Education for Self Reliance (ESR)

 

INTRODUCTION.

Education for self-reliance means the transmit knowledge and skills for the aim of making a person to become independently for their future and national development.

              Education for Self Reliance (ESR) was the most important educational principle, which presented the educational philosophy of Tanzania. The purpose of ESR was to set down principles of education, which would serve as a revolutionary influence in the creation of the new social society. ESR is about gaining self-independence, responsibility and democratic involvement; it is education, which is meant to liberate individual from over-reliance. However, the extent to which education in most African countries like Tanzania has been able to meet its objectives in terms of creating a sense of independence is still speculative. The philosophy of education for self reliance was introduced by Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere in 1967, during Arusha declaration.

                     Nyerere depicted the collective mass of society as ‘self’. Therefore, Education for Self-Reliance (ESR) means delivering knowledge about ‘self-reliance’. According to Nyerere, the policy of self reliance means that Tanzanian’s development should depend on her natural resources. The concept of Education For Self Reliance is also about self-confidence, independence, responsibility and democratic involvement (Rahumbuka, 1974). Although ESR is supposed to liberate an individual and society, most of the African countries such as Tanzania seem to be lacking these elements as revealed by the problems facing the citizens including poverty, ignorance, moral decadence, false beliefs, social disintegration, economic dependence, exploitation and social injustice.

PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION FOR SELF RELIANCE

a)      It should be oriented to rural life.

b)      Teachers and students should engage together in productive activities and students should participate in the planning and decision-making process of organizing these activities.

c)      Productive work should become an integral part of the school curriculum and provide meaningful learning experience through the integration of theory and practice.

d)     The importance of examinations should be downgraded.

e)      Children should begin school at age 7 so that they would be old enough and sufficiently mature to engage in self-reliant and productive work when they leave school.

f)       Primary education should be complete in itself rather than merely serving as a means to higher education.

g)      Students should become self-confident and co-operative, and develop critical and inquiring minds.

OBJECTIVES OF EDUCATION FOR SELF RELIANCE.

                    To alleviate poverty and to make people independent to sustain themselves; due to the education for self-reliance according to Mwl. J K Nyerere ideas this education helps people to improve from the low level of life development to higher level in order to get human basic needs and also to be able to practice in different activities for brought development and to increase individual and nation economic without depending to others.

                 Help people to be able to manage their environments; due to the practice of the education for self-reliance may helps much people in controlling their surrounding because this education make student to know how to overcome their problems in to the society. This is because education for self reliance teaching the students in theory and practice ways.

                 To help in shaping responsible and accountable citizen in the community; due to the education for self-reliance can lead people to know what they are supposed to do in the society in order to bring his or her economic development and other aspects like political, social as well as cultural practice in higher level.

                 To help people in rational thinking; due to the ideas of Nyerere in education for self-reliance people must have an ability of  thinking  in critically ways when he or she want to do or solve a certain problem in a society, because people may get positive impacts after doing or solving certain problem in critical thinking ways.

                    To equip learners with knowledge, skills and attitudes for tackling societal problems; to prepare the youth for work in Tanzania’s predominantly agricultural society; and to enable learners know, appreciate and develop a culture of Tanzania that preserves the national tradition, individual freedom, responsibility, tolerance and respect (Tanzania Ministry of Education, 1982). Thus ESR aimed at developing in each citizen an inquiring open mind; ability to learn from others; basic confidence in one’s own position and ability to learn and contribute to the society. The education encompassed Ujamaa or socialist outlook, which entail a sense of individual and collective responsibility in all areas of activity and a willingness to co-operate and share on equal terms and an ability to appreciate and develop national culture (Tanzania Ministry of Education, 1982).

WEAKNESSES OF PHILOSOPHY  OF EDUCATION FOR SELF RELIANCE.

                     ESR became characterized by a severe lack of organization and poorly synchronized implementation and activities, which made it difficult to determine which strategies were being implemented or whether they were effective. This deficiency undoubtedly impeded the progress of ESR and the attainment its goals, although it is unclear to what degree it is responsible for ESR’s eventual abandonment (D. Komba & Temu, 1996). Several key areas in which ESR failed to meet its objectives can be clearly identified as follows;

                     While the development of critical thinking skills is mentioned as an important part of education, neither the ESR document nor later policy directives gave a clear indication of how to foster these skills or methods for teaching them.

                     Furthermore, although examination reform was listed as a goal of ESR, there was little guidance for how to make these changes or what alternative  forms of evaluation were to be utilized; an attempt by the Musoma Resolution to introduce examination reform through substituting “assessments” of student character and ESR involvement was unsuccessful due to the relative unimportance of these assessments and a failure to reduce the weighted importance of national academic examinations that ultimately determined academic success (Cooksey, 1986).

                      Perhaps ESR’s largest failing was in changing the attitudes of students toward agricultural or manual labor, or in instilling the intended values about hard work, community, and responsible citizenship. The ESR policy in fact was often in direct opposition with Tanzanian students and parents’ own desires and goals for education, which not only made it unsuccessful, but also deeply unpopular.

                     There is also doubt about the actual acquisition of useful practical skills for work or the extent to which the school was ever able to be integrated into the community. These shortcomings are attributed mainly to an arrant lack of resources and technology with which to implement the intended curriculum, as well as issues with teacher training and pedagogy, with a “lack of balance between academic and manual work” (Mosha, 1990, p. 63).

                       At its worst, the ESR policy and its implementation not only “resulted in a disastrous reduction in the quality of education and the cognitive capabilities of school-leavers,” but may have also worsened gaps in educational inequality among Tanzanian students (Cooksey, 1986, p. 183).

                       Ultimately, ESR was an attempt to make education more relevant to the Tanzanian population, at least from a government and policymaker perspective of relevance. Its true potential to improve educational relevance is not able to be clearly ascertained, as, due to a host of challenges, ESR was never able to be successfully implemented or evaluated. The situation remained much the same as it was stated by Nkonoki in 1978: “The concept of self-reliance is still isolated, not integrated, in the totality of the ‘life’ and activities of schools: that is to say, what is done in classes is not integrated with what goes on outside of classes”.

Conclusion

                      Education for self-reliance in Nyerere’s viewpoint is a practical oriented education meant to provide real solutions to the societal needs. This kind of education is about work by everyone and exploitation by none; it is about sharing of the resources which are produced by fellow humans. According to Nyerere, Education For Self Reliance must set people free in order to encourage the citizens to rely upon their own developments and realize their full potentials. The educated individuals should serve the masses; they must also realize and recognize themselves as being part of the society. Thus, they should apply the knowledge and skills they acquire for the benefit of the society. However, the extent to which education systems in Africa have been able to promote self-reliance among various communities remains shaky. Thus, there is need to re-think about education systems that are practical oriented and society centred in Africa’s context.

 

References

Mboya, T. (1963). Freedom and After. London: Andre Deutsch Ltd.

Nyerere, J. (1967). Education for self-reliance. Retrieved from http://www.swaraj.org/shikshantar/resources_nyerere.html

Rahumbuka, G. (1974). Towards Ujamaa: Twenty Years of Tanu Leadership. Dar es Salaam: East Africa Literature Bureau.

Tanzania Ministry of Education (1982). Some Basic Facts About Education in Tanzania. Tanzania: Ministry of education.

Cooksey, B. (1986). Policy and practice in Tanzanian secondary education since 1967. International Journal of Educational Development, 6(3), 183-202. doi: Doi: 10.1016/0738-0593(86)90016-7

Komba, D., & Temu, E. (1996). Tanzania: Education for Self-Reliance Dimension of Education with Production. In W. Hoppers & D. Komba (Eds.), Productive Work in Education and Training (Vol. 21, pp. 63-88). Hague: CESO Paperback.

Mosha, H. J. (1990). Twenty Years after Education for Self-Reliance: A Critical Review. International Journal of Educational Development, 10, 59-67.

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