In any given society, the mode of production – the socio-economic context within which people function and based on which they develop their institutions – defines their worldview. A mode of production, in a more general sense, is the economic organisation of productive activities out of which the socio-political formation of societies emerges.
Thus, the mode of production has specific philosophy of education. For example, capitalist societies have selective education while indigenous African societies have universal education. Education is a reproductive mechanism since it is a system whereby knowledge is passed on from generation to generation.
Professor Wamba (1976) asserts: “Education systems are reproductive mechanisms, they provide elements that guarantee, and they organized the reproduction of the social order that is defended in society by dominant groups and their allies.
They are mechanisms of initiation to the social order……..”
If an alien mode of production is imposed on a society, it follows that its educational structure will change since education only reproduces the knowledge and institutions of a society. Hence, the transformation of the indigenous economy into a capitalist one meant the importation of a whole new set of institutions into a country.
One such institution is education.
The philosophy of education of societies is patterned on their economic philosophy W. Arthur Lewis (1969) maintains that ‘economic growth requires incentives.
It is, therefore not consistent with absolute equal pay or with” each according to his needs.” Such philosophies indicate that the education developed to meet the economic needs and to maintain the system, cannot be universal or equal. Rather it has to be selective and discriminatory in terms of attainment and classification. The essence of incentive–giving is its deferential nature.
Henry Adams (1968) stated the truth when he declared that “education is from the cradle to the grave.” Education, in its totality, is the whole process through which people acquire their beliefs, values and policies. Schooling, is therefore only part of it unfortunately, in Namibia and most countries schools have become very dominant in the educational system and peoples’ usefulness to society has become dependent on whether they went to school or not and whether they spent a shorter or longer period within the school system.
A report on education in Africa by the Nuffield Foundation has shown that the essential character of schools is to bring people together for learning purposes.
However, the predominance of school in the learning process represents a shift in educational responsibility.
This is an acute situation since some people are denied access to the schools. Others, who go to schools too, are taught subjects irrelevant to their daily needs and experiences.
The educational structure, to be effective in national development should seek ways to utilize the potential of every citizen. This will help eliminate the present situation whereby education as provided by schools, maximises the welfare of a small minority and abandon all others to a ‘less than – optimal position.’ The Namibian National development plans aimed at increased productivity in agriculture, forestry, products and minerals etc. These development plans also demanded efficient transportation systems, meaningful health facilities and institutions to meet the other social and economic needs of society as a whole. Unfortunately, these could not be achieved given the nature and performance of the educational system.
In conclusion, the intense problem of unemployment, socio-economic inequalities, shortages of food and other agricultural goods, youth delinquency, Crime, and migration to urban areas just to mention a few problems, can all be traced to the performance of the educational system. These problems reflect the lack of new and consistent national ideology and practice of education.
No ideology and practice bring into focus a new Namibian reality – a reality that clearly defines the needs of Namibia and brings forth a new educational system to meet these needs.
The inherited formal education does not improve the ability of the majority of Namibians to understand, appreciate and do something about the needs of Namibia. This a more serious effort is needed to remedy the situation. In this regard, therefore, the educational system must be reviewed and restructured to emphasise the right places and the right subjects and skills. This raises the problem of direction. Education shapes the conception that people develop about themselves, their country and the world. The first step towards looking at education in a manner more consistent with the Namibian reality, therefore, is to get away from the narrow conception of education as schooling alone, to change to focus of the schools and to make skills training the primary objective of all educational institutions.
Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
*Reverend Jan A Scholtz is the former chairperson of //Kharas Regional Council and former !Nami#nus constituency councillor and is a holder of a Diploma in Theology, B-Theo (SA), a Diploma in Youth Work and Development from the University of Zambia (UNZA) and a Diploma in Education III (KOK) BA (HED) from UNISA.