In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

- 209 INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE, LANGUAGE AND CULTURE THE OTHER SIDE OF“ALL”: COMPARING GLOBAL DISCOURSES OF EDUCATION WITH A COMMUNITY’S CHOICES — THE CASE OF THE NYAE NYAE JU|’HOANSI IN NAMIBIA By Jennifer Hays Introduction In her important book, Whose Education for All? The Recolonization of the African Mind (2006), Birgit Brock-Utne examines the relationship between donor countries and education in Africa, and criticises the overemphasis on basic, primary education in Africa. She also strongly criticises language policies that require a shift to European languages early in the schooling years, and the resulting lack of development of African languages, especially for educational purposes. Brock-Utne argues that the emphasis on basic education has resulted in a lack of support and resources for African universities, which in turn, has further reinforced the marginality of African languages, knowledge, and culture. This paper looks at the question Whose Education for All and the emphasis on basic education, as it applies to one marginalised community in Namibia – the Nyae Nyae Ju|’hoansi. The Nyae Nyae community was the site of an innovative and unique mother tongue education initiative, the Village Schools Project (VSP), initiated in the early 1990s (see also Brock-Utne 1995, 1997, Brock-Utne and Holmarsdottir 2001). Designed in close consultation with the community, and begun in an enthusiastic and supportive environment with generous donor funding, the VSP exemplified best practice. Fifteen years after the project’s inception, however, the Village Schools have had little success in their goal of facilitating the transition of Ju/’hoansi students to the government school in grade four, and very few Ju|’hoansi children make it through primary school. Why is it that a mother tongue education project with so many advantages should not achieve its goals? Why is transition to the mainstream system so problematic? This paper argues that the Ju|’hoansi are expressing pedagogically sound opinions about - 210 the way forward for their education and development—including repeated requests for mother tongue, community-based education to continue through higher grades and greater access to non-formal education. Why, despite the extensive consultation in the area, do they have such difficulty making their voices heard? Based on extensive local and regional field research, this paper argues that dominant global slogans such as Education for All – upon which current educational policies of Namibia and other African countries are founded – fail to acknowledge the Ju|’hoansi’s own strategies for survival, education, and maintaining community cohesion. They thus direct the focus of education and development projects—and educational funding—away from some of the most critical concerns of communities themselves. The Nyae Nyae Village Schools Project – The Background The Nyae Nyae Village Schools Project (VSP) grew out of a collabourative effort between local NGOs and Namibia’s (then) Ministry of Education and Culture in the early 1990s, as a response to Ju|’hoansi children’s lack of participation in the government school in Tsumkwe, the main town in the centre of the conservancy. In the Village Schools,64 children are taught in the Ju|’hoansi language, by members of their own speech community, and stay in their home villages, or with relatives. In 2004, the Village Schools were taken over by the (now) Ministry of Education, and it is no longer considered a “project”, but there is continuity of the basic concept. The focus of the Village Schools is on providing schooling closer to home that incorporates the language, knowledge and skills from their communities It is supposed to ultimately prepare children to be successful in the government schools. Emphasis is on increasing the self-confidence of both learners and the communities, so that Ju|’hoan children can enter the English medium government schools in Grade 4 with the basic skills necessary to succeed there, and a firm grounding in their own culture. While in theory this describes a comprehensive, progressive project, in practice, there are some important problems that arise, stemming largely from an emphasis on the objective of transition to the mainstream (English) education system. Until 2007, no students from the Village Schools (VS) had gone on to complete grade four (or higher) at the government schools.65 For this reason, when I was conducting extended fieldwork in the Nyae Nyae area in 2001-2002, from the perspective of many in government, as well as donors, the Village Schools appeared to be failing. Interestingly, the communities’ complaints—both children and adults—were 64 The number of village schools fluctuates somewhat...

Share