African Philosophy of Education: Analysis of the Neglected Ideals of Nyerere’s Ujamaa

Abstract

The ideals of education in Ujamaa philosophy as enunciated by Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the founder president of Tanzania, are neglected phenomena in African education. In about fifty decades of offering education in Africa, from the end of colonialism to the present, education has not enabled Africans to be self-reliant and to live peacefully as brothers and sisters. The paper analyses Nyerere’s ideals embedded in Ujamaa philosophy and realises that African education portrays a neglect of the ideals of Nyerere and this does not auger well for the continent. The continent requires education that can make it self-reliant in economics, politics and cultural practices. It calls upon African educationists to rethink and revisit Nyerere’s ideals with a view to charting appropriate education for the continent. Three action plans to be carried out by African philosophers of education that focus on constant reviews on interpreting Nyerere’s ideas, political participation and forming organisations which specifically deal with African philosophy of education are posited. It is recommended that more interpretation of Nyerere’s ideas should be a continuous process. What also warrants further research is combining academic work with vocational training.