girls; although they were supposed to learn the same disciplines and sports, it was suggested to be done separately.
In this stage children should be taught through music, play, physical work, geometrical exercises: this should be done when children are in the age of six. The major aim of this stage is to “promote culture and right living by exposing the child to the proper kind of environment and atmosphere through play, music, discussion, and criticism”[27].
Physical education
In this stage Plato was thinking more of military training
rather than mere athletic training. This stage starts from 18th to
20th year. In this course, it was compulsory to attend; the young
people of
The general purpose of this stage of
education –to train both character and moral and aesthetic judgement
…The influence of environment on growing mind is again emphasised: it is
because of this that so rigid a censorship of the music and poetry to be used
in education is required …[28].
Secondary or literary education
This is the study of the works of poets, which were learnt to be recited and were sung to the lyre, so it included knowledge of music. Greeks didn’t have a Bible; the poets were the source of theology and morals. An ordinary Greek was expected to acquire his morals and theological notions from these poets and use them to educate his young, so it was expected that those poets must be suitable for the intended purpose i.e. to teach morality. This was strictly considered because most of the existing poetries were unsuitable and because of this, Plato was afraid that unsuitable poetry could misrepresent God who is Perfect.
According to Nyerere education whether formal or informal has a purpose,
That purpose is to transmit from one generation to the next the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of the society and to prepare the young people for their future membership of the society and their active participation in its maintenance or development[29].
But according to him, education is not something which must
be done in the classrooms rather, it is a kind of learning from others and from
past experience including our past success or failures. As he said,
“Education is learning from books, from radio, from films, from
discussions about matters which affect our lives, and especially from doing
things”[30].
Other ways of learning are from magazine and newspaper. However, Nyerere was fully convinced that a good way of learning is by doing. Concerning this matter he said “The best way to learn to sew is to sew…”[31]. Also Nyerere was convinced that education is not necessarily to be done in schools but children can learn from parents and brothers and sisters[32]. For him learning is a part of living and it can not be divorced from the community since a child learns from his family before he ever goes to school. “…they have already learnt many things starting from learning to walk, and including good manners, useful jobs around the house or farm, as well as many other things”[33]. This kind of education according to Nyerere is called Basic Education; here also he said, “When a child first comes to school at the age of six or seven it has already developed some character traits and it has absorbed some ideas through life in the family”[34]. Education according to Nyerere must be used for the whole community since knowledge which remains isolated from the people or knowledge used by few for the sake of exploiting others is betrayal; it is a vicious kind of theft by false pretences. Following this idea Nyerere gave an example:
Students eat the bread and butter of the peasants because they have promised a service in the future. If they are unable or unwilling to provide that service when the time comes, then the students have stolen from the peasants as surely as if they had carried off their sacks of wheat in the night[35].
Before the coming of colonists,
On this matter Nyerere said,
The education provided by the Colonial
government in the two countries which now form
Colonial education was based on the assumptions of a colonialist and capitalist society; it introduced the attitudes of human inequality since it encouraged the individualistic instincts of mankind. Also it led to the tendency of the possession of individual material wealth as a major criterion of social merit. It was also characterised by racial distinction. Generally, this education didn’t transmit the values and knowledge of Tanzanian society to the next generation. On the contrary, as Nyerere points out, “it was a deliberate attempt to change those values and to replace traditional knowledge by the knowledge of different a society”[38].
The 1962 education ordinances changed the entire education
system so as to eliminate the division of schools, which existed in that time.
Up to then, the Directors of Education controlled African schools in
In 1967 President Julius Kambarage
Nyerere produced a pamphlet entitled Education for
self-reliance, which revolutionised the educational
program in
Education for self- reliance made big challenges on the
The term self-reliance means “an assertion of being
inward looking, looking intentionally for ones basic survival, not to external
forces”[43].
The basic principle of education for self-reliance was egalitarianism, while a
primary aspect was to make agriculture an integral part of the curriculum since
First, equality and respect for human dignity, second, sharing of the resources which are produced by people’s efforts, and finally, sharing by every one and exploitation by none[44].
Education for self-reliance aimed to solve the crisis that
existed in
In the process of learning, the role of teachers together with what they teach was highly considered by Nyerere. As he said,
We have thought of the teachers as imparting knowledge-of arithmetic, reading, writing and so on. And of course they do, and it is vital. But it is not the only thing or the most important thing, which the child learns from the teachers. What the teacher presents to the class is important…[46].
It was emphasised that the subjects to be taught should be practical. They should help to solve the problems of Tanzanians. To support this idea Nyerere said,
…when a tutor is preparing his syllabus, his lecture or seminar, he should first ask himself, ‘What needed understanding, or ‘what new information, am I trying to convey to the students?’ he should then go on to ask, ‘What knowledge of, or from our own society is relevant to this matter?’ And finally, ‘what has mankind’s heritage of knowledge to teach us in this connection?’[47].
In forming students it was also highly emphasised by Nyerere that teachers should be enthusiastic, and encourage the children to help each other. Teachers also must have good behaviour so that student can learn from and imitate them. This behaviour should be inside and outside the classroom. Teacher should treat everyone with respect, and discuss their positions clearly and rationally. Also teachers are needed who exhibit equality and friendship[48].
When the educational system was inherited from the British, at the time of independence, there were three areas that clearly needed immediate change. These areas are as follows:
(1) The racial separation of students in schools, (2) the European orientated curriculum, and (3) the small number of schools operating, affording an education to only a small minority of the population”[49].
Therefore, within
three years after
Another problem arose at that time: the belief that the educational system could lead students into white-collar jobs, with high salaries rather than work for the needs of a socialist republic. Therefore, Nyerere proposed in his essay drastic changes in order to avoid those problems in the entire educational system. Here Nyerere said,
First, children must begin primary school at the later age, around 7 or 8 rather than 5 or 6 … Another point that the president raised is that formerly students have been accustomed to having others wait on them and have not learnt to do things for themselves. This is to be changed by a system of working while learning and in addition, learning through working. That is, schools are to establish farms to raise vegetables, cash crops and possibly raise cattle, both the use of the student and to establish a system whereby each school may become at least partially self- supporting economically … In urban area schools, other practical schemes will be worked out where farming is not feasible. In this way, the children will learn to respect work as well as education, and will discover that a school education is not the only way of acquiring knowledge. They will also begin to put what they have learned to practical application[51].
A question should be raised: did Nyerere want to change schools into factories or shambas? Here Nyerere said, “schools are the places for learning we do not want to change this”[52]. So, we can realise that for Nyerere living, learning and working can’t be separated; as Nyerere said, “to live is to learn; and to learn is to try to live better”[53].
The educational system in
The aim of primary schools in
First, children must begin primary school at a later age, around 7 or 8 rather than 5 or 6, so that when they complete their studies they will be old enough to enter society as educated young adults ready to work. The primary schools will change their curriculum and examination system, so that children finishing primary school will feel a real sense of accomplishment and be prepared for the vital work they must do in co-operation with others to build the nation[56].
At this stage, Swahili is the medium of instruction. Also Swahili and English are being taught as subjects in the upper standards together with other subjects such as social studies, history, geography and civics have been localised in order to meet local awareness and political needs, while agriculture, crafts, health education and home economics were introduced for proper rural integration and life. Moreover, pupils are being taught religion by their respective Religion instructors in the schools, but no one religion is binding on the pupil in their school life. Physical exercises also are considered in this stage, in the form of paramilitary training (mchakamchaka). Primary schools were day schools attended only by children who live nearby. During the school time once a child had been enrolled, attendance is compulsory. This course is for seven years, i.e. children work up from standard one to standard seven and each standard consists of one academic year; here boys and girls are educated together. Nyerere later strongly emphasised that, “primary schools must be a complete education in itself. It must not continue to be a simply a preparation for secondary school”[57]. In the end of this course, students are being given the Primary Leaving Certificate.
Students intending to go to secondary school were
given or were supposed to take selective examination at about fourteen years of
age. Those who passed have to start from form one to form four. This selection
considers the intelligent and talented students in relation to the school they
are going to study. In this stage, English becomes the medium of instruction;
together with continued study in Swahili as a compulsory subject. At the end of
form four a candidate must get a pass in swahili so
that he/she can qualify for a form four certificate. Also Religion is to be
learnt in this stage. At the end of this course candidates receive
After form four those who passed were admitted for form five while others remained to take other courses. After form six, pupils receive a Higher School Certificate and then some go to university. Before going to university or other courses, they were supposed to attend one year of military training.
The aim of secondary school according to Nyerere is to prepare students for university and also to prepare students to do useful work upon completion of their studies[58]. Most of the secondary schools formally were boarding schools whereby students were being taken many miles away from their homes, and most of them were owned by the government. Following the increasing number of private schools, many problems arose instead of reducing them. Such problems were, the poor quality of schools, expensive school fees, the shortage of books and the promotion of rote learning because many teachers tend to teach for the examinations. Moreover, in order to make this system more relevant Nyerere proposed, “Secondary schools must not be simply a selection process for the university, teachers’ colleges and so on. They must prepare people for life and service in the village and rural area of this country”[59].
Students admitted to university level are those who have passed their form six national examination. At the University of Dar es salaam Nyerere once said, “a university is an institution of higher learning; a place where people’s mind are trained for clear thinking, for independent thinking, for analysis, and for problem solving at the highest level”[60].
Besides the transmission of advanced knowledge, a university provides a centre for the attempt to advance the frontier of knowledge and to prepare