THE IMPACTS AND IMPORTANCE OF WESTERN EDUCATION IN AFRICA

THE IMPACTS AND IMPORTANCE OF WESTERN EDUCATION IN AFRICA

Africa is known as a dark continent because it lacked a great sense of globalization and education which was prominent in most continents. Ignorance is a disease that this continent suffered from for so long. Nevertheless, Africa is a home endowed with resources and amazing cultural activities. The westerners were aware of this fact and that was why they slyly moved into this continent not to improve the use of her resources for her people but to gain from these resources. They devised so many means which included trading their goods to African countries, bringing in their own religion which they presumed was best and colonization. Yes, colonization. This dealt a great blow on African countries. 

THE IMPACTS:

Africans were people that couldn’t be defended physically. Having known this, the westerners decided to use them mentally. Thinking that the westerners; colonizers were doing them a great favor was the biggest mistake Africans made because as time went on, they found out the true motive of their colonizers- to use Africa’s human and capital resources. Unfortunately, they only found out when they were educated and became like them. This clearly shows that they could only find out what was going on only when they were exposed to the world, all thanks to the help of the colonial masters. 

In the name of education, Africans were cheated, the knowledge they gained wasn’t in-depth because the colonizers were afraid that the people they were ruling would suppress and intimidate them. These people were not taught what was needed to make them leaders, their knowledge was limited to the menial jobs they were meant to do.

They weren’t given the opportunity to further their education but the zealous ones strived to gain more knowledge; these people were the ones who insisted on standing against the colonizers knowing fully well what their motive was.  

Although these deprived African generations of their cultural heritage, the colonizers and missionaries brought light into this Dark Continent. The spiritual life of the people also took a new turn because pagans and idol worshippers were converted to Christians. 

Western education made it possible for Africans to defeat their colonial masters and stand independent. Also, African indigenes that have become prominent in the world are who they are because of western education. If they were left in their natural zones, they wouldn’t have made it this far. Although, the westerners migrated into Africa for their own selfish motive, they give hope to the present generation in Africa; In fact, Africans can read and write today because of the action of the westerners.

THE IMPORTANCE:

 Education is one of the most significant investments a country can undertake in terms of its development and thus every child/citizen deserves to receive a good education that will reduce the long-term effects of poverty. There is a saying that “Education is a powerful agent for change” and with good education, our health and livelihoods will substantially improve. Quality education also contributes to a country’s social stability and its long-term economic growth in terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product). 

The importance of Education are:

·Help Reduce Poverty: The lack of good education is also considered the root cause of poverty and to reduce poverty, African countries and their leadership should create avenues where every child will have access to proper education. When more people are educated, the poverty rate in Africa will drop, the reason being that most of the people will have diverse knowledge and skills whereby employment and job creation become easier thus accelerating the country’s development process.

·Improvement of the Economy: Quality education is a factor that contributes to a country’s economic growth in terms of GDP per capita income. When more people are educated, you create an advanced nation and a country with high literacy rates will obviously have a higher per capita income.

·Improvement in Health Service: The lack of proper education has resulted in the abysmal health sector in Africa. In Africa, certain illnesses and other treatment complications have to be treated overseas in western countries. Thus in situations where a particular patient cannot afford such high expenses of overseas medical treatment, he or she is left to die of the illness. When more people get educated, the health sector also improves. In Africa, the infant mortality rate is high. I believe that if more people receive a good education in the health domain such as nursing, pharmacy, paediatrics, and others, infant mortality rates will drop drastically and we will be living a healthier life like other developed countries of the West.

·Reduction in Crime Rate: Many people are living in abject poverty due to a lack of education and they become vulnerable, hence they turn to illegal activities for daily survival. However, access to quality education will imbibe in them a sense of right and wrong that would deter them from carrying out criminal activities.

·Reduces Child Marriage:  Child marriage is prevalent in most of African countries due to absence of basic education. With access to good education, this dangerous practice will reduce or cease to exist in our society. People’s awareness will expand and those advocating the practice will be aware of the importance of education which will further encourage them to send their children to school.

·Higher Paid Employment: Another benefit of education is securing a higher income from higher paid employment within the job market. In a competitive job market, someone with a good education will stand a better chance of getting the job as compared to the one will a lower education. Higher education comes with numerous earning opportunities. Lack of education deprives people from seeking better-paid employment opportunities elsewhere. 

·Improves Gender base Equality: in order to ensure that there are equal opportunities for everyone regardless of race, gender, class, nationality, or origin, equal access to education is necessary. This is to avert differences based on the above-mentioned factors in our African societies. When people are educated, the mind-set automatically changes and becomes more progressive. A great deal of knowledge is gained through proper education which the people will utilize to  develop other things beneficial to the society and country as a whole.

·Reduces Employment Burden on the Government: The Government will also benefit from mass access to good education. If the citizens are educated and qualified for better-paid government employment, the government gains a lot in terms of cost savings, due to locals (citizens) being employed for the job instead of contracting an expert from overseas to carry out a professional task. So that cost savings on remunerations and other allowance of hiring an expert is beneficial to the Government.

·Reduces Bad Leadership: Africa has been experiencing so many problems as a result of bad leadership which could also be attributed to lack of good education. Education is a fundamental tool for wise leadership and when uneducated people are selected for leadership positions, corruption, nepotism, dictatorship become the order of the day which eventually leads to weaker financial institutions, bad economy, political uprisings, and other worse things within that particular country.

Education is one of the fundamental pillars as far as a country’s development process is concerned and without proper education, there cannot be any meaningful development and progress.