Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An Anthology of Writings from Zimbabwe Students [1 ed.] 9781614700661, 9781607410720

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Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An Anthology

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An Anthology

Focus on Civilizations and Cultures Series

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IDENTITY IN METAMORPHOSIS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF WRITINGS FROM ZIMBABWE STUDENTS

No part of this digital document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means. The publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this digital document, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information Kralovec,contained Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Metamorphosis: An Anthology Writings From Zimbabwe : An herein. ThisIdentity digitalindocument is sold with the ofclear understanding thatStudents the publisher is not engaged in

FOCUS ON CIVILIZATIONS AND CULTURES SERIES Global Orders and Civilizations: Perspectives from History, Philosophy and International Relations Sadik Ünay and Muzaffer Senel (Editors) 2009. ISBN: 978-1-60692-375-7

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Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students Etta Kralovec and Morgan Chitiyo(Editors) 2009. ISBN: 978-1-60741-072-0

Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

Focus on Civilizations and Cultures Series

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IDENTITY IN METAMORPHOSIS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF WRITINGS FROM ZIMBABWE STUDENTS

ETTA KRALOVEC AND

MORGAN CHITIYO EDITORS

Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York

Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

Copyright © 2009 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

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Independent verification should be sought for any data, advice or recommendations contained in this book. In addition, no responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from any methods, products, instructions, ideas or otherwise contained in this publication. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered herein. It is sold with the clear understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or any other professional services. If legal or any other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent person should be sought. FROM A DECLARATION OF PARTICIPANTS JOINTLY ADOPTED BY A COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND A COMMITTEE OF PUBLISHERS.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Identity in metamorphosis : an anthology of writings from Zimbabwe students / editors: Etta Kralovec, Morgan Chitiyo. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN H%RRN 1. Group identity--Zimbabwe. 2. Gender--Zimbabwe. 3. Collective memory--Zimbabwe. I. Kralovec, Etta. II. Chitiyo, Morgan. HM753.K73 2009 371.82096891--dc22 2009001307

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Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

CONTENTS

Preface

vii

Foreword

ix Fred Zindi

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Acknowledgements Introduction

xi xiii

Etta Kralovec Chapter 1

One Man’s History Fortune Madzime

Chapter 2

‘Trapped between Two Cultures’: Schools, Culture and Change Fortune Madzime

15

“We Want Our Identity Back:” Language Instruction in the Schools Kundai Moyana

29

“Poor Working Conditions Equals Poor Results”: Hardships in Rural Schools Fortune Madzime

39

“The Girl Child is Not Important According to Shona Culture,” Gender Inequality and the Schools Kundai Moyana

47

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

1

vi Chapter 6

Contents “Not Really Indigenous,” Blacks and Whites in Zimbabwe’s Private Schools Fortune Madzime

57

“Undemocratic Schools Create Dull People,” Democracy and Change in Education Kundai Moyana

67

Chapter 8

A Dialogue

75

Chapter 9

“Where Do We Go from Here?”: Recommendations Morgan Chitiyo

91

Chapter 7

95

Index

99

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References

Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

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PREFACE The student writings in this book are journal entries from first year education students in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is a newly independent southern African country having gained political independence from Great Britain almost three decades ago. The country is still going through a process of political, economic and socio-cultural change as it attempts to shed some of its colonial traditions and embrace a new postcolonial African identity. This book captures reflections of students caught up in that process as they struggle with issues central to identity development. These include how to balance traditional culture with the entrenched European culture in their education system, how to redress the racial imbalances inherited from a colonial past, the lack of democracy and the role of the schools in the process of social change. Students highlight their hopes and frustrations in trying to preserve their traditional culture and in re-conceptualizing their own African identity through an education system which has been criticized for creating a Europeanized African elite whose relationship to their indigenous cultural heritage becomes petrified in the very process of that education. The student voices in this collection raise more questions than provide answers, questions which all newly independent African governments must ultimately address in order to promote indigenous development premised on equality, democracy and rooted in a reaffirmation of African cultural heritage. The concerns expressed in this work bridge continents and cultures. The voices in this collection can speak directly to students in the United States who are struggling to understand their relationship to the global community. We hear voices in this collection that are full of the hope and the promise, which is the future of Zimbabwe and indeed the entire African continent.

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Etta Kralovec and Morgan Chitiyo

Since these writings were completed almost ten years ago, a lot of things have changed in Zimbabwe. In 2000 the government of Zimbabwe started a controversial and often violent land reform program under the pretext of redressing economic imbalances of the colonial era. That program triggered an unprecedented economic downslide characterized by world record inflation and unemployment. Within a few years of that land reform program the country had fallen from being Africa’s breadbasket to becoming a basket case. The country’s education system, which seemed to carry young people’s hope for change has almost crumbled. Many young Zimbabweans today feel betrayed by the very system that had brought about so much hope and promise. Against this background, this book seems very timely as it raises poignant questions on issues that are central to the country’s current challenges, issues such as racial inequality, socio-economic disparity, and gender inequality. As the country struggles to carve out its postcolonial identity these issues have to be addressed. The student writings in this book set the stage for a dialogue which has the potential to advance a theoretical framework upon which Africa’s postcolonial identity must be carved. The primary audiences for this book are students, scholars and researchers in the fields of post-colonial and subaltern studies, International affairs, African studies and education. The book gives scholars new raw data to help find answers to questions and issues of African development and education.

Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

In: Identity in Metamorphosis Editors: E. Kralovec, M. Chitiyo

ISBN: 978-1-60741-072-0 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

FOREWORD

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Fred Zindi This book draws entirely on the material presented as a classroom exercise by 140 students from Africa University, Zimbabwe, where I was Dean. In Zimbabwe, it is not often that you hear students speak out or give their opinions to sensitive matters such as politics, culture, gender, race and social change. In this book, they do. The education of young people is a vastly complex process which starts with the nurturing of those young minds who in turn will go on to inspire the next generation. It is with this in mind that I arrived at Africa University with the hope that I would transform my students from being products of a dormant and voiceless culture into a new product that will debate on issues which affect their lives and the society in which they live. I was lucky enough to become intellectually self-conscious and educationally active at the end of the 1980s. This was a time when, among other things, interest in education in Zimbabwe was exploding. The excitement I felt then has never left me and this book conveys that excitement despite the downturn of events in Zimbabwe's educational system today where a much less intellectually and politically invigorating climate is the order of the day. For nearly 30 years, reading, discussing, teaching and writing have been my core business and I must acknowledge the contributions of the generation of students who have listened to me with more patience than I deserved who have brought about this stimulating and illuminating book.

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x

Fred Zindi

The book provides analyses of a number of topics which are not always included in University curriculae. These are distinctly fresh and focus on important dimensions of social change.

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PROFESSOR FRED ZINDI Former Dean of Education Africa University

Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

In: Identity in Metamorphosis Editors: E. Kralovec, M. Chitiyo

ISBN: 978-1-60741-072-0 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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I would like to thank my co-editor, Dr. Etta Kralovec, for creating this opportunity for me and for what she has taught me since the first day I walked into that ‘sociology of education’ class at Africa University. I am also grateful to my students, both in Zimbabwe and the USA, who have taught me a lot, Rachel Dawkins for transcribing the material, my family for believing in me and my wife, Plaxedes, for her critique of the manuscript. Morgan Chitiyo This collection would not have been possible without the thoughtful work of my students at Africa University and the careful work of the student editors, Fortune Madziwe and Kundai Monyana, who deserve whatever accolades this collection receives. A generous award from the Fulbright Association in 1996 allowed me the opportunity to collect this material. Margaret Pender gave of her time and insights during the taping of the dialogue and in extended conversations after the collection was complete. Patricia Sithole served as a critical voice, questioning our assumptions and pushing us to think more deeply about the issues raised by the student’s work. I am thankful to my students at College of the Atlantic who were the first to tackle this material as a text in their class and who provided invaluable insights into the challenges American students have with understanding this material. My heartfelt thanks go to Marsha Mayer, a most careful editor and reader of this material. Etta Kralovec

Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

In: Identity in Metamorphosis Editors: E. Kralovec, M. Chitiyo

ISBN: 978-1-60741-072-0 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

INTRODUCTION Etta Kralovec

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“Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it.” Franz Fanon

The voices that emanate from this work are those of young college students in Zimbabwe. Typically, students in Zimbabwe are “spoken to;” rarely do we hear them speak. While somewhat true of students in the US, this system of silencing of the African student has its roots in a colonial past and a strong cultural tradition of reverence for authority. This “culture of silence” has meant that we know little of the hopes and dreams of the generation of students born in the wake of independence. The compiled writings in this volume are journal entries from students enrolled in a first-year sociology of education class in 1997. The student writings are in response to local newspaper articles on topics central to education and schooling in Zimbabwe. These are informal reflections on the cultural transitions taking place in Zimbabwe in the late 1990s. These are not finished essays; they are not intended to be. The intention of this collection is to illuminate the lived experience of Zimbabwe students as they struggle with emerging cultural and political identities. It is a moment of cultural confusion and possibility. This book is an opening through which we can hear the hopes and frustrations of young Africans coming to terms with their identities and their cultures. It is an African voice rarely heard and one well worth listening to. The work provides unique raw

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Etta Kralovec

data for the study and understanding of issues of identity development in a postcolonial context. One might ask why the student voice is important. Education on the African continent has been criticized for creating Europeanized African elites whose relationship to their indigenous cultural heritage becomes petrified in the very process of that education. Philosopher Tsenay Serequeberhan claims that this existential condition, in fact, is the terrain upon which contemporary African philosophy must begin the historical project of reconceptualizing African identity (Serequeberhan, 1991). This is not to say that all educated Africans reject indigenous cultural heritage in the process of their education, but rather to highlight the role that education plays in distancing the African student from an indigenous past. In Zimbabwe, the few who make it into the university system emerge from those four years with the conflicted consciousness so well described by Memmi (1965), Fanon (1991), and others. University students in Zimbabwe, as well as students on other parts of the African continent, are poised to complete the educational project the they often see as sealing their fate as Europeanized Africans, forcing them to despise their own “African-ness” in order to fulfill the promise of their educational advantage. Often, by the time students finish their university education, they have come to terms with this contradiction. If they become academics, they often struggle to create a middle ground between their indigenous heritage and the European focus of their training (Appiah, 1992). The writings contained in this volume illuminate this contradiction and the students’ struggles to overcome it. Their voices capture the consciousness of students as they are attempting to resolve these tensions inherent in the educational process. In their writings, we hear voices crying out for the unactualized possibility of an authentic African identity. We hear students caught in the cultural discontinuity that is the legacy of colonialism. There is purposefully no attempt made to place the student’s work in various postcolonial and subaltern studies theoretical frameworks. The important work of building such frameworks is ongoing, but there is little raw data upon which to test emerging postcolonial identity formation theory. This is partly because independent African countries are in their infancy but also because we rarely hear from young people on the African continent. While the work of Memmi, Spivak and others can provide a theoretical perspective; what is needed is access to the subaltern voice, a voice hard to capture, yet captured here. The students whose work appears in this book are the very ones poised to construct new cultural and political identities. They are asking all the right questions. They challenge their government's easy answers, they push their elders for explanations and they call

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the West to task. Capturing their voice provides the necessary raw data for a richer, more nuanced postcolonial identity formation theory. Additionally, theoretical frameworks struggle to open a space for subaltern voices. In her provocative essay, "Can the Subaltern speak," (Nelson and Grossberg, 1988) Spivak calls into question the very possibility that theory can provide such an opening. She questions whether Western intellectuals can "speak for" the subaltern. She reminds us that in the very process of theorizing, the possibility of authentic difference is diminished. This volume would answer Spivak with a resounding Yes! The subaltern can speak and does in this volume. From the writings in this volume emerges the complexity with which these students struggle. The play of the complex and contradictory realities that these students communicate is powerful and compelling. Often a student's writing expresses the inherent contradiction of their experience within a single entry, demonstrating what some might call the liminal edges of identity (Bhabha, 2000). For example, in an entry in Chapter 5 we hear one student saying:

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"Anybody found having sex whilest she is still a student must be punished severely for in our society sex before marriage is immoral. All the same there must be different schools for the pregnant girls. "

The collection is filled with this kind of ambiguity, openness and indeterminacy, signifying a self on the threshold of two different existential planes. Some might argue that this kind of contradiction can be found in the work of all first-year college students as their education begins to reshape their worldview. While that may be true, in the postcolonial context these contradictions carry heavy political and cultural meanings as well as historical importance and define the very project of postcolonial identity development. We believe this is why it is important to let stand the unaltered, unedited student voice in all its confused, contradictory and compelling forms. This raw student voice is important for another, perhaps more compelling reason. Their voices are full of the hope and the promise which is the future of Zimbabwe.

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EDUCATION IN ZIMBABWE “Mental emancipation is both the instrument and the modality of political and economic emancipation and cannot be taken for granted.”

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Zimbabwe President, Robert G. Mugabe

The Dean of Education at Africa University was fond of saying: “Students are students the world around. Our students are no different than yours.” At first, the statement belies the focus on difference that postcolonial and subaltern theory implies. Indeed these students were pretty much like students in the U.S. Some worked hard, some partied hard. Some answered questions with well-reasoned arguments and some just rambled. Some wrote well and others could not write. However, through the writings contained in this collection, we find that even though they wore jeans and listened to gangster rap, these students were a living embodiment of the identity confusion that is characteristic of young Africans. These students were small children when their parents were fighting the war that brought liberation to Black Zimbabweans. They are the young people, educated in schools that still reek of colonialism, who must define and build a free society. Many have internalized both the oppressive ideology embedded in a colonial education and the language of freedom they heard growing up. Most are all too painfully aware of this contradiction and the ways in which education both empowers them and enslaves them to cultural forms of the West. Most postcolonial theorists would agree that education is the, “most insidious and in some ways cryptic of colonialist survivals.” (Ashcroft, et al. 1995) A brief history of the development of the school system in Zimbabwe helps in understanding why education often distances young Africans from their indigenous culture and also helps us to understand why the system remains in place. Zimbabwe, formerly Southern Rhodesia, was a settler colony of Britain from the late 1890s until 1965, when it became Rhodesia, after calling for a Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain to avoid majority rule. It became Zimbabwe in 1980 after a protracted war for independence. During the colonial period, two education systems developed, one for whites and one for black Africans. Educational policies designed to limit black Zimbabweans’ rights to education were, in fact, a focal point of the Zimbabwean liberation struggle (Mungazi, 1993). In the hundred-year history of Rhodesia, the whites, while never more than 15%, of the population, established a social system that developed and

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perpetuated racial exploitation and hatred. According to one Zimbabwean historian: “From the beginning, the essential problem for the white people in Rhodesia was how to create an educational system that would keep blacks in a state of permanent servitude when the injustices perpetrated on them were so clear.” (Moyana, 1988)

The Educational Ordinance of 1899, the first piece of educational legislation on record, gave the new colonial government control over education. This legislation put in place a two-tier system of education: one for the whites and one for the blacks. These systems of education offered academic education to whites and mandated manual-labor training for the blacks:

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“It is cheap labor which we need in this country, and it has yet to be proved that the Native who can read and write turns out to be a good laborer. As far as we can determine, the Native who can read and write will not work on farms and in mines. The official policy must be to develop the natives on lines least likely to lead to any risk of clashing with Europeans.” (Mungazi, 1993)

Throughout the next eighty years, by a series of legislative acts and funding prescriptions, the Rhodesian government designed schools as processing plants for the domestication and exploitation of the African child. Victorian missionary zeal, at times unknowingly, aided in this process of alienation. Western-style education for Africans occurred first in mission schools. Some of the missionaries who ran these schools saw the purpose of education for Africans to be one of religious conversion and an attendant cultural conversion. However, the designers of colonial rule had more imperialistic intentions. As early as 1864, David Livingstone, the first European to see Zimbabwe’s Victoria Fall, speaking at Cambridge said: “Sending the Gospel to the heathens of Africa must include much more than is implied in the usual practice of a missionary, namely, a man going about with a Bible under his arms. The promotion of commerce ought to be specially attended to as this, more than anything else, makes the heathen tribes depend on commercial intercourse among civilized nations. I go back to open a new path to commerce, do you carry on the work which I have begun?” (Mungazi, 1993)

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Etta Kralovec

The conflict between the educational goals of many individual missionaries and those of the Rhodesian government created increasing tension. As early as 1903, the Southern Rhodesia Christian Conference began questioning the government’s pursuit of a policy that had an adverse effect on the course of African advancement (Mungazi, 1993). In 1933, the church entered into partnership with the government. The agreement ensured that state aid would be available to mission schools while giving the government more control to enforce a policy of training for manual labor in those schools. During this time, the government established “A” schools for whites and “B” schools for black Africans. These two systems, with different goals, different examination standards and vastly different funding formulas set in place an institutional structure that sealed the educational fate of young Africans. During the colonial era, expenditures for education for black Africans hovered around 2% of the state education budget with the balance going to education for whites, although black Africans comprised 85% of the population. Rapid industrial growth in Zimbabwe during and following World War II led to increased class conflict which translated into the historical idiom of Rhodesian racism (Arrighi, 1967). This time period also saw a rise in African workers’ organizations, which led to a massive, nation-wide strike in 1948. After recognizing the need to create a buffer between itself and industrial, working class Africans, the government set about to establish guidelines for an education system that would create an African middle class. The guidelines for this systems, laid out in a 1951 report by the Kerr Commission, called for the establishment of technical training colleges for black Africans. A number of these colleges quickly opened. However, conflict over the changes in educational policy envisioned in this report led to increased tension within the government (Mungazi, 1993). 1962 saw a shift in the control of government from the white bourgeoisie, capitalist class to the white working class. One of the first acts of the new government was to immediately close the technical training colleges set up as a result of the Kerr Commission recommendations. Driven by a fear of competition from the Black Zimbabweans and a deepened racial hatred, the new government, the Rhodesian Front (RF), led a reign of increased repression and exploitation. According to one government leader: “Government must stop this ridiculous policy of theirs, this policy of appeasement, masquerading under the name of partnership, for to African nationalists it simply revealed weakness. British liberalism is all very well behind the English Channel, but we have got to be more realistic…we have got to be a great deal firmer and a great deal harder and take a lesson from those down south (i.e. South Africa).” (Barber, 1967)

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Introduction

xix

Under the direction of Ian Smith, this new government declared independence from Britain, vowing to fight the wave of self-rule that was sweeping the African continent. Smith’s campaign slogan and political obsession became: “No black majority government in my lifetime.” A chief instrument for this repressive regime was the school system. A government commission was established in 1961 to look into the education of the “Native”. To the government’s surprise, the commission’s findings called for equal educational opportunities for Africans. The commission warned that failure to redress educational inequalities could lead to major racial conflict. In rejecting the findings of this commission, the government continued policies of vastly unequal educational opportunities. In 1966, the government was allocating 22% of its GNP for education for whites and a mere 2% for black Africans. Using the rhetoric of “self-development,” in 1966 the government instituted a policy of having communities pay 5% of teachers’ salaries. The missionary community that operated the vast majority of schools for black Africans was outraged, viewing this as a direct assault on educational development for Africans. The inflammatory nature of the regime’s educational policy is best captured by Herbert Chitepo, a leader in the liberation struggle who said in 1964: “The educational policy of the Smith regime has forced us to sharpen the instruments of confronting our adversary” (Mungazi, 1993). After a prolonged and bitter struggle, liberation in Zimbabwe was won in 1980. With this colonial history of educational inequality, it is easy to see why at liberation, education was one of the primary goals of the new government. It set out to increase primary education and secondary educational opportunities for all Zimbabweans and to establish literacy programs for adults. The expansion of the education system has been one of the greatest achievements of the government of Zimbabwe. In the first decade of independence the number of primary schools was increased by 40% while secondary schools increased by 700% (Berridge, 1993). However, the new government recognized the entire system that it had inherited in 1980 was a colonial imposition, which taught European history and literature at the expense of indigenous knowledge. By 1983, steps were taken to revise the existing syllabi. This revision has been achieved in some areas, as we will see, but the vision of a national system driven by the social and political climate of Zimbabwe and rooted in its own heritage has yet to be realized. By the 1990s, most Zimbabweans had access to free education through the primary level and into the secondary level. Those lucky enough to get through the secondary system of rigorous examinations won places in the universities where their education was paid for in part by the government. However, the content, structure and system of education in place during the colonial era have remained virtually unchanged. Black Africans have access to the formerly all-white “A”

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schools, but the structure and curriculum of those schools remains decidedly British. Two decades after gaining independence, Zimbabwe’s formal examination system was still designed and administered from Cambridge. In the current system, after two years of secondary education, students sit for examinations, called the Zimbabwe Junior Certificate (ZJC). If they pass these exams they may progress to the Ordinary Level Examinations, commonly called the “O” level. Students passing those exams qualify to study for and write the Advanced Level Exams (“A” levels), used for placement in the University system. In 2000, the pass rate for the “O” level exam was a mere 10%. The Ministry of Education has done a great deal of work to localize all exams, making them appropriate for the Zimbabwe context. For example, the system now offers exams in Shona, the predominant indigenous language in the country. The development of a local exam system has been slow and is still in progress, and for the most part, this examination system still tests the level of a student’s acquisition of European intellectual currency. In 1990, Zimbabwe adapted the Economic Structural Adjustment Program (ESAP) under the guidance of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. This package of economic reform measures included cuts in government spending and deregulation of prices. ESAP significantly altered government’s commitment to free universal education. For example, the cost of sitting for the O level exam increased 50% in the first two years of ESAP. As a result, school attendance dropped as students were finding it hard to finance their university education. In 2000, Zimbabwe started a controversial land reform program, often described as violent, in order to redress the economic imbalances inherited from the colonial era. The program disrupted agricultural production and for a country whose economy was mainly agro-based the economic consequences were brutal. One of the casualties of the ensuing economic collapse was the education system which had been, hitherto, struggling to recover from the impact of ESAP. Due to rising unemployment, the dropout rates in Zimbabwean schools spiraled as parents could no longer afford the cost of sending their children to school. Teachers, like other professionals, were forced to leave the country in droves in search of better working conditions abroad, mainly South Africa and England. This brain drain was a blow to an already ailing system of education and dampened the aspirations of many young Zimbabweans who saw education as their only hope for a better life. At liberation, black African parents wanted for their children the educational advantages that had historically been reserved for white children. Parents rushed to send their children to the formerly all white A schools. Parents rejected a

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Introduction

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government proposal for ‘Education with Production,’ an indigenous educational plan designed to decolonize the classroom and to meet the economic and development needs of a newly emerging socialist country. (Chung, 1987) In part the rejection of this far-reaching proposal was in reaction to the historical fact that during the colonial period, the vast majority of black Africans could obtain only manual training. The rush by parents to gain an academic education for their children has meant that the country is faced with an education system that produces students ill-prepared for a job market which required a large number of vocationally-trained students. The rejection of Education with Production, coupled with the demands of ESAP to limit social spending, has meant that the British-style education system in place at liberation has been opened up to black Africans, but the early changes in the system have slowed considerably due to the socio-economic and political problems which continue to plague the country to this day. Everyone agrees that the curriculum must be made relevant to changing economic realities in Zimbabwe. Black African parents know that the education their children receive denigrates their cultural heritage and language. But parents, remembering their own limited educational opportunities, still see the academic, British-style education as a passport to a better life and indeed it is. However, many of the current generation of students have come to understand the ways in which that education alienates them from their homes and cultures and can in fact instill in them a profound sense of self-hatred. The student writings in this book are situated in this conflicted, historical terrain.

OUTLINE OF THE BOOK The structure of the book is unique and bit complicated. The entire volume is edited by Morgan Chitiyo and Etta Kralovec, both professors of education in the United States. Etta Kralovec was a Fulbright Fellow in Zimbabwe when these writings were collected and compiled, Morgan Chitiyo was her student. The student writings in this collection were completed by first year students in the Faculty of Education at Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe. As part of their course work in Sociology of Education, they were required to collect and analyze newspaper stories about educational issues. Each of the 140 students wrote 15 critiques of newspaper articles. The student writings in the collection were selected by and edited with Fortune Chandakasarira Madzime and Kundai Moyana, both first-year students in the Faculty of Education at Africa University. Fortune grew up and was educated

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in a rural section of southeastern Zimbabwe, the oldest son of a family of five. He has training in journalism from Harare Polytechnic College and hopes to continue his studies to the PhD level in political science. Kundai has a more urban background and highly educated parents. She was educated in formerly group “A” schools and aspires to become a television commentator. In many ways these two students represent the two Zimbabwes: Fortune, the rural Zimbabwean; and Kundai the urban Zimbabwean. While they found themselves at the same university, in many ways they live in different worlds. It was for this reason that they were asked to work as writers, editors and compliers on the book. Their introductions to each chapter present an overview to the topic under discussion. Together their views represent the range of ideas held by young people in Zimbabwe today. Additionally, they are both history students. Each chapter concludes with a brief reflection, written by Morgan Chitiyo and Etta Kralovec. The writings selected for this collection are representative of the wide range of views held by the students on topics of education and identity formation. Included here are topics that are central to the cultural identity crisis in Zimbabwe today. In their writing, students discussed these topics with passion, commitment and confusion. This is especially evident in the ways in which students use the term culture. For some of them, culture means the moral code that derives from traditional Zimbabwe culture. For example, one student refers to the way in which traditional culture “keeps students from misbehaving,” - -culture as moral code. Others see culture as place specific and find traditional culture in rural Zimbabwe but not in urban Zimbabwe - - culture as a place. Most understand culture as something that has been lost, but parrot the words, “culture is dynamic.” For many male students, culture is dynamic until it comes to the role of women and then culture is seen as the way to ensure that women remain in “their place.” Many think culture is embedded in indigenous languages that are no longer spoken correctly. Most are confused by what “traditional culture” means when their government calls for maintaining it. Few would identify culture as the way they are living. We have tried to bring these contradictory views into the book as a way of making evident the profundity of the problems of cultural transformation especially as they relate to identity formation among young Zimbabweans. Chapter 1 presents a brief history of Zimbabwe written by Fortune. The contested terrain of historical studies is nowhere more important than in the postcolonial context. Since the ground breaking work of Derrida and Foucault, we know all history to be partial, contested and perspectival. History is the contested terrain of much work being done in the fields of postcolonial theory and subaltern studies. Many in Zimbabwe feel that their history has yet to be written and Fortune is no exception. The history presented here is acknowledged as 'one man's

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history,' a subaltern voice speaking to overcome the condescension and distortion in his country's history. The next 6 chapters contain a brief introduction and a selection of student writings on particular themes. There is a short reflection at the end of each chapter. Chapter 2 explores the topic of cultural change that was central to debates in Parliament in the late 1990s in Zimbabwe. In their writing, we find the assumption that traditional culture has eroded and hear various views on how to address that problem. Chapter 3 examines the implicit relationship between culture and language as it is manifested in language instruction policy in schools. Chapter 4 discusses the problems of rural education. The rural areas of Zimbabwe maintain the strongest ties to an indigenous past, due in part to the lack of educational opportunities and the attendant Westernization that occurs in the education process (Dengarembga, 1988). You will hear the students' belief that it is from the rural areas that Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage can be recaptured. Chapter 5 explores gender imbalance in the society at large and in the schools in particular. As you will see, this is a particularly contested terrain in Zimbabwe today; one complicated by the ways in which people use the rhetoric of “traditional culture” to keep women from entering a more public life. Chapter six examines the lingering issues of racism as reflected in private school enrollments in Zimbabwe. Students in chapter seven grapple with the definition of democracy and how it might impact schools. Chapter 8 is a dialogue among the editors. We invited a teacher, a thirdgeneration white Zimbabwean to join our dialogue as a way of bringing another perspective to the discussion. The four discussants cover themes that emerge from the student’s writing. Questions that are covered include: What is culture? Can education in Zimbabwe be rooted in a cultural context? How can we create African solutions to African problems? How do we define educational success? How were initiation rites different from Western education? What are the goals for education in Zimbabwe? What happens to culture when it is exported? Chapter 9 presents a set of recommendations written by Morgan Chitiyo that derive from the students’ writings. These recommendations are not provided as a panacea to the issues raised in these students’ reflections but rather provide the reader with a glimpse into how a group of university students in a newly independent country in Southern Africa think about themselves and their future. They are meant to provide insight into the students’ understandings of how things should be. This can give Western readers a different perspective on Africa and might even help Westerners to think in a new way about some of their own issues surrounding race and culture.

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Taken together, the mosaic of voices in this volume represents contemporary issues facing young Africans. It is hoped that the very structure of this work demonstrates the need to open our understandings that there isn't one African voice, but many; not one African reality, but many. The diversity and contradictions in this work alerts the careful reader to complex formulations that face young Zimbabwe students at this time of cultural transition and transformation.

Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

In: Identity in Metamorphosis Editors: E. Kralovec, M. Chitiyo

ISBN: 978-1-60741-072-0 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 1

ONE MAN’S HISTORY Fortune Madzime

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Student editor

“The Colonial period, in European mythology, was supposed to have effected that particular transition (from pre-colonial to modern society). Generally however, it did nothing of the kind. Historically…..the colonial period was a hiatus, a standstill, an interlude when African history was stopped or was forced to become, for that period, a part of European history.” Basil Davidson

PRE-COLONIAL ZIMBABWE The word Zimbabwe names a range of people, traditions, races and histories. As it has become, Zimbabwe represents the area between the Zambezi and the Limpopo Rivers, the land of Botswana in the west and Mozambique in the east. The first thing that one might want to know about this country is the origins of its name. The name may offer answers to several historical questions. Zimbabwe means houses of stone. The chief’s court to this day is referred to as Dzimbahwe by almost all the Shona dialects. The historical questions answered by this name surround the stone walled fortresses which are found in many areas of Zimbabwe. The stone walls are built, without mortar, with stones shaped into bricks. The way the stones are cut and laid and the way the whole stone complexes are structured suggest the work of a highly civilized people. This high civilization became a major historical question

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because Western historians doubted the ability of an ancient black ‘tribesman’ to build such a complicated fortress. Thus many volumes of historical writings were published attributing the fortresses to Arab traders, Phoenicians or Portuguese. However there is general consensus today that the ancestors of the Shona people were indeed the builders of this great legacy. The largest of these fortresses is the Great Zimbabwe ruins in Masvingo; there are a lot of smaller ones throughout the country. Archaeological activities in these sites have revealed that these great walls enclosed trading centers, granaries, livestock pens, and military centers. Evidence of long distance trade with Asian countries is also there. In the fifteenth century one group among the citizens of Great Zimbabwe moved north into the Zambezi valley where it established the Munhumutapa kingdom. Other groups moved to the east and formed their own Kingdoms. The reasons for the decline of the Great Zimbabwe vary but in general one would be safe to say that the scarce resources of the day like salt, ivory (which was used to trade with the foreigners from Asia) and gold had run out. Another possible reason for the decline was the need for the people to go to the Zambezi valley to access the Zambezi trade route used by the Indian Ocean traders. Gold and ivory trade which constituted the bulk of the exports was a royal monopoly and was done by appointed officials. The group which went to settle in the Dande-Zambezi valley gradually became the strongest among the groups which had migrated from Great Zimbabwe. One of the major reasons for this gradual but significant difference is the control of the Zambezi trade route which the Munhumutapa Kingdom assumed when they arrived in the Dande Valley. With this newfound strength, the Munhumutapa kingdom had influence in much of what is now Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Vassals of the Munhumutapa were almost autonomous. Their only responsibility to the king was to pay tribute in grain, gold, ivory or labor. The vassal Kingdom would be given cattle by the Mutapa, (Munhumutapa King) and would look after them. They remained the property of the Munhumutapa. After some time the Munhumutapa would give some of the cattle to the vassal chief as a sign of gratitude (‘chiusha usha’ in Shona). This system was known as ‘kuronzera’. People owned cattle but the largest herd belonged to the king on behalf of the nation. Also, the largest fields were the King’s (zunde), still on behalf of the nation. From this field the King fed the nation during years when the harvest was bad. Together with the royal herds, the royal fields made the national treasury. Changes in trade routes however saw the power in the empire shifting from the Munhumutapa Kingdom in the Dande Valley to the Rozvi Kingdom in the South central part of Zimbabwe in the 1690’s. The Zambezi trade route now

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almost ceased to function and the Sofala-Manica overland trade route became the main one. Consequently, the Rozvi rulers under the royal title Changamire Dombo dominated and exercised influence in almost the same way as the Mutapas used to. In time, stronger kingdoms rose in the east because of the Sofala-Manica overland trade. One of the major Kingdoms was the Mutasa Kingdom on the Zimbabwe-Mozambique boarder. By this time, each kingdom was acting independently, trading in gold, ivory and other commodities with the Portuguese or the Arabs on their own terms. Only the cultural confederation remained. All the Shona Kingdoms spoke the various dialects of the Shona language and the specific rituals were divided among the Kingdoms. For example, in Eastern Zimbabwe the Mambos of the Musikavanhu dynasty were tasked with the rainmaking rituals. Their neighboring Kingdoms would bring cereals to them so that they brew beer and conduct the rainmaking ceremony each year. In the early nineteenth century, the Ndebele people settled in the southwestern part of Zimbabwe. They came from across the Limpopo River where they were fleeing Chaka’s military revolutions in South Africa’s Zululand. They brought with them advanced military techniques and forced most of the Shona Kingdoms to pay tribute to them. At the time of colonial conquest in Zimbabwe, the Ndebele had been in present day Matebeleland for seven decades. Ndebele hegemony was in place. Mashonaland was the first to be colonized by the royal chartered British South Africa Company (BSAC) in 1890. Then the Ndebele kingdom was subjugated by war in 1893. Finally, Manicaland and Gazaland were won over from the Portuguese who were advancing from the Indian Ocean cost. All these conquests came with conflicts in which the Africans fought, and lost. The treaties which preceded colonial occupation in Zimbabwe meant almost nothing as they were not contracts in the judicial meaning of a legally binding agreement entered into by two parties with the same frame of mind, where the intention of each to the other is clearly communicated and where no force is used. Above all, the failure to secure the treaties by the colonialists would not have changed the course of history – colonialism would have occurred. Treaties were merely secured for the sake of European diplomacy: just to legitimize their claim to territories and ward off potential rivals.

THE PERIOD OF COLONIAL RULE The Pioneer Column, the first band of soldiers and settlers which came to Zimbabwe, was recruited from all over the world but mainly from South Africa and Britain. The Pioneer column was the private army of Cecil John Rhodes

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hence Zimbabwe’s colonial name was ‘Rhodesia’. They were promised fifteen gold claims each and land upon reaching Zimbabwe. It was believed that in Zimbabwe there would be found a stretch of virgin gold reefs – the much publicized Second Rand. However, when the column reached and settled in Zimbabwe, by 1896, very few gold deposits were found and even fewer diamonds. The frustrated settlers had to turn to farming; Zimbabwe has a favorable climate, which Europeans could tolerate, compared to other African countries. Therefore Zimbabwe became a settler colony. The Europeans were in Zimbabwe to stay. To make a maximum profit from the land, the settlers wanted cheap labor. The Africans, who were mainly subsistence farmers, were not attracted to the low wages offered by the settlers. Instead of being the market for the settler’s farm produce, the Africans offered competition. Some of the settlers were townspeople from the London ghettoes fleeing from debt. They had no farming know-how whatsoever, and they were confronted with a Shona people who had been farming for forgotten centuries. This situation led to conflict and many forms of exploitation. For example, Africans were taken off their productive land and dumped in very dry, mountainous or rocky areas. Taxes which could only be paid in cash were imposed to force the Africans. It became illegal to be unemployed if you were an African. Any white man could take you and forcefully employ you if you were or appeared to be unemployed. Later on the Rhodesian government passed laws which forced black men to carry passes signed by the employer. If found without the pass one could be arrested. The African culture was not spared the sledgehammer tactics of colonization. The first aspect of African culture to draw the attention of the colonial administrators was the possessed African body (traditional possession of a person by the spirits of the ancestors). In 1896, the Ndebele and the Shona rose up together against the BSAC led by a woman, Nehanda Nyakasikana. She was a Spirit Medium. She could easily pass information to many people through the network of spirit mediums which covered the whole region. The Europeans were stunned by the fact that a woman could command as much influence as to make the whole nation rise against colonialism. Even when later the colonial government managed to recruit into colonial administration a very large and influential part of the African society, the spirit mediums remained hostile to the colonial regime. Chiefs became mere tax-collectors under the district administrators in a British colonial system of indirect rule. All over the country however, the possessed people of various dynasties fought against colonial domination. The Headman and Chiefs could be bribed into collaboration, but the colonialist found no formula for the Spirit Medium – the African media.

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One Man’s History

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Not surprisingly, the Witchcraft Suppression Act was put in place to deal with the spirit mediums. People who were possessed by ancestral spirits ran the risk of being arrested. Divination (using bones) and the practice of foretelling the future was outlawed. Traditional African medicine was classified as witchcraft and consulting an African traditional doctor was made a punishable offense. The Witchcraft Suppression Act gave a vague definition of witchcraft. Many rituals that characterized the life of the African were classified as witchcraft and sorcery. In making this legislation, the Rhodesian regime did not attempt to understand the life-giving rituals in the African society. The Rhodesian government was only interested in destroying the power of the spirit mediums which it was failing to incorporate into its machinery. In the process of trying to subjugate the African, African medicine, culture, commerce and industry were destroyed. Enterprising iron-smiths and farmers ended up as cheap labor in the mines. Great traditional psychiatrists ended up practicing at night under the cover of darkness until they finally died away. Towns started mushrooming. Blacks were put into intensive labor compounds in which it was illegal to live with one’s family. Women and children were considered superfluous appendages in the compounds. A man would be arrested if found with a woman in his hostel. Sexual repression of unknown proportions was experienced by the black man. People were taken as machines for industry. All the energy that would have gone to personal satisfaction, family care and socializing was harnessed for the industry through the intensive labor compounds. The system saw the rise of ghettoes like Harare’s Mbare, Mufakose and Chitungwiza and Mutare’s Sakubva. Education during colonial Africa was chiefly the domain of missionaries especially before the two world wars. The colonial government considered it too expensive to fund education for the Africans. The only education Africans could access was mainly designed to produce clerks, bricklayers, carpenters and students of the bible. Rarely were Africans educated to be doctors, engineers or administrators. However, after the First World War, it became apparent that bringing professionals and administrators from Europe was too expensive. Thus, the British government considered introducing universal education as a goal in its empires. It was at this time that government schools and universities were opened for the Africans. Sexual celebration was an integral part of Shona culture. People had recreational traditions which featured very sexually explicit scenes. Some of the dances include ‘Jerusarema’; ‘Chinyambera’; and ‘Chokoto’. All these are explicit sexual dances which the Shona carried out during a ‘Jenaguru’. ‘Jenaguru’ is a night when the moon is shining very bright and people go out to make merry at

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night. The Shona people performed all sorts of dances that the colonists considered ‘nasty’. Strict cultural traditions made sure that each dance was attended by people with no institutional need to keep away from each other, e.g. a mother-in-law and a son-in-law would not attend a Jenaguru featuring ‘Chinyambera’ together. Under colonialism, all these were regarded as very vulgar exercises and the church preached vehemently against women who attended these dances and dressed in the traditional short flared skirts known as ‘chikisha’ in Ndau (Ndau is a Shona dialect). As more people were converted into Christianity (by the same means used to force people to work for the settlers), the ‘Jenaguru’ disappeared form the African routine and those who still wanted to have their ‘Chokoto’ or ‘Chinyambera’ had to change the name or the venue. That is why the ‘Jerusarema’ has that name. The Africans had to tell the settler priest that they were going for ‘Jerusarema’ instead of the African name which has been lost to history. This way the priest would allow people to go for the dance because he would think that it is something related to the church’s activities because ‘Jerusarema’ (Jerusalem) is related to Christianity. Zimbabwe has a shorter history of colonial domination than South Africa but has a relatively comparable experience of racial inequality and oppression. The Black people were not allowed to enjoy the same recreational facilities with the whites. In towns and cities Africans were not allowed to walk on the pavements used by Whites. The schools attended by the whites were exclusive. In shops or any service center, the whites enjoyed the right of precedence. Some jobs could not be offered to black men. In the newspapers, job advertisements clearly stated that a European was needed. If a black man got a job which was meant for a white man, the salary would be lowered. All sorts of racial separation were written into the legal codes and public amenities of Rhodesia. Blacks started organizing themselves into associations in the early twentieth century. One of the first organizations to be formed was the Rhodesia Bantu Voters’ Association. This was an organization of the few very rich Africans and chiefs who were given the vote on the basis of their money, property or chieftainship. However this organization and several subsequent parties failed to bring anything meaningful to the life of most Zimbabweans because they were essentially elitist. It was during the period between 1955 and 1965 that mass nationalism gathered momentum. During this period, radical changes challenged British rule in Rhodesia. The people of Rhodesia wanted independence and they put pressure on the British government. The British government resisted this pressure saying that they would grant independence to Rhodesia only if there was a democratic government. The government at the time understood the

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implications of this demand—the whites, less than 15% of the population would lose control of the government. The deadlock resulted in Ian Douglas Smith’s illegal declaration of independence on November 11, 1965 – the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). Africans protested against this move. The British government condemned it too but took no serious action against it. The world imposed sanctions against Rhodesia. South Africa however continued trading with Rhodesia thus compromising the effectiveness of the sanctions. Even the British government itself has been accused of breaching the sanctions. Some well orchestrated ‘oil conspiracy’ was organized by the sympathizers of the U.D.I. so that oil and power supplies to Rhodesia through South Africa did not stop. It thus became clear that mere talks with either the settlers or the British government were not going to bring true independence to Rhodesia. Only an armed struggle could bring freedom.

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THE WAR OF LIBERATION Independence in Zimbabwe was achieved after a long struggle. The struggle began in 1883 when the Ndebele people fought and lost against the colonial regime. In 1896 the Shona and Ndebele jointly confronted the colonial government in what is popularly known as the first Chimurenga war. Again, the Rhodesians won this war an outcome which led to the second Chimurenga. The second war culminated in the Lancaster House agreement which finally brought independence in 1980. On the nationalist side of the armed struggle there were two main parties: Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU-PF) whose military wing was Zimbabwe African People’s Liberation Army (ZANLA); and Zimbabwe African People’s Union (PF-ZAPU) whose military wing was Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA). Both armies got their military hardware from the communist countries. The first combatants were trained in the then communist countries like Tanzania, Romania, China itself and other Eastern European states... Therefore, the revolution that brought about Zimbabwe’s independence was dominated by communist influence. The liberation struggle did not diminish the importance of education. In fact, attempts to educate the people continued in the training camps and refugee camps. In these schools the people were told how the traditional African way of life was essentially communist. The people were showered with

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the doctrines of cooperatives and how the USSR and China had thrived because of cooperatives. Many people became ardent fanatics of communism even without understanding it. Communism and Pan-Africanism were joined together in a philosophy that was difficult for the masses to comprehend, due in part to the lack of educational opportunities available. Additionally, some people had fallen in love with their white taskmasters and were not ready to overturn their oppressed state. Some suffered torture at the hands of the liberation movement especially the rural few had done well enough under colonialism to be skeptical about their future in a communist independent Zimbabwe. It was understood by the leaders of the revolution that people should actively learn about their cause but in practice the liberation struggle devoted most of its time to sloganeering, intimidating and regimenting people under the guise of ‘nation at risk’. At the end of the war, most of the poor blacks had been scared and indoctrinated into accepting communism with wild dreams of the proverbial communist Utopia. These people were more than ready to carry out any communist projects put forward by the government. But these were hardly communists themselves because they could not argue their case. They were never exposed to the real principles of communism and they hardly knew what it meant to be a communist. Even the ex-combatants themselves were not educated enough to understand the true underpinnings of communism. They were only told about Marx, Lenin and Fidel Castro. They became the dogmatic kind of communists who wanted to repeat what happened in Russia or China and it is not surprising that after independence ZANU-PF wanted to make Zimbabwe a one party state. No real debate and or dialogue across the society ever took place. Hence, the revolutionaries themselves were found guilty of fearing the people and negating one of the goals of liberation. During the same struggle, some black Africans went to the right engendering a very reactionary movement made up of several clergymen and a number of rich Africans. This movement made it their cause to work against communism. One of their major slogans was: ‘Vote communism and share wives’. In many ways, this movement worked to bring back the ailing colonial regime. The major party in this movement was the United African National Congress (UANC). The UANC preached capitalism and ended up joining hands with Rhodesia to form a government called Zimbabwe Rhodesia just before independence. The battle for the minds of the people was a real and grueling one throughout the war of liberation in Zimbabwe. Some historians have said that it was the Rhodesian government which funded the parties that advocated for a capitalist independent Zimbabwe a position that is open to discussion. A better known fact

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is that Rhodesia hired operatives who went about raping women and looting people’s shops, claiming to be communist guerrillas. Throughout this process, people were bombarded rather than consulted. The people did not chat the economic and social order-to-be for Zimbabwe openly, exhaustively and inclusively. When elections came in 1980, ZANU-PF got a huge victory and PF-ZAPU came in second. The other smaller parties which had advocated for capitalism got very little in the way of votes. After the election the ZANU-PF government was confronted with the challenges of implementing what it had been preaching for the preceding decades.

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AFTER INDEPENDENCE The first act of the new government after independence was to institute a policy of reconciliation. This policy was intended to make the former colonialists feel that they were part of the Zimbabwe society. Reconciliation was meant to bury the unjust past in the dungeons of history and start on a clean slate. Another move made by the new government was the demobilization of the forces which had brought about the independence struggle. The two measures were put in place to avoid a situation which had happened in Mozambique and other African countries; the Portuguese fled Mozambique on the eve of independence because they feared a massive manslaughter would be carried out by the Africans. However, the implementation and sustainability of these policies formulated in the usual absence of open dialogue and popular participation is still a question which many people revisit frequently when dealing with issues of national development. The nationalist movement was demobilized in 1980 and it broke into “interest groups.” These interest groups championed the cause of very narrowly defined groups; thus, the unity and impetus of the liberation struggle was lost. Interest groups were based on separate interests. Partisan groups began to carve out their own niches in the new Zimbabwe. The process divided people in contrast to the principles of mass nationalism which drove the struggle for independence. This division of the voice of Zimbabwe’s oppressed masses destroyed the power of the people. Power which they had in their mobilized state could not be found anywhere in their demobilized state. Consequently, power passed to those who controlled the economy, and these happened to be the former colonialists. The need to fight the colonialism united the people into a movement stronger than bombs. The majority of Zimbabweans discarded their petty differences and

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united for liberation. But after independence the ideology of demobilization taught the people to group as tribes, professions, and races. More and uglier divisions emerged, more pronounced. Exclusive institutions like schools and entertainment clubs were built for exclusive groups. A look at the composition of the parliament of Zimbabwe in 1995 would present a very striking shift from the one which sat in 1980. The first government was mainly made up of the people who were veterans of the liberation war. Excombatants formed the largest proportion of the early legislature. In contrast, the parliament now is composed of people who would have been considered parasites or sell-outs only a few years ago. Businessmen in the heyday of communist rhetoric were not the kind of people to be considered comrades. But after a change of the ruling ideas, the attitude towards business people had changed. Suddenly, they have become the mainstay for the survival of the economy and they have subsequently flooded both government and parliament. Their various pressure groups have given them power. In the wake of this newfound belief in capitalism, the government has embarked on a campaign to indigenize the economy of Zimbabwe. The dream is that indigenous entrepreneurs will partner with foreign investors. It is interesting to note the shift in emphasis. Just after independence, the cooperative was supposed to offer solutions to the economic ills of the country but now the individual businessman has come to assume the role of a Messiah. The education and the media is once again called on to foster support for the new government policy--this time to explain the difference between a wealthy black oppressor and a wealthy white oppressor. Whether black entrepreneurs will be democratic and sensitive enough to deal fairly with the working and consuming masses is the question which the government has to answer. Needless to mention though, there has not been a popular debate on which way to go regarding industrial development, or whether it is imperative. The belief that foreign investment will provide the magic for development is so strong that the government has put in place a law for the Export Processing Zones. This law appears to suspend all labor laws as long as a particular industry is exporting most of its manufactures, a free meal for the multinationals in a supposed ploy to bring foreign currency, jobs and technology. The act is supposed to woo foreign investment. Sadly however, only five years before the day the act was passed, workers’ rights were sacred in Zimbabwe. In 1980, the Labor Relations Act was put in place. This was a very radical act which gave quite some freedom to the worker. It replaced the Masters and Servants Act used in Rhodesia. After the passing of the Labor Relations Act,

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women were given a better deal at the workplace than in all previous regimes. At least a woman was given her full salary if on maternity leave. After liberation, very radical material was taught in schools. Children learned in school that the best example of a national economy was Russia and China. Capitalism was discussed as a parasitic economy and it was given the Shona name ‘chisvetasimba’, which means a parasite which draws other people’s power or blood. The Zimbabwe flag was designed with a red communist star to mean that the country was a socialist/communist state. There is a red stripe on the flag and it was clearly there to signify the blood which was shed in the struggle for independence of Zimbabwe. Together with the Eternal Flame at the National Heroes Acre (a national shrine where national heroes are buried), which is lit every night from sunset to sunrise, the red stripe was supposed to tell the story of liberation to all the coming generations and swear to them that the country would always stand for the principles upon which the struggle was waged. After 1990 Zimbabwe changed its whole approach to economic planning under the auspices of the ESAP which was financed and directed by Western powers through the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Everything changed henceforth. Social welfare, health and education became money-wasting projects which the twin money-lending institutions could not let go unabated. Once again, the people of Zimbabwe found themselves more and more alienated from decision making and policy formulation on issues that they needed to be at least involved in. However, the education systems, the media, and the whole state machinery should have found some way of rationalizing this absurd sudden change of the definitions of oppression, capitalism, hard work, socialism, and the ‘people’. The criteria which are now used to define our national friends, comrades and enemies should be redefined also. But an attempt to rationalize an absurd situation dehumanizes people and belittles their intelligence. Unfortunately the media personnel and the teachers in Zimbabwe seem unaware of this contradiction. They do not seem to understand the meaning behind the general assumption of reform. They disseminate information oblivious of the implications of their communiqués. In the late nineties the media was busy on an information campaign of popularizing the second phase of ESAP and in this they were using the National Flag. In this campaign they were using the same red color whose original meaning is outlined in the above paragraphs. But then the red stripe had come to mean the sweat of the people who were working in the industries. In that television campaign the Black and White people were all working in the industry to lift up the economy of Zimbabwe? This is just one example of how the government tried to gradually change the definitions it had

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created. Yet people continue to wonder why the meanings should ever change as they watch things from the sidelines. Soon after independence the government formed the National Arts Council so as to educate the people to think in a liberated way through the arts. Under the council, various arts organizations were formed. The organizations were mostly theater groups and associations. They went around the country theatrically preaching the message of cooperatives and socialism. Under ESAP, the Arts Council itself had to contradict what it had been championing in the preceding decade. The personnel who had been employed on the ground of their socialist view of the world had to resign to make way for liberal. Suddenly, the National Arts Council was made up of people who subscribed to the view that culture is not a lifeline but a pastime which one can trade for the benefit of the wallet. As a result, the council today is preoccupied with grooming youngsters to become great sales-personalities of culture. Their main work is now to package culture in the form of arts like drama and music and then ship it to the world. In this way, the various cultural showpieces lose their cultural value. Cultural themes and aspects of the African tradition are put on stage without their proper context and their meanings. Perhaps worse is the fact that this use of culture to suit executive government objectives which lack popular endorsement through dialogue is insulting to the African cultural heritage. And worst is that commoditization of a people’s ways entrenches stereotypes. Originally, the council was supposed to amalgamate and synthesize the development process of the nation with the will and experience of the people. Culture was seen as the ideological superstructure as defined in the Marxist model. Now the current National Arts Council, in line with economic dictates of the day, defines culture as an item that can be stored, traded or sold. Culture is now divorced from national development. This fragmentation of knowledge is thus the device which government aided by the twin financing institutions is using to keep people from looking at the economy from the perspective of their own political and economic experiences as well as in the context of their own life. The new thinking sees as threatening the coming together of a people’s political, economic, social and technological experiences into one coherent ideology as this will surely sweep aside the whole old order together with the bureaucracy and new upper class it sustains. At one time there was a dream that education could become a liberating force which if given to anyone would liberate them especially if the education is well planned. Therefore, education was offered to everyone despite the cost incurred by the government. There was mass education soon after independence because education was supposed to be a universal right. But now the government seems to

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be assigning a new role to education in line with the current economic dictates. This function is now primarily to create skilled labor for industry and commerce. Academic subjects which do not directly affect industry, commerce and agriculture are regarded as a waste of government money. Now, Zimbabweans are waging another war which some have referred to as the third Chimurenga. This is the battle to indigenize the economy of the country. Yet even in this regard the war seems to be just another ploy to buy time on the part of the ruling class and the government. Firstly, capitalism in Zimbabwe was instituted by the colonial regime and structured in such a way that the colonialist settlers would benefit. This therefore, means that fighting the capitalist using the structures he put in place is an attempt in vain. This oversight of the implications, influence and machinations of the already existing capitalist structures and networks is almost entirely responsible for the failure by all African governments to broaden, indigenize or democratize the ownership of the economy. A meaningful third Chimurenga, the way forward, should surely be based on a meaningful dialogue. There is renewed talk about a Pan African arrangement as the best future for Africa. No one can say what it will look like and how it will affect the people of Africa. However, the planning for any such a future should be inclusive of all the people. Zimbabweans from colonial to post colonial times have been coerced, bribed and dispossessed of their dignity to make them accept policies and ideologies. Until this is changed to the stage where people actively and meaningfully take their place in decision making will the country move forward. Government should have confidence in the people rather than fear their participation in policy formulation in all aspects of society especially education.

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In: Identity in Metamorphosis Editors: E. Kralovec, M. Chitiyo

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Chapter 2

‘TRAPPED BETWEEN TWO CULTURES’: SCHOOLS, CULTURE AND CHANGE Fortune Madzime

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Student editor

“Metaphysics-the white mythology which resembles and reflects the culture of the West: the white man takes his own mythology, Indo-European mythology, his own logos, that is, the mythos of his idiom, for the universal form of that he must still wish to call Reason.” Jacques Derrida

The question of culture in Africa is a very complicated in post independence African society. Firstly, African traditional culture is lost and not known to most Zimbabweans. Secondly, the potential contribution of traditional culture to the mobilization of the people for national development goals has not been seriously investigated or considered. Throughout history, there has been interaction between African and foreign religions, economies, and cultures. Ancient states like Zimbabwe, Rozvi and Manica had trade contacts with other continents. Colonialism however brought a new and undesirable type of cultural interaction because of its officious and selfish nature. Unlike in other parts of the world where cultural change is naturally a response to environmental change and improvement in knowledge, technology and skills, in colonial Africa it was packaged with oppression and in some instances colonial attempts to obliterate the African.

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Therefore it will help to start with the following question: What is this ‘our traditional culture’ people talk passionately about? Many rites, practices, and rituals existing in Zimbabwe have their roots in Christianity, Islam and the work place or the labor compounds. Examples can be drawn from the areas of music, marriage ceremonies and cleansing procedures used by traditional healers today. Many see it as a myth to talk about traditional life in Zimbabwe today. It has been noted earlier how the colonial machinery harnessed traditional institutions like chieftainship for the benefit of indirect rule. Surely, such traditional institutions changed as a result of collaboration with the colonial establishment. However, a lot can still be reclaimed through dedicated research but this is yet to be done in many areas of cultural life for example, music, religion, matrimonial procedures, and initiation into adulthood, medicine and nutrition. What is cultural change in Zimbabwe? Three main schools of thought exist. The first is that cultural change is an equivalent of cultural invasion by the industrialized countries and naturally should be resisted. They see the gospel of a “dynamic culture in Africa” as Western ideology. These people believe the media in post colonial Africa neglects local culture and instead pushes international cultural forms. In this process, traditional culture dies and is replaced by an international culture which is aggressively asserted by the international media monopolies and the school system. The second argues that cultural change is an imperative and Zimbabwe cannot stand aside while the world roles on. Change in itself seems to be the end all, according to this argument. The third school says that change will come but should be inspired and fueled by internal necessity. It might make use of ideas, inventions and experiences of others though. There are many different views about the place of traditional culture in the development of post-independent Zimbabwe. National development goals and the agenda need to be owned up to by the people. A development program excluding the majority of the people perpetuates inequalities and underdevelopment. As noted earlier, cultural change is identified with colonial repression for reasons that are obvious if one considers how colonial administrations dealt with African cultures in their efforts to crush resistance. National development without doubt means cultural change. It is therefore imperative to extricate the concept of cultural change from its colonial meaning to make it acceptable to all so that no one feels threatened and will therefore participate in a nationally inclusive development drive that definitely starts in the classroom. Another area of great debate focuses on the alleged conflict that exists between African culture and human rights. In this view, some traditional African cultural practices are called into question because they are in conflict with universal human rights and are seen as not worthy of saving. However, a careful

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examination of traditional African cultural forms will show that basic human rights were an important aspect of every sector of African life. Even the much talked about feminist movement existed in traditional African life. In fact, African folklore is replete with stories of oppressed women. Many believe that the folktales were themselves a mouthpiece for these downtrodden women. While not the organized feminist movement as we have it today, these folktales show that women did criticize and were conscious of sexism in pre-colonial Africa. Courts of law existed. Right to dignity and life was upheld by the judiciary of the time. It is naive and cannot be convincing to say African traditional life was without human rights violations and gender imbalances, as any society up to this day, but the struggle against abuses existed in Africa long before foreign flags. In discussing cultural issues, the views of the following students represent these tensions and oscillate between two extremes: one arguing for a return to a culture we are yet to rediscover; and the other for the necessity to embrace the changes that comes with international culture to keep in step with the rest of the world. The major issue however for Africans, who claim to be rich in our cultural heritage, is: Do we still have a traditional culture to speak of?

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STUDENT WRITINGS ON CULTURE Writing 1 Zimbabwean culture is said to be dying in the light of human rights (international rights), the use of English as an international language and the spread of Western culture. Many believe that culture should have an economic value or contribute to the economy. Culture can be defined as a concept of life which covers, for example, food, lodging, clothes, interior decoration, marriage, organization of family, system of parenthood, social class, trade, government, war, religion, magic and language. It is a complex thing which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morality, laws, customs, and all dispositions and habits required by members of society. The term culture is derived from the German word ‘Kultur’ meaning civilization. Some believe that each society does not have a discreet culture but a general culture, created and developed by mankind as a whole. This view was expressed by Edward B. Reuter in 1950 when he defined culture as the sum total of human creation. In this respect culture is versatile and by definition, material culture changes over time.

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Using these definitions of culture, we can look at cultural change in Zimbabwe. For example, if culture includes food, we cannot expect the quality of food to remain constant because improvements in technology mean our food quality may improve. This applies to lodging as well. We cannot expect someone to live in a wooden house when they can mould bricks. In the rural areas of Zimbabwe the majority of people are still living under the conditions that cultural purists approve of, yet many of those calling for cultural preservation live in a brick and tiled house with cable television. Some aspects of culture are changing, which is inevitable and desirable in the face of technology and modernization. Another contested aspect of traditional culture is the practice of lobola, or the bride price paid by a young man to the family of his bride. It is still strong despite the fact that some men find it easier to use rings and money instead of the traditional herd of cattle. On the other hand, lobola is one aspect of African life that distinguishes Africans from the rest of the world. The women who have been paid for are more respected in and by society. But has society considered how the woman/girl being paid for feels? No. Lobola is based on a strong cultural belief that women should be subservient to men and that a woman’s parents should receive a financial reward for raising a good daughter. The current Minister of National Affairs is female and has acknowledged the need to discard those aspects of culture which enrich one gender at the expense of the other. She also believes we cannot perpetuate ways of life which are expected by society when one’s life is threatened. For example, under the traditional inheritance system a husband is required to choose and marry another wife when his wife dies. This is an absolutely insane practice in the face of HIV/AIDS. For this reason culture should change for the good of its society, after all what is a perfect intact culture without its people. Western culture is not creeping into Africa, someone has to adopt it first and Africans seem to be doing this. We cannot expect society to remain docile to any influence at all. As for the use of English as an international language, English has broken language barriers between nations. We should not replace it with Shona and Ndebele which are languages taught from birth. What is the use of confining a child within the Shona-Ndebele language boundaries? Knowing English introduces the child to diverse cultures of the world. Would we rather have our children learning intensive English or French first when they want to go to universities outside of Zimbabwe? Shona is not used anywhere in Africa but in Zimbabwe- such a limited sphere of influence as compared to English. Many believe a change in the school curriculum is essential in order to preserve traditional culture and the government has to make that decision. As it is today the colonial system of education still prevails in Zimbabwe. In other words

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we change the “people in the chair and not the chair itself”- we inherited the colonial system of education. That is why we learn Shakespearean literature and not the indigenous literature by people like Charles Mungoshi. However the system is changing slowly. We should not expect an overnight overhaul. Today both European and African literature are taught. What is left to be changed? Can it be to ‘decolonize’ the mind of the African who still attributes academic potential to the color of the students in a school? However we have to acknowledge that those children who learn with whites or Europeans in school are not scared of associating with whites when they leave school, they actually feel at par. In addition, the same children are exposed to a lot of opportunities. For example, the majority are accepted in foreign universities simply because they can converse well with international citizens form all corners of the world in English. It is funny how we Zimbabweans want to maintain our identity yet we rely on international donors such as the IMF and the USA. Many of our students are educated in non-African countries, yet many of those same people expect an unchanging Zimbabwe culture. Grace Chikoto

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Writing 2 Members of Parliament (MPs) are speaking out on the preservation of culture. MP Margaret Dongo says that the war of liberation was fought by our ancestors and after we had gained independence we forgot to thank them for fighting for us. Mrs. Dongo says Zimbabweans are still acting like they are under colonial rule because they refuse to embrace traditional culture. She says Zimbabweans must start running their country traditionally without any European influence. She accuses Zimbabwe of following the British culture and she suns this. An example of the desire to strengthen traditional cultural ties is the call for the Nharira hills to be made a national shrine because that was where the ancestors of the Nyamweda people were buried. This is an action of showing respect to their ancestors whom they believe they owe much to. Personally, I think it will be very hard for Zimbabweans to start living traditionally because no one in this generation really knows what “traditionally” is. Zimbabwe has been under the colonial yoke for a long time and has adapted the European way of living and dressing. The youths of today are being accused of neglecting their culture but the real question is which exactly is the Zimbabwean culture? I think the people responsible for the disappearance of our culture are our great grand-parents who experienced the infiltration of the

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Europeans. They were unable to keep their hands off the European’s dressing, food and way of living. Our generation is just a product of what already existed. The MPs are calling on the preservation of culture but they are running our country using the Western system. One begins to wonder what they mean. I believe that culture is dynamic so we should take it as it comes. Every generation has its own cravings and new things they would want to experience so who are we to deny them this opportunity and tell them to live the way we lived. Anna Chikukwa

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Writing 3 There is a growing debate/conflict between Members of Parliament and government over traditional culture. The government is being accused of contributing to the disappearance of Zimbabwe’s culture and traditions. According to one MP, “I believe that the war of independence was fought by ancestral spirits. But we never thanked those spirits after independence. It is these government ministers who are helping to destroy our culture.” “Thanking the spirits,” is a cultural and traditional celebration whereby beer is brewed and a ceremony is presided over by the elders. We did not do this after independence for many reasons. One reason is because people and the government have adopted Western culture and strayed from their own. MPs have brought out the subject of protecting Zimbabwe’s culture. Even after colonization, Zimbabwe’s culture is slowly being washed away. The argument is that the government of a country should determine what is to be done or not in order to preserve culture and tradition. The government should set aside a day whereby every Zimbabwean should thank the ancestors for the independence of this country. Thanking the ancestors is a purely African tradition and in doing this the government will be helping to preserve what is left of Zimbabwean culture and tradition. Homosexuality and lesbianism is also a controversial issue. The government can eradicate this foreign custom by deporting foreign lesbians and punishing Zimbabwean homosexuals. However, doing this would be a violation of human rights. Homosexuals like everybody else should be allowed to exercise their human rights which include freedom of speech and expression. They should not apologize about the way they feel or who they are. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Theresa Alimoso

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Writing 4 Many Zimbabweans have now come to realize the importance of their culture and traditions. Concern has been expressed on finding ways of protecting the little of traditional culture that is left. Even government ministers and MPs have called for the preservation of Zimbabwean traditional culture. However, MP Margaret Dongo blames the erosion of traditional culture on the ministers who try to distance themselves from traditional culture. Respecting Zimbabwe’s national shrines for example, is one way to show respect for and thus preserve our culture but to some people this does not even sound appealing. Recently there was a debate over whether the Nharira Hills should be made a national shrine or not; people have got the misconception of thinking that only those popular places which have been modified can be converted into national shrines. The call on everybody concerned to preserve culture is closely associated with the awakening mind of the Zimbabweans. It is now natural for people to blame foreign culture as being the causes of drought, unending diseases and homosexuality. In our traditional Zimbabwean culture homosexuality was unheard of and there were fewer diseases before Zimbabweans adopted such alien culture. It is also saddening to note that some people, sixteen years after independence, do not know their history. This lack of knowledge of their history undoubtedly shatters any hope of reviving our culture and traditions. It is unlikely for somebody who does not know their history to know their culture. Zimbabwean traditional culture is disappearing at an alarming rate. It would not be surprising that maybe in a couple of years we will be complete strangers in our own land. People say culture is not static, of course that is true, but there are some aspects of it that should not change which people are appealing for to be preserved. Mr. Genesee from the Preservation of Zimbabwe Culture (an NGO) says his organization has set aside two million Zimbabwe dollars for the project. He has appealed mainly to the traditional healers to be in the forefront of preserving culture. Schools can also play a great role in the reinforcement of Zimbabwe tradition and culture and hopefully this is going to work perfectly well. Tinashe Kusena

Writing 5 MPs are pointing an accusing finger to the government ministers who seem to be ignoring our culture which many claim is being eroded by European culture. The issue of preservation of culture is controversial

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especially here in Zimbabwe. Some believe that culture cannot be rewound back to the 19th century (or anytime before European culture had influenced our own traditional culture).Some people no longer want to be identified with their own culture; they are even ashamed of being identified with it. However, there are some people who believe that Zimbabweans can go back to their own culture, but the problem is that it is not easy to prescribe how this can be done. Several ways of trying to preserve culture have been tried, but to no avail. Some suggested that culture should be taught in schools as a way to foster understanding and adherence among the young generation. The government tried to implement this in schools through introducing traditional dance and playing marimba as part of physical education. It appears this has not been very effective since young people nowadays consider such activities boring and would prefer to entertain themselves with non-traditional activities which they consider more entertaining. For example, one would not watch traditional dance instead of gangster rap which attracts young people. Some suggested that in order to preserve culture, Zimbabwe has to introduce a form of traditional dressing but this was highly rejected; many young women prefer Western style clothing. However, since culture is not static people should admit that they should move with the times. There is no one to blame for the “loss” of culture. African tradition has too much respect for ancestral spirits. It is believed that ancestral spirits fought the war of liberation but people should not forget that now there are people of mixed religions. Some believe in God and do not believe that ancestral spirits fought the war of liberation. We have to accept that culture changes and we have to select some of the good things from European culture and blend them with some of our own. That way we may be able to satisfy many people. Catherine Mereta

Writing 6 Culture is an important aspect of life in every society. Great concern has been expressed about the preservation of traditional Zimbabwean culture as the society has inherited and adopted the colonial culture. Now it is a great concern for some politicians like MP Margaret Dongo who believes that the government should fight hard to liberate the country from British culture. The struggle for the preservation of Zimbabwean traditional culture can be seen by the preservation of

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national shrines and the importance attached to some places like the Nharira Hills where people offered sacrifices during difficult times like the war of liberation or periods of drought. It is believed that people can communicate with the ancestors at these shrines. The late Zimbabwean politician Herbert Chitepo wrote an epic poem about the Nharira Hills titled “Solo Rosina Mossoro” meaning a tale without a heading. His goal was to communicate to future generations how important such places were and thus promote the preservation of traditional culture. The MPs have pointed out that politicians should understand the power of language in preserving culture. Instead of using English to address people at rallies they should use native languages which everybody can understand. Schools and crèches are supposed to be mediums through which the Zimbabwean culture should be spread but instead in some of these institutions the local languages are still being neglected or looked down upon. Our leaders should not neglect our culture but rather they should promote appreciation of that culture in institutions like schools so that it will later benefit society wholly. Dudzai Sipada

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Writing 7 Many are concerned with the ways the erosion of traditional culture affects the youth. The youth are caught between their traditional culture and Western culture and as a result end up losing direction. They are no longer sure of what to do. Though culture is said to be dynamic, the extent to which traditional culture has eroded implies we have gone too far. Traditional culture in Zimbabwe is the culture of our grandfathers and ancestors. It is the way of life of the Zimbabwean people. By way of life, I mean the norms and values of the Zimbabwean society which are revealed in the behavior of the members of this society. Modern culture is the culture which came from outside mostly from Western countries. This modern culture has certain pros and cons but is often considered absurd by the Zimbabwean traditional culturalists. The main causes of the situation in which Zimbabwean youths find themselves trapped in today are the media and parents who assimilate Western practices. The youth try to imitate celebrities who feature on radio, television and in movies. They are then caught between two cultures, their traditional culture and the culture portrayed by the media. Some parents try to become more western than the westerners and this is also causing indecision among the youth. The children will be tied to some norms and

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values of their culture whilst their parent will be influencing them the other way around. This contradiction contributes to erosion of traditional culture. Without a strong culture grounding, the child will have no norms and values to provide checks and balances to his or her behavior. Obviously, without a stable culture the society will become chaotic. An example is the way youths dress in the towns and urban centers today. Some girls’ dressing is close to nakedness. This clearly shows violation of traditional culture. Another example is the behavior of youths mainly from urban areas. They have lost their respect for elders; you can find a 15 year old boy for example fighting a 35 year old man. This situation clearly shows the chaotic situation brought about by cultural erosion. Personally, I think the best remedy for this situation is for the government to introduce some cultural schools nationwide. These schools would teach different cultures to the people. By this I mean that, for example, there must be a school for Shona culture and a school for Kalanga culture. These schools must be made compulsory. This is the only remedy for a situation that has become critical. Prince Chihota

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Writing 8 Many today say that youth are trapped between two cultures: traditional culture and western culture. The problem is not unique to Zimbabwe; it is shared by many African countries whose traditional way of life is threatened by Westernization. It may seem the youth are at fault for neglecting their culture, but before one can pass judgment it is important to understand where the youth are coming from. First and foremost, it is important to note that the traditional family structure has changed. Traditionally, the family lived together (aunts, uncles, parents, children, grandparents) and each member of the family had a role to play in the raising of the child. Grandparents told folktales that had a moral, the parents taught the child its values and the aunts and uncles had the role of advising the child. It was the aunt’s duty, for example, to advise the female child on issues such as how to behave, how to deal with peer pressure, and to give advice about sex. Today’s families are scattered across the country and in some cases across the world and keeping these traditions becomes difficult. Very few youths have the opportunity of growing up with grandparents or aunts and uncles. Divorces were not so common long ago; today they are the order of the day. Some youths therefore grow up living with a single parent and they do not get to learn much about their tradition. For example, a girl child living with her father would not get much traditional cultural advice because traditionally it is not the father’s duty to

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educate the female child. That child will therefore not be in a position to identify with a tradition she knows very little about. Youths know little about their culture, depending on whom they live with and who they have had an opportunity to talk to. A child living with a grandparent will know everything about the folktales but nothing about how to deal with personal problems. That child’s knowledge of culture is limited because she will get to know only one dimension of her culture. What also makes it difficult for the youths to know their culture is the fact that they live far from it. Many youths live in towns, exposed to the western way of life. For this reason they are not in a position to identify with something they have not experienced, i.e. the traditional way of life. They know little of how their culture functions. The new generation is exposed to western ideas from a very early age. From pre-school some children are taught in English. They may speak other local languages like Shona or Ndebele but they are urged to speak more English because they have lessons in English and their exams are in English. To them, English becomes more important than the local languages and once they stop paying attention to their local languages they have a good chance of losing their culture. Traditions and culture are not very well explained and so when the youth do not understand them, they neglect them. The issue of superstition has led some youths to lose interest in their traditional culture. For example a black cat and an owl are associated with witchcraft. To a science student this makes no sense. An owl is a bird of the night so it moves in the night. A black cat is black because one of its ‘ancestors’ was black. Its color has nothing to do with witchcraft. This is an example of how education causes youths to question their cultural beliefs. Faith Moyo

REFLECTION The problem of culture and national identity lies at the heart of the postcolonial struggle. This is especially evident in settler colonies, like Zimbabwe, where a mosaic reality complicates the search for a national identity and common culture: “In setter colony cultures the sense of place and placelessness have been crucial factors in welding together a communal identity from the widely

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disparate elements brought together by transportation, migration, and settlement. At the heart of the settler colony culture is also an ambivalent attitude towards their own identity…” (Ashcroft, et al., 1995)

Various theorists posit a reciprocal relationship between nation building and cultural identity. Fanon (1963) provides a schema for understanding the developmental process which cultures undergo in the move from colonialism to independence. He suggests that a phase of cultural nationalism is a necessary step in the movement toward national liberation. Though Zimbabwe achieved independence more than twenty years ago, using Fanon’s scheme, we could say that it is in the phase of cultural nationalism. Government officials’ calls for embracing traditional culture are an example of this phase. Culture here becomes instrumental to the development of a national identity. When the students speak of the ‘awakening of the Zimbabwe mind,’ they are at the same time asking what it means to be a Zimbabwean. Fanon however warned against the tendency of countries to become stuck in this phase of their history. For him, cultural reaffirmation should lead to a more open future and provide the basis for hope. Calls in Zimbabwe for a return to traditional culture and the public critiques of the erosion of culture can be understood as part of the process that Fanon, Cabral and others outline. While this theoretical framework may help us to place Zimbabwe in the context of the international postcolonial struggle, the questions that emerge from the students’ writings are better examined in the context of what the student’s view is happening in their society. For some, culture is the moral code which should guide their actions. The erosion of culture for them and others mean that they can no longer look to the solid ground of the past to make moral decisions. The students’ exploration of the homosexual question in Zimbabwe is perhaps the best example of the sexual tensions that young Zimbabweans are living with. Calls come for embracing traditional culture from the newspapers, pulpits and halls of government. From the international human rights community come demands for equality. The resolution of this tension is the historical project for these students. Like these students, all young people in Zimbabwe must negotiate this contested terrain, unable to use the past for guidance yet unfamiliar with the cultural assumptions that accompany international human rights advocacy. Interestingly, if we divide the student writing up along gender lines, we see that it is the male students who argue most forcefully for preserving traditional culture. Women students often view calls for a return to traditional culture as a way of keeping them from participating fully in their society. For many women students in the university, traditional culture means that they will continue to be

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‘Trapped between Two Cultures’: Schools, Culture and Change

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perpetual minors, moving from their father’s house to their husband’s house. These issues will be explored more fully in the chapter on gender and schooling.

Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

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Chapter 3

“WE WANT OUR IDENTITY BACK:” LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN THE SCHOOLS Kundai Moyana

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Student editor

“Language is the voice of the culture; it is impossible to know a language and not its culture; but it is not possible to have a culture without a language.” Dr. D. Otto

The issue of language has been at the heart of many heated discussions throughout the developing world and in Zimbabwe. After Zimbabwe attained independence, it still retained the education system put in place by the colonial regime. This system of education meant that all instruction would be in English. Passes in the “O” level English examinations are a prerequisite to proceed to any higher educational studies, including all tertiary institutions. Although the indigenous languages are taught in schools at all levels, the lack of emphasis on them as an equally important prerequisite for further studies has meant that they are viewed in the public eye as inferior to English. Even though the Zimbabwean government has put policies in place requiring Shona or Ndebele to be taught in schools, many students perceive the study of indigenous languages as optional. Many college students of today perceive their fellow students who studied indigenous languages up to the “A” level as

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belonging to a particular class which is not credited with a very high level of intellect or prestige. While their perception of indigenous languages is changing, the question of how to address the language issue in Zimbabwe is still unresolved. Radicals believe that all instruction should be in Ndebele or Shona; that all business transactions in Zimbabwe between and among Zimbabweans should take place in indigenous languages and that English should only be a medium of communications with the outside world. The emphasis on schools would therefore shift from being on English to indigenous languages. However, another school of thought insists that the emphasis on the necessity to communicate in good English should be maintained. They advocate for an increased focus of attention on the indigenous languages making it compulsory for every “O” level graduate to possess a pass in at least one indigenous language plus a pass in English in order to proceed to the next level of education. This is perhaps a more realistic stance, but is it feasible? There are more than six indigenous languages spoken in Zimbabwe, although Shona and Ndebele predominate. The other languages are spoken by minorities and are largely overshadowed by the two predominate ones. Does the introduction of an indigenous language policy exclude these minority languages just because they are spoken by a minority group? Is it justified to diminish the language and culture of another people because they are a minority and emphasize the language spoken by the majority? After all, is that not the same argument made by Zimbabweans against English which is an international lingua-franca? Basically, Zimbabweans claim that English alienates them from their culture because by embracing the language, we also embrace the culture. By imposing a language policy biased towards Shona and Ndebele are we not imposing an alien language and hence culture on the minority groups? Also, is English-language domination such a bad idea? Students in this chapter grapple with these issues.

STUDENT WRITINGS ON LANGUAGE Writing 1 According to the article, students are doing poorly on exams in Shona; one may wonder why exactly pupils can not do better in their own languages. If we look more closely at this issue one finds out that it is very controversial. A number of factors may cause this poor performance in Shona language testing. The main reason that may bring about these shocking results is the fact that

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families also have a role to play. We find that usually in some homes parents tend to use English. The children are even told not to use Shona for fear of degrading them. But if we look at this matter clearly we find that when one starts alienating themselves from their own culture they will lose their identity. This may cause problems in the end. If children are forbidden from using Shona at home and are forced to learn Shona at school, it will affect their performance. They will perform badly in Shona because at home they do not use that language. Some parents might not even buy the children Shona textbooks; as a result they won’t have any access to that language. In the end if a child fails Shona the parents would blame the teacher forgetting that they have a role to play in the upbringing and education of their child. The teacher would not be able to help the child single-handed if the parents are not willing to help. The solution to such a situation would be for the parents and teachers to work together. This way, the child will be forced to do as told. Another reason that may cause the low pass rate in Shona is the ability of the teachers to teach and the nature of the syllabus. One thing that should be borne in mind is that the kind of education children receive should be able to help them in the future. For example, the old kind of English which is no longer used is also no longer in the syllabus because it won’t be of any use to the children. Similarly, the kind of formal Shona that is taught will not help because things are changing and times are also changing. This argument is supported by one sociologist Hargreaves who says “The school has an important role to play in this process. It must introduce a community centered curriculum which is organized around community studies and the expressive parts.” If Hargreaves’ assertion is applied in schools it means that the children will now be learning something that will help them in the future. This kind of education that they would be offered will be a weapon that would help them as they get into the world. It means that children will now be learning the things that they will encounter in the future. Lastly, since it is said that today’s children are the leaders of the future, it means that they should be helped in every way to make their future bright. Tsitsi Chingoto

Writing 2 There are many who think we should teach and test more indigenous languages than just Shona. They talk about student’s inhibitions when taught in foreign languages. Many believe that foreign languages if taken religiously at the expense of the indigenous ones work against development.

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Solely, indigenous languages will not change the whole relationship between development and education. It should be pointed out that countries which changed their language policies after independence are not at all ahead of those which did not. A good example is Tanzania whose first president, Julius Nyerere, personally translated Shakespeare’s books into KiSwahili. For a while Kiswahili became the administrative language of the country but by now I am sure Tanzania has nothing to show for indigenizing its language of instruction. True, countries like Malaysia are doing well after the change but there is no relation between change of language policy and development. In the case of Malaysia, any serious academic knows for certain that the Asian country received a lot of American aid in line with Keynesianism and the Marshall plan so that Malaysia would provide a buffer to safeguard the West against communism. Thus if Malaysia is more developed than Zimbabwe, it would be more reasonable to attribute this more to World Bank and IMF policies than to language policy. In another way, we should note that indigenous languages can be used to oppress and stifle development. South Africa offers a good example. One of the renegades of South Africa’s ongoing struggle for democracy, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, uses the Zulu tradition and language to preach a very retrogressive “gospel”. He preaches Bantustans and separation using traditional Zulu language and customs. Does this not clarify the notion that it is not the language (in terms of Shona, English or Zulu) but the language (in terms of freedom, democracy, fascism, anarchy etc.) which matters! The idea is good and well thought out but this now widespread notion of indigenization of language is not likely to bring development unless the global economy shifts from being essentially parasitic to a democratic one. Fortune Madzime

Writing 3 Many are calling for the teaching of minority or African languages in schools. That is what we should have done a long time ago after getting independence. There is no way we are going to be proud of ourselves whilst we are still tied to the English language. We place too much value and importance on English to the extent that the majority of Zimbabweans do not want their children to speak Shona. Our heritage is slowly slipping away. Let English be a way of communicating with the outside world but let our own languages dominate. A student who fails English exams cannot sit for “A” level exams -- that is disgusting. This means they cannot go to university which I think is very unfair. I

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think it is enough if one can communicate in English. It is our true African identity and uniqueness of our culture that will attract people to our culture. The teaching of minority languages will also unite us because we would be at the same standard with everyone. No one will look down upon one’s language or culture. Government should create a system that will accommodate every Zimbabwean regardless of language. This is the first step to establish a racially classless society. Ngugi wa Thiongo in his book “Decolonizing the mind” writes about the importance and significance of one’s language. “Any language has a dual character. It is both a means of communication and a corner of culture.” Ngugi also states that during the colonial era “Language was the means of spiritual subjugation, thus language and literature were taking us further and further from ourselves to other selves, from our world to other worlds.” Now we want our identity back and we should start by reintroducing our languages. Rumbidzai Masawi

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Writing 4 Is the English language superior to our mother languages in Zimbabwe? Everyone speaks English and argues that English is fast burying indigenous languages in most African countries. In fact, English is washing away native languages and the erosion is increasing without anyone doing anything about it although most are talking about what to do. Most of the talk is left in the debating rooms. Nobody denies that he/she is on a tragic boat in the swiftly moving waters of industrialization where English plays the pivotal role in running the mill. Schools are the avenues for the decadence of Shona and Ndebele languages. These languages are sidelined in most school subjects and pupils are encouraged vehemently to use English at all times and in all occasions. To be found or heard discussing in Shona for example can lead to either corporal or manual punishment. Given this situation students would endeavor to perfect their spoken or written English. Reading or writing of Shona novels would start to decline as well whilst aspiring writers or authors do their works in the English language. The government has exacerbated the situation by introducing English essaywriting competitions at national level. This highlights how many people are reluctant to go back to their native languages. Upon completing secondary education a lot of O-level graduates fail to proceed to A-Level because they do not pass the most looked for subject – English. Thrown into the society to find jobs, these pupils cannot get employment

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because no one gets a job, no matter how good their grades are, without passing English Language. This is a pathetic issue and if language were a human being, we would be singing a dirge on our way to the cemetery to bury Shona and Ndebele. Many people argue that culture changes and so our languages are being replaced. These people do not ask the question "which language should Shona or Ndebele give way to and where would that leave them"? In this case we are uprooting our parent tree to support the growth of an exotic tree. Keven Ellen Gozho

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Writing 5 Many people are worried that black people have adopted the English language and have left the Shona and Ndebele out. Some people go to the extent of despising indigenous languages. English is very important but that does not mean that it is superior. English is not the language of our people. It is elitist and alien. English is our British colonial legacy and it leaves the vernacular languages despised. Our intelligent black people who have adopted the English language have become alienated from their native languages giving birth to the mirage that English is the language of the powerful, rich and civilized. Generally parents prefer group “A” schools because they appreciate the way their children master English grammar and accent. Those who cannot afford sending their children to these expensive schools will be considered as having a strong rural background because their accent will not be like those who go to group “A” school. This promotes the view that English is superior. Language has a dual purpose. It is both a means of communication and a carrier of culture. By being inclined to English we are forsaking our culture. This is because language is a vehicle that transports culture and it is this vehicle that is not being given much attention. One can say that schools play a part in creating inequalities. Schools also cater for the interests of those who are powerful and civilized. As long as the interests of the rich are catered to there is nothing to worry about hence negation of the indigenous languages. I really believe that indigenous languages are despised. Culture is transmitted best through a language and in this case an important transmitter is being neglected. On the other hand, I am of the opinion that since culture is dynamic, some things are learnt better through different languages. The indigenous

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languages however should receive the same attention English is receiving so that if one speaks Ndebele or Shona in public he or she will not suffer from inferiority complex. Molly Muradzikwa

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Writing 6 There is a current, long running debate about educating blacks in indigenous languages. This can be done by publishing native materials in native languages. Others say that to be unable to understand a foreign language is illiteracy. I disagree; I think that to be unable to participate in one’s culture is in fact illiteracy. In many ways this is a claim for independence because the literature of a people is a declaration of their identity and it must be done in their mother tongue. Many people argue that the only effective way to fight against tribal extinction in this sweeping wave of Europeanization is to write in indigenous languages. When a culture is written it becomes easier to propagate within and without its borders and it becomes increasingly difficult to erase. To neglect one’s culture and to delve into another is to deculturize oneself and to conform to alien powers hence one loses one’s sense of belonging. I believe that for a long time, black culture has been cynically viewed perhaps because it is often distorted and written by foreigners with the least knowledge about that culture. The redemption must start with the language barrier. Writing such literature will not only benefit citizens but will help us be acknowledged in our own right and not to be obscured behind the shadow of another. Nkululeko Mahlangu

Writing 7 People are clamoring for the liberation of African culture and the use of African languages rather than foreign languages. For instance, a Zimbabwean writer should seek to end the cultural suppression that has and still is destroying the image of Africa by appreciating her native language. According to the document, literacy in African states is being retarded by the exceptional living conditions as well as some foreign values that are being encountered in foreign literatures. I think that in order to achieve sovereignty and cultural liberation, the historically entrenched stereotypical views of Africa by other continents has to be

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uprooted. This can be achieved when indigenous publishers and authors lead the people to emulate their African origin and culture. Some believe that foreign publications have to be done away with because the zeal to read is crippled by the value and concepts of a foreign origin. This is true because literacy cannot be achieved at the highest watermark since societies have different values and customs. The issue of indigenization is difficult to concentrate on because localization of standards cripples the political and economic growth of a country. But that does not necessarily mean Africans should not seek to reconstruct their own heritage that has been destroyed by the imperialists’ stereotypical views, enslavement and colonization. Pertaining to the issue of cultural liberation through the use of African languages, Ngugi was Thiongo’s Decolonising the believes that to utilize the African ideas, philosophy, folklore and imagery at its fullest it should be translated almost literally from the African native language so as to keep close to the vernacular expressions. On the contrary, a West African popular writer Chinua Achebe in a speech entitled, “The African Writer and the English Language,” said: “Is it right that a man should abandon his mother tongue for someone else’s? It looks like a dreadful betrayal and produces a guilty feeling. But for me there is no choice. I have been given the language and I intend to use it.” In conclusion, I believe that if the negative image of Africa that has been painted is left unchallenged, it may be misleading and cause articulate Africans to doubt their own capabilities and self determination. But, total preservation of culture is impossible. Some changes in society should be accepted since culture is dynamic. Furthermore, people should not be too extreme when accepting change and totally abandon every aspect of their traditional culture. Foreign and indigenous publications are all useful. Jane Nyangani

REFLECTION Language is an integral component of a people’s identity and culture. Understanding one person’s language can help us to see the world from that person’s perspective because language influences how we perceive the world around us. It is therefore not surprising that language would be a central issue in the discussion on Africa’s postcolonial identity formation. Students in this chapter are unanimous that the denigration of their traditional languages is a threat to their indigenous culture. However, the writings in this chapter also illustrate the

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“We Want Our Identity Back:” Language Instruction in the Schools

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predicament that these young Africans find themselves in and shed light on the challenges that they face in trying to resolve that predicament. First, it appears the problem is a policy issue with governmental policy giving eminence to English and indigenous languages relegated to a subordinate place. Secondly, hundreds of indigenous languages are spoken across Africa with Zimbabwe having at least two major languages. As such, English has been accepted among people of different languages as a lingua franca; it is therefore difficult to select any one indigenous language as a replacement to English without compromising relations among different language speakers. These problems resonate across the student writings and raise more questions than answers—questions such as can government be trusted to spearhead cultural revival especially as the government appears to represent the elite who seem to despise indigenous languages in favor of English which is mostly associated with elitism? How can you promote indigenous languages without polarizing the people across language lines? Can we preserve traditional culture without preserving the language? These issues may not be easy to resolve. According to conflict theorists the driving force in complex societies is the unending struggle between different groups to wield power (Feinberg and Soltis, 1998). Thus, social organizations like schools appear to serve the dominant privileged class by providing for the social reproduction of the economic and political status quo. Could we therefore, expect governments to lead the cultural revival even if it threatens the status quo? Given this dilemma the need for postcolonial identity theory becomes even more palatable.

Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

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Chapter 4

“POOR WORKING CONDITIONS EQUALS POOR RESULTS”: HARDSHIPS IN RURAL SCHOOLS Fortune Madzime

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Student editor "Problems associated with education are not just pedagogical problems, they may also be political, ethical and financial problems." Paulo Freire

After independence the government’s first objective was to improve and increase educational facilities in Zimbabwe. The result was that a vast collection of primary and secondary schools were established throughout the country and today the country boasts of having one of the highest literacy rates on the continent. The political turmoil of the early twentieth-first century may have an impact on the literacy level in the country however. None the less, this seems to suggest that the dream of ‘education for all’ sloganeered during the struggle for liberation was achieved. However, there is one pressing issue: the disparity between urban and rural schools. The government made primary education free but not compulsory. The urban child was more likely to attend school primarily because parents in urban areas had higher levels of education than parents in rural areas. Additionally, urban parents knew the value of education for economic advancement. The rural child on the other hand was bound to the land for survival because that was the means for survival for the rural family. Consequently, fewer rural parents saw the need

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for formal education. This resulted in a more relaxed attitude towards education in rural schools. Facilities in rural schools are also inferior to those in urban schools. When considering the problems of rural schools in Zimbabwe, it is important to consider the plight of the rural school child and the unfortunate circumstances in which she finds herself: caught between the demands of rural life and the desire for education. To place the blame for the pathetic state of rural schools and education on the rural parents is to blame the victim. On paper, government pledged to decentralize development and infrastructure. This led to the building of rural schools and 'Growth Points' (centers in rural areas to which the government devolved local government powers and departments and provided basic infrastructure as a way of stimulating and jump-starting rural development) in the country. In reality though, barely nothing beyond giving communities the permission to build their own community schools has been done. Ostentatious projects like rural electrification are yet to cover the majority of the rural schools. Teacher’s salaries are met by the government, but accommodation and all facilities should be provided for by the community through the School Development Associations (an organization of parents, teachers and at times the alumni). This leads to poorer schools in poorer communities and subsequently lower morale yielding less and less impressive grades yearly. Relics of African traditional culture can still be found strongest and most abundant in the rural areas. Urban schools on the other hand are more receptive to change and have the capacity to acquire new technologies like computers and overhead projectors. Rural schools therefore represent the traditional Zimbabwean culture while the urban school represents the forward looking and so called modern culture. This leads to rural brain-drain as teachers and children of the more affluent rural farmers leave for urban areas. This accounts for the attitude of the urban teenager towards rural schools, the educated policy-makers towards the planning and financing of rural schools, and the qualified teachers who are unwilling to be placed in rural schools. The problem of rural schools is twofold. First, we need to recognize the power of cultural imperialism in the cities and the rise of a large and assertive working class which looks down upon the peasant farmer and his ways as archaic. We need to accept that this rising working and petty bourgeoisie class is the country’s policy making class. Although the need to overhaul the conditions of rural life in general has been on government statutes for years, meaningful social investment in rural life in general and schools in particular has been minimal to say the least.

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Secondly, Zimbabwe needs a complete change to modern agricultural methods and systems in order to change the labor patterns in the rural areas, increase production and profitability and subsequently boost the prestige of rural life. This will not be possible with the existing land size and tenure regime in the communal areas. Currently, agriculture relies heavily on child-labor which means that children cannot go to school in order work in the fields or they are required to work hard before and after school which compromise their studies. Since government will not be able to raise enough capital to finance rural schools, it follows that a more rewarding farming arrangement is the hope for better funded schools and motivated rural students and teachers in rural Zimbabwe.

STUDENT WRITINGS ON RURAL EDUCATION

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Writing 1 Several questions have been raised about how and why students in rural schools perform worse on exams than students in urban schools. One of the causes for poor pass rates in rural areas is travel distance. Most of the rural students cover a distance of about 12km to and from school. By the time they reach school they will be tired and will lose concentration. On the contrary, a counterpart in an urban area is ferried to school by bus every day. Every day they arrive at school still energetic and with maximum concentration. Most rural parents need the children to work in the fields first before they go to school. So these children start work early to finish their tasks before school and when they get to school they are exhausted and often sleep in class. The economic status of the parent has a great influence on the performance of the child. Most rural parents have no money to buy adequate school supplies like uniforms, textbooks and stationary. An urban child is able to buy extra textbooks enabling him/her to have more access to knowledge. The rural child can only depend on what is taught in class. At night a child in rural areas cannot study because of lack of electricity and libraries. Also, students in rural schools do not have much exposure to technological and industrial fields. Thus, a rural child lives in a disadvantaged environment. The exams cover material beyond the child’s environment. For example, most rural schools do not have laboratories where students can do experiments making it difficult for students to interpret experiments during exams. English exams may require a child to write essays on the use and importance of a telephone. This places the rural student who has no access to telephone at a disadvantage.

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Rural schools are given second preference when distributing qualified teachers. Most qualified teachers are deployed in urban areas and inexperienced or unqualified teachers are deployed to rural schools. This contributes to the disparity in academic performance between rural and urban students. To rectify this, the government could build more schools to minimize walking distance for rural students. Parents should quit the habit of sending their children to the fields before school because this has a negative effect on the children’s performance. Rural teachers must be provided with facilities, like good accommodation. Without such facilities qualified teachers will continue to transfer to urban areas leaving unqualified teachers in rural schools which may contribute to low pass rates. Rural families should be given access to solar power so that children can study at night. In conclusion, there are many factors that contribute to the disparity in performance between students in rural areas and students in urban areas. As such, it is government’s responsibility to seriously look into these issues and implement programs that promote rural schools. Rejoice Mutizwa

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Writing 2 The rural schools’ pass rate is always low compared to urban schools’. This is because rural schools lack basic necessities like books. In addition, some rural students travel more than 20kms to and from school whilst the urban child walks very short distances. Some parents in rural areas want their children to spend most of their time working in fields. This reduces their time for studying. Many children who leave school do not have anything to do. There are inadequate projects to support school leavers. This was highlighted and discussed during the UNESCO conference that was held in Harare in 1995. The UNESCO report pointed out the problems of school leavers. The unfair distribution of qualified teachers is also lowering rural schools’ pass rates. Because most rural areas are poor (there is no electricity), this contributed to the low pass rate. The rural child does not have enough time to study since they work in the fields all day. Education facilities must be the same for rural and urban students. They must have the same opportunities in the academic system and the government must try to improve the rural child’s education. Emmanuel Gwashure

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Writing 3 Some rural children have to wake up early in the morning to do daily chores and others may even go and plough fields before they go to school. After this they are already tired and need time to rest. However there is no rest as they will have to walk more than 20 kilometers to school which negatively affects their performance. The urban child, on the other hand, either walks very short distances or is ferried to school by local buses, which contributes to the discrepancy in pass rates. There is nothing more difficult in teaching than to motivate a tired pupil whose concentration is very limited and with little energy reserved for going back home. The children’s poor performance is also attributed to the economic status of rural parents; they cannot afford school supplies like pencils, school uniforms, or money to buy paraffin which would allow them to study during the evenings. Rural schools also come in second when it comes to the distribution of qualified teachers. Most urban areas are now filled with qualified and degreed teachers while rural schools are choked with teachers awaiting training and one wonders whether the higher authorities are aware of this. The issue of textbooks also is a threatening one. A child cannot truly acquire the knowledge necessary for an informed and productive life when they have only one textbook for the whole class. Also many schools in rural areas are in a state of ramshackle and the classrooms pose potential danger to the pupils and teachers under their roofs. Charts and visual aids are blown away by the wind or destroyed by goats since there are no window panes or doors. In conclusion, the government should try to build more schools so that children do not have to walk long distances. The great distances traveled by children do not allow them to get to school on time, and always arriving to school late partially accounts for the high drop out rate in rural schools. Darlington Changara

Writing 4 People suggest many reasons why rural schools fail rural students. One main reason is the hardships of rural life. There are different types of educational inequalities. In this case where all children do not have the same chance of going to school, it is called unequal access. In this particular case, money is the problem; people in rural areas are poorer than people in the urban areas. This causes class divisions among the people.

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Children of rich people in Zimbabwe have a good chance of attending good schools. Such children won’t have trouble finding good jobs. On the contrary, children of poor parents who cannot afford school fees are unlikely to go to secondary school. And to make matters worse, University education is near to impossible due to the new policy requiring families to pay half the cost of tuition. I think the government should do something about primary education. UNESCO emphasizes that there should be free universal primary education. Education at that basic level is not that expensive and the government should solve the financial problems faced by parents especially those living in rural areas. There is an important question that people raise and that is, who is to blame for the problem. There are many factors that hinder the success of children in rural areas. Rural children are expected to wake up early in the morning about 5:00am to prepare to go to school. Many duties like plowing the fields are done before leaving for school. At school, many duties have to be carried out before the school day begins. Given all that rural students go through during their school years, they should not be blamed for the poor outcomes. They work too hard. Even the headmaster and the teachers should not be blamed. The school teacher suffers the same problems as the pupil. The teacher has no adequate material to teach the students efficiently. In class the students are hardly attentive because of hunger and the classrooms are in shambles. The teachers cannot even give homework because of inadequate textbooks. On the contrary, an urban pupil performs exceptionally well not because the teachers or the pupils are hard working. Most urban students have access to good educational facilities. So no one should be blamed except the system itself. I think the government should improve the situation in rural schools. There are hardly students in rural schools who know how to use a library because there are no libraries in those schools. The government and the society at large should help in improving this devastating situation that is in rural schools. Veronica Machete

Writing 5 There is a general mentality that rural school pupils do badly in national examinations. The rural pupils’ results are generally poor; few of them do well at “O” level exams. Although this is a general mentality about rural pupils, it is important to consider what really causes the rural pupils to fail. It is not totally their own fault, but there are quite a number of factors that contribute to this

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catastrophic end result for these innocent pupils. This county’s education system is totally the one to blame. The rural student is a target of blame by both the parents and the educational system. They are blamed for their own failure. But, the promises to meet their needs made during the struggle for Zimbabwe have not been met in independent Zimbabwe. As a result, the children suffer. Before the rural student goes to school they have to plough the fields (around 100 square meters), and after that they get a small breakfast. At independence the government made many promises including the promotion of science subjects, but in rural schools where there are no science laboratories these promises won’t be fulfilled. In urban schools the standards are high and much civilization seems to have touched them but the rural folks remain school failures because the education system seems to have destroyed their hopes. There is also a general mentality that there are a lot of untrained teachers in rural areas and thus people blame them for students’ failure. I disagree with this. From my own experience as an untrained teacher, I found myself working harder than the trained teachers. An untrained teacher works hard in order to secure their job unlike a trained teacher who just knows that his job is secure and thus tend to be lax. Nevertheless, the system is still to be blamed for the failure to improve every area and to equally distribute the necessary and required facilities. In conclusion, the educational system is to be blamed for the unfair and unequal outcomes between rural pupils and urban pupils. Rural pupils and teachers tend to lose heart because they feel abandoned by the whole educational system. Jill Daudi

REFLECTION Functionalism holds that schools are part of the interconnected structures that make up social systems and that they should carry out certain functions to ensure the survival of those systems (Feinberg and Soltis, 1998). In other words schools are designed to serve society by producing societal needs in terms of human capital. In order for schools to successfully accomplish their role, they have to be adequately equipped to meet the needs of society. This theme recurs across student writings in this chapter where students lament the poor and often neglected state of rural schools where a majority of students are enrolled. Students deplore the unequal attention that is given to rural and urban schools in terms of resource allocation. It is interesting that students raise this issue because one of

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the driving forces for the liberation war that brought political independence to Zimbabwe and indeed across Africa was the need to redress the socio-economic imbalances of the colonial era. Functionalism sees equal education opportunity as essential to the attainment of equal opportunity in society. Yet almost three decades after independence it appears little has changed in terms of social stratification and the education system bears testimony.

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Chapter 5

“THE GIRL CHILD IS NOT IMPORTANT ACCORDING TO SHONA CULTURE,” GENDER INEQUALITY AND THE SCHOOLS Kundai Moyana

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Student editor

"If, in the context of colonial production, the subaltern has no history and cannot speak, the subaltern female is even more deeply in the shadows. . " Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

Something like a fever has gripped Africans – both men and women. Feminist organizations are mushrooming all over the cities. All of them profess a mission to liberate the oppressed women. In universities affirmative action for women is taking hold. In business feminist language is inspiring females to become big business personalities. Feminism has been responsible for the formation of savings clubs and institutions as big as banks. In churches women’s fellowships are beginning to speak a language that was never a part of the pulpit agenda: the demand for equal opportunities for women. Yet the process through which the emancipation of women is to be achieved is one problematic area that Africans will labor to address. The struggle is characterized by action of various groups which fall into four distinguishable categories. One category, perhaps the most vocal and most heard from, advocates for the total breakdown of African traditional culture. These feminists see institutions like

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extended family, lobola (bride price), traditional laws of inheritance and other traditional practices as the causes of gender inequality. The most radical of these feminists even call for celibacy. Their war cry is: “Away with traditional culture.” They have privileged access to the media – both print and electronic. Films have been produced to highlight the evil character of African traditional culture. Among these are Neria and More Time. The “away with traditional culture,” feminists get most of their financial support from foundations in Europe and America. In this way, they borrow and share a lot of feminist ideas from the West. The financial support enables them to get a lot of publicity. These feminists take up most of the limited media coverage African feminists receive. Many feminist businesswomen subscribe to this school of feminism. Another form of feminism in Zimbabwe today is the socialist one. Socialist men and women blame the entire system of capitalism for gender inequality in Zimbabwe, as well as in the rest of the world. They believe and argue strongly that all cultures hitherto have been oppressive towards women due to unfair economic arrangements. In this case, African culture is attacked alongside other capitalist cultures. Their recommendation is to work towards a revolution which will destroy capitalism and put in its place a socialist society. In the envisioned socialist society all individuals in society-whether male or female-will have the economic capability to resist oppression. Notable is the fact that many of the “hairy-chested feminists” (men who get actively involved in women’s’ struggles) are socialists. They are fairly active in Zimbabwe through their socialist clubs. Since the end of government’s flirtation with socialism, vociferous socialists are getting smaller in number. As a result, the number of socialist feminists is dwindling. The demise of socialism gave rise to a regeneration of Pan-African ideas. Many people who had hoped to see Africa being liberated by socialist ideas now turn to Pan-Africanism. In the wake of this situation, Pan-African women are grouping into a movement with a distinct feminist ideology and a distinctly African mission: to find an African solution to the problems of women in Africa. Generally speaking Pan Africanist women are working towards the liberation of African women. This liberation would enable them to make meaningful contributions toward the development of Africa, as well as create a better quality of life for all. The dignity of the African woman is a serious consideration for this movement. This particular brand of feminism shares the same fate with its parent body. In areas where the Pan African movement is strong, Pan African feminism becomes also very strong. It is particularly strong among academics. Each of these camps, the donor-funded, “away with traditional culture feminists”, the Socialists, the Africanists are setting up organizations. But perhaps

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the largest feminist movement throughout Africa is to be found among the rural, uneducated women. This largely undocumented movement is drowned by the above named feminist camps, which deny the possibility of a feminism emerging from a traditional woman. One reason that it takes an effort to locate and to listen to the old woman’s story or the story of the housewife on the grinding stone. If you are lucky enough to listen, you come to appreciate the existence of a feminist movement without the interference of feminist newspaper columnists and the Western media. African riddles and folklore boast of a wealth of feminist oral tradition. This oral tradition has been passed on to today’s young woman and now includes the brutality and stupidity of men in the mines, factories and cities. Feminist researchers in Africa have routinely ignored this group despite their being the majority of strugglers. Consequently much about them is unknown. As a sharp contrast to the, “away with traditional culture” feminists, here is a movement of women up in arms over patriarchy, operating within the cultural confines of traditional Africa. Their existence reminds us that while some people see culture as oppressive others view culture as liberating. It is from this background of conflicting and varying philosophical approaches to the reality of male chauvinism in Zimbabwe and Africa as a whole that students wrote the following journals.

STUDENT WRITINGS ON GIRLS AND SCHOOLING Writing 1 Girls drop out of school at higher levels of learning because of teenage pregnancies and cultural norms. Many now feel that gender should refer to sociocultural demands as opposed to the biological aspects of gender differences. This can be seen in the drop out rate of girls compared to that of boys. This difference can be attributed to the time girls spend attending to household chores while boys are studying. This dovetails with the view that males and females are differentiated – ordered into given socio-cultural systems and norms. This also brings out the fact that gender roles are culturally determined patterns of behavior and we think of them in terms of rights, duties, obligations and prerogatives. There is a high drop-out rate among girls because of traditional beliefs. One such belief that women are perpetual minors leads to early marriages and teenage pregnancies. In grade one over 50 percent of the pupils are girls, a drop out rate of 28% is recorded at grade seven level and increases with each higher level. Therefore fewer girls than boys survive through the subsequent stages of the

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education process. Sociologists argue that there is limited access to education and training because of socio-economic and cultural attitudes towards the education of girls and boys, cost, location and teenage pregnancy policy. I feel that it is good that African countries are allowing girls who get pregnant while at school to return after a year of nursing the baby. This shows that the attitude towards women is changing and I am glad. Ndanyaradzwa Paundi

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Writing 2 In the past it has been a culturally accepted practice to have girls drawn out of school whilst the boy child is offered the opportunity to proceed with his education. But now with the onset of the liberation of women, girls are being given equal opportunities. It is not only a revolution confined to one part of the world but it is a universal thing. Africa has taken a stance to increase the population of girls in schools so as to increase their employment opportunities when they leave school. The women must not only confine themselves to the smoky kitchen but should also experience the challenges of the world. Gone are the days of segregation in employment where some jobs would be reserved for men. However the research that has been carried out only gives us the statistical percentages based on organizational reports. There is a need to make some of the things practical so as to increase the percentage of girls enrolled in school. The program in which young mothers get free education is very supportive in the sense that women become more appreciated in society. Tendai Sauta

Writing 3 Equal educational opportunity is a big topic today in Zimbabwe. The issue has been raised by many governments who feel that girls should also have the same access to education and do the same subjects as boys e.g. Chemistry, Carpentry and Physics. The main problem that has been causing all this is the fact that the society we live in believes that women are inferior and therefore it is better to educate a boy than a girl child. In Botswana the people have formed the Young Women’s Christian Association where women are enrolled to resume their studies whilst their babies are being taken care of. Researchers have found that it

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is important to educate a woman because by so doing the population growth decreases in the sense that women with education tend to have less children. Our society believes that it is better to educate a boy than a girl child and this affects the girls in the sense that we end up having more uneducated women than men in our society. Also, if one girl falls pregnant she will definitely drop out of school and then she will be jobless. Then the society suffers from unemployment and the dependency ratio will increase. We will also have many fatherless children. In addition, we see that the society has seen the need to educate more girls so as to have a better society. In educating the girl you would have educated the whole nation. Once the girl is educated she will learn the value of education and she will fight for her children’s education and the society will benefit. The other point is about how school and society intertwine. It is through education that people realize the value of education. After valuing education they would also educate the whole society. In this case it’s the people who have gone through the process of education who are now planning towards the education of girls in order to have a better society. Veronica Kamanga

Writing 4 Having noticed that the number of girls enrolled in schools was lower than that of boys, African governments notably Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi are said to have introduced measures that allow girls to continue even if, for instance, they fall pregnant. Thus, the government influences education by bridging the gender gap to allow more girls into the education system. There are cultural beliefs which contribute much in denying girls access to education. These cultural beliefs are stronger and more widespread in the rural areas. Poverty also contributes to the problem in that one cannot afford to go to school if they cannot afford the tuition, and if parents only have enough money to educate one child it will be the boy child. Thus the poor rural girls are denied education. Moreover, those who fall on hard times prefer to send the boy child to school in preference of the girl child. These cultural beliefs affect the girls’ access to education. Thus, societal beliefs hinder women’s participation in education. However, having realized that the girl child has been disadvantaged for a long time the government has introduced measures to safeguard the girl child. For example, the government introduced affirmative action whereby girls are allowed higher education even if they have earned fewer points than boys in national

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exams. It is also interesting to note that government and politics can affect education in a society. This is evidenced by realization on the part of African governments that introduced measures for the disadvantaged girl child to make sure that history does not repeat itself. From time immemorial, the boy child has been privileged especially in Zimbabwe when it came to acquiring an education. According to societal beliefs, the oldest boy child inherits the father’s role upon the father’s death. Therefore, it is generally believed that boys must be equipped educationally to make it easier for them to look after the family. Conversely, the girl child is not important according to the Shona culture since she will get married to another family and her husband, according to Shona culture, will have the responsibility to support her. Under this setting the Shona culture sees it unnecessary to educate girls which results in fewer girls being educated. However, affirmative action and women’s organizations are making strides in bridging the gender gap to show that girls are equally important to boys. Therefore, more girls are getting educated and enrolled in universities for example at Africa University there are more girls than boys. Barnabas Rundora

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Writing 3 There is much talk these days concerning the issue of girls getting preference in second school enrollment as a way of increasing the number of female students. Affirmative action that has been applied at the secondary schools seems to be receiving overwhelming support from the majority of Zimbabweans despite being a controversial issue. This raises an interesting issue when boys are turned away from schools in favor of girls who have done less well in their studies. This policy which is now being applied at lower levels, like form one enrollment, has its roots at the University of Zimbabwe. The policy is not a directive from the Ministry of Education; secondary schools are merely doing it on their own accord. They are lowering cut off points for girls to reduce gender imbalances in schools. Their argument is that the female student must be supported from the first day of school and introducing the policy at the university is too late. As far as I am concerned, this sounds ridiculous. While women insist on policies of equal opportunity in the job market, it is surprising that they welcome the idea of affirmative action. This is tantamount to defeating the whole purpose of gender equality. If their arguments are valid, women should take this as discriminatory and reinforcing to the idea of their inferiority to men. In light of

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this, the issue of affirmative action should be banned forthwith to avoid gender problems in society as men and women will continue to fight. John Madhuku

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Writing 4 In Zimbabwe, if a girl falls pregnant, she must leave school. Many are beginning to question this policy. However, there is a controversial issue within the school curriculum. According to school policy these students should be dropped from schools. The society also approves of this, since there are few parents who are determined to continue to educate a young pregnant girl. Normally, after the girl is expelled from school, they chase her from the home. This girl will then lead a miserable life. Nevertheless, there are also other humane people who think girls should continue their studies because they face a lot of mockeries and humiliation as well as isolation. These people think that this mockery and humiliation as well as isolation are enough punishment for them so they are not supposed to be punished again by being dropped from school. Others believe that the humiliation these girls face will keep them from their studies. In this view, the psychological torture will disturb their studies and so the girls will ultimately fail. Apart from that, nobody will want to help the pregnant girls and so they fail. Therefore, it will be better for these pregnant girls to be expelled from school and then resume their studies after weaning their babies. This will enable them to escape the psychological torture. However, the best solution is to establish schools for pregnant girls. There must be schools for pregnant girls only; this will help them because they will work hard with that zeal of wanting to pass in order to help their children in the future. In such a school the girls will encourage each other rather than mock, isolate or humiliate each other. The other contention is on the part of the boys who will have impregnated the girls. In some schools both the boy and the girl will be expelled from school but in other schools the boy will be left to continue with his studies. The society on its own has got controversies; the girls’ parents will vie for the boy to be expelled while the boys’ parents will vie for the child to continue in school. They will argue that since the boy is not the carrying pregnancy so he must continue with his studies. I think this is not fair since both the boy and the girl are responsible for the pregnancy. In this case the boy must continue with his studies in order to be able to cater for the child and the mother. If he refuses responsibility for the

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pregnancy then he must be expelled also. On the other hand, girls must be taught seriously to preserve their lives and avoid spoiling them. Anybody found having sex whilst she is still a student must be punished severely for in our society sex before marriage is immoral. All the same there must be different schools for the pregnant girls. I think they will work hard if they are alone because they will have escaped psychological torture and hence work hard with the aim of working and carter for their children. On the other side, this encourages girls to become pregnant whilst they are still in school. Sukutai Makumbe

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Writing 5 The affirmative action policy being implemented by the University of Zimbabwe still leaves out the bulk of girls and women in the streets. While agreeing that this helps a lot, one feels the program should be started at grass-root level in order to be more effective. The number of girls in secondary schools compared to their male counterparts is very low so the exercise should be done at secondary schools to accommodate more girls so as to increase the number of girls who eventually go to the university. The problem of marginalizing girls is not new but with the new enlightenment, parents are sending girls to schools and with the government getting involved things might improve for girls. In the not so distant past, boys were highly regarded and given every opportunity while their female counterparts were at a disadvantage. It is no wonder then that now more men hold respective responsible positions while women do not. Chipo Zvomunoita

Writing 6 In most cases, culture has proved to be a stumbling block on the path to progress on gender issues. This is because many people still stick to the cultural beliefs of our ancestors which may not be appropriate for this generation - - we do not expect the culture which barred women from sitting on chairs to be appropriate today. Probably, this is why some people say: “culture is like a sword, culture is a double-edged weapon that can cut both ways and can therefore be a dangerous weapon if it is not used properly.” If culture is built over generations, it

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then follows that it should be dynamic since generations are also dynamic, failure to change means that we would not move along as a society. I have always believed that until men come to realize that they are enjoying some privileges at the expense of women in Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa, the struggle for gender equality is still a far dream. How can we talk of freedom in a society where women are not free, a society where women don’t contribute to society’s progress and prosperity? How could we talk of liberation in a society where women are exploited and oppressed? Before we talk of liberation and a more equitable society, we need to realize the significance of emancipating women from oppression – it’s long overdue. A new forum that has started in Zimbabwe is helping men participate in the women’s movement. Recently they lodged a complaint on an amendment which allowed men to marry foreign women while the Zimbabwean women were denied the right to marry foreign men. It is surprising to have such an outdated amendment by people who claim to be Christians and ‘believe’ that we are all equal before God. Why should men be given preferential treatment at the expense of women? From the way women are abused, marginalized and subjected to extreme violence, you would agree with the basic premise of the new forum which suggests: “Zimbabweans have been brought up in a society which like so many other societies around the world has promoted a culture and attitudes based on the domination, oppression and exploitation of women by men.”

By challenging the patriarchal thinking of most men, supporting men who are willing to change the officious upbringing they’ve gotten from childhood, facilitating debate, discussions and action, through visits to schools and colleges, publications and the use of the media, the forum can have a tremendous impact. The goal of the forum is to: “create a society that is free from gender stereotypes and violence, welcomes both women and men’s contribution at all levels and guarantees equal opportunity and equal participation in decision making processes. With such a society we will be happier, more confident more united and more purposeful.” Hilary Kowino

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REFLECTION Traditionally, women in Zimbabwe have been subjugated to men in different spheres of life. Students, in these writings, address the issue of gender inequality in schools which is a very important issue given the historical moment that this generation of students find themselves in, a moment characterized by conflict between traditional culture and Western culture. Whereas many feel that culture is dynamic and therefore should change it appears that there is no consensus on how this should be addressed. For example, all students acknowledge the existence of gender imbalance in the education system and the need for equal education opportunities for both boys and girls. But when it comes to affirmative action designed to balance gender representation in education some students, particularly the male students, raise their reservations. This paradox highlights the complexity of the issue. Whereas education is generally viewed as an emancipatory instrument and transformative process the fear of losing patriarchal hegemony drives men to advocate for the status quo. Critical theorists acknowledge that men and women live in a world of contradictions and ill-proportioned distribution of power and privilege and argue that efforts to redress these contradictions should target the sources of inequality and oppression. Deep-rooted cultural beliefs seem to be the source of gender inequality in Zimbabwe. These young Zimbabweans have to balance the demands of a new world order, which includes calls for gender equality, while balancing these deep rooted cultural beliefs. Without this examination, equal opportunity and social mobility for women will remain elusive.

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ISBN: 978-1-60741-072-0 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 6

“NOT REALLY INDIGENOUS,” BLACKS AND WHITES IN ZIMBABWE’S PRIVATE SCHOOLS Fortune Madzime

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Student editor

"One's sense of self is always mediated by the image one has of the other." Vincent Crapanzano

Zimbabweans went to war against institutionalized racism epitomized by Rhodesian settlerism. The liberation struggle succeeded in abolishing the racist laws but not the notions, fallacies and stereotypes sustaining racism. The question emerges therefore: was reconciliation a success in Zimbabwe? Unlike in South Africa where a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set, there was no attempt to reveal the Who-is-Who of the atrocities and abuses of colonial Rhodesia and the liberation struggle. Reconciliation in Zimbabwe was a blanket pardon meant to coax former foes to trade their swords for spades and reconstruct the country. This succeeded in creating confidence in the white section of population, which was on edge suspecting that the new government might have unleashed a witch hunting crusade. However, it also allowed racism to flourish underground and unchecked while publicly people basked in the myth of its death. Consequently, many young Zimbabweans are calling for the revisiting of the policy of reconciliation as they claim that it is only the formerly segregated masses extending a forgiving hand to a people who are both not showing remorse

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and not ready to construct a new Zimbabwe based on equality of mankind. University and college students are on record for holding demonstrations against night clubs, sporting clubs and other public facilities which they claimed to be racist. Many of these youngsters have experienced racism in school, at the work place and in sporting circles. This new racism in Zimbabwe is now a difficult one to deal with as it is now taking various covert forms across all sectors of the society. Only a small minority of people can be described as outright racist or neoNazi. They still write articles in newspapers brandishing the swastika and are full of hate for other races especially the blacks. This is rare however. In their offices and on their farms, they openly tell their employees that they are still in Rhodesia. Cases of racist farmers who refuse to hoist the Zimbabwe national flag are numerous. A small but increasingly raucous section of blacks have gone on the offensive. These are emerging businessmen, scholars and political activists who feel left out by the narrative of liberation struggle and subsequently seek to enter their names into the pages of history. They have been so far uncoordinated in their call to have the non-black sections of the population demonstrate subordination to the indigenous Africans. At their extreme, they threaten the white community with reprisals for the atrocities of colonialism. Some sections of the media have branded them ‘reverse racists’ sparking a sizeable debate over whether such a phenomenon as ‘reverse racism’ exists. Many whites however, are apologetic for being heirs of a racist history although they are not ready to forgo the benefits of such a past. These are always quick to point out that any debate on the issue of race in Zimbabwe is against the spirit of national reconciliation. They publicly and generally condemn racism but justify some of its manifestations under this pretext or the other. For instance they have retreated to their own social clubs where they avoid black membership by demanding exorbitant joining fees beyond the reach of the average black person in Zimbabwe. It is not only in the area of recreation that this is happening. It is evident in religion through churches, business through financing institutions, health through private clinics, and education through private schools. This is difficult to deal with because it is so subtle that no anti-racist laws are contravened. The statutes and constitutional guarantees of the right to associate freely, and the skewed economic and social situation are exploited to perpetuate racism. In search of more power and status, many black elites have come to sympathize with the economically powerful group – the whites. These are the few Africans who have risen through to upper or middle class status. They become the

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later day assimilados. They look down upon their kind and justify the perpetuation of economic and social injustices using the same old arguments that powered and sustained Apartheid and Rhodesian settlerism: that the black Zimbabwean is intrinsically lazy and lacks the entrepreneurial spirit. They therefore enroll their children in the exclusive schools in the hope that they resemble the white children in all aspects of life and escape the ‘curse’ of the black man. Therefore private schools in Zimbabwe are mainly oases of superiority and exclusivity for some white children and sanctuaries of escape for the elite black child who zealously seeks to imitate the oppressor. Racism in place for over a century has successfully taught the black people that the main enemy of black Zimbabweans is tribalism. Divide and rule was a racist colonial approach used to make sure that natives would not unite to liberate themselves. Africans were pitted against each other in their competition for scarce pastures, water and arable land. In schools tribal conflicts were amplified to teach the African children that their main enemy was the neighboring tribe therefore colonialism blessed them with security from barbaric tribesman. Up to now the education system and the media exaggerates petty ethnic differences among the black people and provides falsified and limited answers to the economic, social and political questions the society is facing. A polished product from this is an African who sees nothing wrong with racism and argues strongly that the problem in Zimbabwe lies with the domineering and conquering attitude of one tribe, the Ndebele or Shona for example over the others. This is racism manifesting itself in the victims. The drive to indigenize the economy is supposed to redress the racial economic imbalance by mandating partnerships between blacks and whites. This, it is hoped, will afford Black Zimbabweans the capability to cooperate with other races on an equal footing (both at home and abroad) in the areas of culture, commerce, industry, recreation and other aspects of co-existence. Worries about this process have already started to show mainly because the process is not sanitized. The few state-owned firms which have been sold out to indigenous investors have already started to raise eyebrows. The success cannot be ascertained now but it is likely to worsen social disparities and enhance the new black powerful business class which will be more selfish than the current one and more arrogant and insensitive to the workers’ and peasants’ concerns because of their proximity to and corrupt intercourse with the political cohorts running the post colonial state. During colonial times schools were classified into ‘A’ schools for whites, and ‘B’ schools for blacks. The ‘B’ schools were normally mission schools since the education of the native was delegated to the missionaries. The ‘A’ schools were

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turned into multiracial schools. Wealthy families began to send their children to these schools. Suddenly the White community started setting up private schools from which blacks were excluded by various tactics some of them very absurd. In one instance a school demanded all of its student families to own horses so that all of its students would be involved in horse racing! When rich blacks found their way into private schools, racism began to pop out and quite a few incidents of open conflict between white students and authorities on the other hand, and black teachers and pupils were reported in the media on the other. The government is aware of the race situation in the private schools but it appears virtually powerless and incapable of dealing with the situation on account of its unwillingness to confront the economic power wielded by the white community and also because most high ranking government officials constitutes the elitist group that sends children to these schools having accepted the subtle myths of ‘black inferiority’ although they deny it. Parliament has been raising the issue of racism in schools for a long time but the government is not ready to put a fresh policy capable of stamping out this subtle neo-colonial-racist legacy in the education system once and for all. Once again such lack of action on the part of the policy makers finds justification in the policy of reconciliation. Many allegations on how the exclusive schools monopolize employment opportunities in the ever-narrowing job market have also been raised. People who own the business and industrial sectors in the country are the same ones who are patrons and directors of the schools in question. This way, arrangements are made such that the business sector absorbs the private school graduates ahead of those from the public schools. This makes people, including the ministers and other policy makers, to enroll their children in private schools as it is guarantee of jobs after graduation. The issue of race in Zimbabwe is very complex generally. Races tend to keep to themselves and inter-racial relationships are still somewhat rare. As one headmaster of a private school said recently, “this generation of children must learn to live together –black, white and colored, and there are few good models for that kind of relationship in the world.” The dream at independence that we could integrate society by integrating the schools seems a long way off still.

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STUDENT WRITINGS ON RACISM

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Writing 1 There was a recent report about government officials who are requiring white dominated private schools to stop racism caused by the high fees they charge so that blacks cannot afford to attend. The Deputy Minister of Education Cde Gumbochuma was responding to questions by Mabvuku MP on what the government was doing to curb racial discrimination in private schools. Many of us believe that one reason why government officials are failing to curb the inequality in private school enrollments is that they also have children attending those private colleges. They believe that once they start discussing the issue their children’s academic performance will be affected. They just say it in theory and never put the words to practical terms. These private schools have high fees as much as a $10 000Zim desk fee. This will automatically discourage the black majority because most of them cannot afford such fees. Those few blacks who attend are mostly the children of business leaders who have their children’s fees paid for by their companies. In these private schools they mostly require qualified teachers. Therefore, there is better education offered there. Academic achievement in these schools is better than in rural schools where there are lots of unqualified teachers. The school that one attends is determined by one’s financial position. Because of this, black children will find themselves going to schools which are reasonably affordable i.e. mission and government schools. This idea of racism in schools will never be curbed because of the same factor that whites can afford high fees and tend to be a sect of their own. Racism in schools will never be curbed because if the black students attend such school they will not get as much attention on academic problems as white student. The ministers say that they will see to it that racism is curbed. In actual fact, they are lying because this has been said long back and many more private schools are being built. There used to be just a few private schools like Falcon College, Peterhouse, St Johns, but now there are new colleges like Hillcrest, Gateway and Ruzawi among many others. Racism will never end in private schools, it might even get worse. Ephison Kudzai Mukono

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Writing 2 There are many racial problems faced in many institutions in Zimbabwe. While Blacks decided to reconcile with their former colonists and oppressors, they (colonizers) seem to still hold high their contempt for black Zimbabweans. Being the ones who control the economy they can therefore establish private schools over which they have exclusive powers. This enables them to hike fees at will knowing blacks cannot afford to send their children to such schools. This situation therefore, adversely affects the attitude of young whites who will grow and learn in an environment which is not reflective of the racial composition of their country. This breeds the same contempt for blacks as their parents possibly hold. Such a situation does not create a racially harmonious country. Looked at differently, it might be argued that the government has lowered the standards of education in institutions; therefore, those with enough money have felt it necessary to transfer their students to the private schools regardless of their race. The government might therefore, be trying to blame the whites for their failures because these schools have no laws against enrolling blacks except for the high fees which many blacks won’t afford. It is the government which has failed to handle the economy efficiently resulting in the reduction of the individual worker’s income per capita. With limited income the average Zimbabwean cannot afford to send their children to these expensive schools. So government should not blame the whites for impoverishing the black majority. This is however not an excuse for anyone to be racist. Every citizen must work for the progress of the country to avoid dividing themselves into groups. It is not fair to blame the government for the economic system because it had to settle some imbalances when it came to power. Many people were educated freely, which strained government the income. So the present situation was in a way difficult to avoid. Since the government has the political power to prevent racism it must play its role just as the whites with economic muscle should create more investments so as to create jobs and be appreciative of the fact that had the blacks been as racist as they themselves are, they would not be alive or in this country at this present day. With the kind of oppression they put the blacks under; their expulsion from the country would be justified. So reconciliation is not foolishness but it’s a sign of understanding and it must be seen as flowing from both races. Rashid Mahiya

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Writing 3 Schools are one of the places where racial segregation is still practiced. Schools need to be on sound terms with the government; therefore, the government should close loopholes that allow schools to practice racial segregation. Government should put in place some commissions of inquiry to find out what is taking place in such schools. The school authorities should account for any racial imbalance and their enrolment criteria. Government has to persuade schools that practice racial discrimination to accept other races as a way of reconciliation. Those who practice racism should realize that they are grooming youths who would take over as leaders of the country. It therefore, implies that these youths would be conditioned to behave like they have been taught. Those few coloreds and blacks admitted in such schools would in turn find themselves in an adopted class, losing confidence and despising their own races. This is not in line with the revolutionary educational system whose task it is to transform all institutions so that we do not blindly continue to perpetuate colonialism through colonization of the mind. To achieve the liberation of education, racial discrimination must be stamped out of schools once and forever. Some schools in Zimbabwe are still practicing racial discrimination in terms of student enrolment. Of particular concern is Chisipite Girls High School in Harare whose intake reflects racial imbalance. It is not because blacks, coloreds and Asians have no money but there is serious racial discrimination. Even the poor Parents Teachers Association (PTA) is dominated by whites. There is great need to put an end to racial discrimination in schools. However, the problem that the government has is that it does not have the machinery to force private schools to enroll black pupils. This is a serious problem in the sense that it would be tantamount to gross internal interference if government dictates the ratio of enrolment. But given that government pays a per capita grant, a sum that government gives to all schools as a way and means of enhancing education, it becomes duty bound to redress the anomaly. Abinel Mutembwa

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Writing 4 Many believe that the black majority were being denied the opportunity to attend private schools due to the fact that they could not afford the tuition. How the black majority can gain access to powerful positions in the society is a big debate in Zimbabwe. Many feel that the whites have managed to create a fiefdom by developing private schools. Some believe that the whites sucked us of our wealth and incapacitated us to an extent that we cannot afford to send our kids to the best schools. In fact I become very agitated when I think that our government adopted a reconciliatory stance after independence and these same people who we are supposed to reconcile with are bound to perpetuate racism. A closer look at Idi Amin’s stance when he sent away all Asians would lead us to believe that he was right beyond reasonable doubt. This is in fact an example of a sociological invariable on the basis of class and color. I am of the opinion that the government can mollify the situation by dictating its wishes to these private institutions. The government can further control the situation by monitoring the fees at these places so as to give the black majority a chance to penetrate these institutions. The funny thing is that most of the ministers have their children at these private institutions and actually support this discrimination. This is why they have not expedited the move to curb the elimination of the majority of blacks from these places. The truth is most of our ministers have been turned into the “white black”; they behave like whites, eat like whites and even have a misdirected notion that whites do no relate well with blacks. Such that when they assume this role they change automatically. All in all, there is need for the whites in Zimbabwe to know that though they claim to be indigenous they are not “indigenous indigenous” that is us the blacks. Trying to maintain their own academic institutions is tantamount to us calling it segregation; for we can never be separate and equal. Glen Mpani

REFLECTION Racial relations have not always been cordial in Zimbabwe since the colonial days and today racism takes different forms as described by students in these writings. The practice of private schools charging exorbitant fees, for example, has been interpreted by some as a way to keep blacks, most of whom cannot afford such fees, out of those institutions. However, because of the social mobility

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that followed the demise of colonialism, blacks are now enrolled in such schools and according to these writings those “lucky” blacks often tend to favor and promote the perpetuation of the status quo where they continue to enjoy their new found status and privilege. This scenario seems to dovetail with what Paulo Friere (1983) describes in Pedagogy of the Oppressed. According to Friere the oppressed find their model of “manhood” in the oppressors and thus tend to simulate the oppressor’s behavior. This “duality” of existence, as Friere calls it, makes it difficult for the oppressed to attain consummate humanity. This is one of the major issues that young Zimbabweans have to deal with and in doing so their challenge is to develop a discourse of social transformation capable of promoting growth with equity.

Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

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Chapter 7

“UNDEMOCRATIC SCHOOLS CREATE DULL PEOPLE,” DEMOCRACY AND CHANGE IN EDUCATION Kundai Moyana

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Student editor

“The parliament is responsible not to the people who elected them, but to the party which allows them to sit.” Zimbabwe President, Robert G. Mugabe, 1997

Who should run the school? How should the school be run? Who should benefit from the education system? Whose interests should school knowledge cater to? How much freedom does the student in Zimbabwe enjoy? How accessible is the education to all members of the society? All these are questions surrounding democracy – or lack of it – in Zimbabwe’s education system. A lot has been said about the tendency by headmasters to run the schools like their own personal properties. Many headmasters rule their schools with an iron hand instead of leading them. However, the problem is far from being personal problems of specific headmasters. The policy which runs the schools is largely the culprit. Since the headmaster has the power to promote a teacher or not, to raise his salary or not, and to recommend him or her for honors or not, the headmaster becomes a small government on his own and the power concentrated on his title becomes very open to abuse. Teachers cower before him because they need his

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recommendation for any professional advancement. The result of this notorious policy is that the teacher goes into the classroom a demoralized man. And how can effective teaching take place when the teacher is such a victim of his professional circumstances? In fact the teacher carries his frustration into the classroom where he in turn becomes a worse dictator. The question of democracy in schools also touches on the behavior of students and the methods used to discipline them. A very protracted controversy surrounds the morality of using corporal punishment to discipline badly behaved students. Corporal punishment is very much used in Zimbabwe despite the fact that the notorious system is discouraged by the Ministry of Education. The ministry made it a clear policy that corporal punishment should only be used in very extreme and rare cases. Canning will be administered by the headmaster and a record of the crime, number of cuts and the cane used must be kept. However, this policy is a high sounding piece of paperwork for the archives; it does virtually nothing to better the position of the students in schools. This is largely because the ministry is doing nothing in the way of follow up; no school or headmaster complies with the policy. In Zimbabwe the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that adults found guilty by the courts should no longer be punished corporally. The learned judges found out that canning people is undemocratic as it demeans the self-worth of the convicted person. But this landmark ruling did not affect schools. One can thus safely conclude that whatever strides toward democracy the larger society is making, the schools are not benefiting. Soon after independence came a fever on transforming education. People in their revolutionary frenzy wanted the schools to be centers of revolutionary participatory learning. This was supposed to try and democratize the student – teacher relationship. In this endeavor several works on education were published and perhaps the most notable one is Fay Chung’s Decolonizing the Classroom which was published by the ruling party, ZANU (PF). The book discusses participatory learning using drama, community service, and education with production. Most of the educational ideas in the book are an operationalisation of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed on Zimbabwe’s soil. This kind of education in Zimbabwe was supposed to be implemented alongside economic reforms. Therefore, when the socialist attempt failed this kind of education also flopped. Many Zimbabwean’s still view this form of education as the one which would have democratized the whole system. The system of education in Zimbabwe is turning out people who are mainly going to beef up the economic sector. However, many economists and industrialists claim that the students are not well prepared for available jobs. This

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position has been attacked by educationists and radical economists who say that the industry itself is failing to conduct its own staff development programs which will make it easy for graduates to succeed in their specific industrial specializations. Another angle of attack is the claim that industry and commerce should not wait for government to train people at the tax payers’ expense. Thus, it becomes a question of democracy whether the business can rely upon state funds for the training of its personnel. Another question on democracy in Zimbabwe naturally centers upon gender. Many families, being impoverished, are confronted with a situation of who among their children should they send to school. Presented with this dilemma, more often than not the boy child is preferred for schooling and the girl is then obviously pushed into marriage. Although this gloomy situation is improving, it still remains a question for those who see accessibility of educational facilities as a genuine area of educational democracy. The poverty dimension of education does not only apply to women. It applies also to the poor and large section of the Zimbabwean society. Children from poor families either attend school without the required facilities like books and laboratories or they fail to go to any school whatsoever. To many families education still remains a ‘luxury’ which they can hardly afford. The curriculum has also been attacked as lacking democracy. The British colonial education still remains. European history and English literature still dominate the curriculum. The democracy of spending most of the student’s time studying other people’s history while at the same time negating their own experience has often come under question. This area is getting increasing attention from policymakers such that the possibility of change in this regard is foreseeable. The following student writings reflect the problem of lack of democracy in the Zimbabwe education system.

STUDENT WRITINGS ON DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION Writing 1 Many are concerned with the fact that heads of schools or colleges find themselves very unpopular in the eyes of teachers, pupils and the community because such heads are feared and not respected. Such heads are no longer democratic. The word democracy is used to define a society in which there is fair treatment of each other by citizens and an absence of class feeling. Dictatorship means the opposite. Dictatorship has many negative effects. Real dictators hinder

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development in a school. The schools would no longer work because of lack of communication and lack of sharing between heads and teachers and the larger society. However, dictatorship has also its positive effects because if what a real dictator says is very much constructive it helps to maintain order and standards in a school. However, human judgment is not perfect. But the majority of leaders who are democratically and meritoriously elected will perform their duties effectively. To solve this problem of dictatorship, I think sociology and psychology should be taught to heads, with a focus on inter-personal relations. Leaders should encourage workers and subordinates to take part in setting goals and methods and also to contribute their own constructive ideas and suggestions. The leader will also make sure that an employee understands what the job entails, what is expected of him/her and how he/she should do the job. In conclusion, a democratic atmosphere in a school trains young leaders in the correct meaning of freedom and responsibility. The employee should always feel at home and understand his/her function. Chipo Shumba

Writing 2 According to Oxford Advanced Dictionary, democracy is a government which encourages and allows the rights of citizens such as freedom of speech, religion, opinion and association. Democracy in schools is mainly associated with heads. I have come to realize that there is little democracy being practiced in most schools or colleges especially here in Zimbabwe. Many heads in schools or colleges prefer to be dictators rather than democratic leaders and this has a huge impact on the school, teachers and the pupils. I would like to analyze the effects of a leader who is a dictator and the solutions of some problems. Dictatorship hinders development in a school in the sense that the leader does not accept ideas from other people in community and the teachers and by so doing some people with bright ideas about how to develop a school are not given the chance to air their views. Real dictators find themselves very unpopular in the eyes of teachers, pupils and the community because such heads are feared and not respected. There is also communication breakdown between the head and teachers, the head and pupils, and the head and the community. This is because the head

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assumes full responsibility and does not consult anyone. School development can be hindered if there is no communication especially in the rural areas because for a school to develop the community has to play an important role either by paying school fees for their children or providing materials for development of school infrastructure. If parents do not pay fees in time pupils can be affected academically and this will cause poor results. Dictators do not supervise teachers but inspect teachers with the aim of finding fault. Staff meetings are only held to announce what the heads want and no discussions would be entertained. As a solution to some of these problems I think a leader in a school should be liberal and democratic so that he can get ideas on how to run a school from the community and his counterparts. A democratic leader also encourages workers and subordinates to take part in setting goals and methods and this type of leader is bound to achieve the formulated goals and objectives of the institutions. A democratic atmosphere in a school trains young leaders the correct meaning of freedom and responsibility. Nyasha Bvunzawabaya

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Writing 3 We need different school leaders to introduce democracy in the society. Schools should be used as the basis for training young leaders in the correct meaning of freedom and responsibility as a way of promoting development in the country. It is common knowledge that today’s youths are tomorrow’s leaders. Schools should groom students who will comfortably take over leadership positions in the future. One way of doing this is to achieve democracy in the schools. Everything at school should not only be poured on children. They should have a chance to exercise their right and to be heard in making some decisions. Democracy should start at a low level whereby children select their own monitors, prefects and captains in different disciplines. From here, children should have a chance to contribute in some activities than just waiting for the teacher to bring up their own ideas. Democracy creates freedom and a free atmosphere creates better learning. It also trains young people the meaning of freedom and responsibility. Through the use of democracy schools will probably manage to produce productive citizens; hence, this would lead to development.

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Democracy would allow functional running of a society and would help people to know their rights. I believe that a democratic society functions smoothly and this society is usually successful. Some people who do not understand democracy tend to think negatively of it. Culture has played quite a big role in destroying democracy in some institutions. In these areas there are adults who believe in imposing things on children. Such children usually grow up to be dull people. Joel Chiutsi

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Writing 4 There is need to change the school curriculum so that it benefits society at large. Ministers point out that schools could help reduce the social problems of violence, corruption, decadence, social moribund, drunkenness and laziness. The Zimbabwean curriculum both at higher and lower learning concentrates on subjects that have no applicability in the society and do not equip the individual with something constructive that he/she takes into society. There is no doubt that school and society are to a great extent inter-related. Children today are the fathers and mothers of tomorrow so learning constructive things in school results in constructive thinking and doing in society tomorrow. Many of these ideas draw us to Max Weber’s idea that a productive curriculum results in a productive society. Other than the molding and developing of the human factor of students that create a human and decent society, the students turn out to be productive citizens of the nation. The creation of productive students definitely has a positive effect on the society. Change in the curriculum is definitely a great step towards a better society in Zimbabwe. Policy is much needed to heal ills that the current society is facing. It should be put in effect as soon as possible because the current curriculum means nothing to the individual and society as a whole. It should be remembered, as the functionalist would put it, that schools help to maintain functional stability in society. Claudius Zindonga

Writing 5 The Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Ignatius Chombo, has spelt out the basic curricular elements needed in a developing nation like Zimbabwe. For

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example, he emphasized development of the human factor and that there was need to change the education curriculum at higher and lower institutions of learning. He condemned social decay which he said creates a retrogressive rather than a progressive society. But what is interesting in deciding the education curriculum are the factors to be considered. It is necessary for the curriculum liaison committee to be aware of culture, world view, and values of independent Zimbabwe. In other words, the new education curriculum must meet the needs of an independent Zimbabwe. To come up with an appropriate curriculum the nature of knowledge should also be considered. Put differently, we would say the content of the curriculum should be understood. Also, according to Dr. Chombo there should be a new approach to teaching what he referred to as “the technical know-how”. This can be understood in terms of the nature of living under which the methodologies applied needed to be improved or in certain instances changed. Dr. Chombo calls for “on-going curriculum research and development”. This is really necessary especially since economic objectives may change leading to a different kind of personnel and technological needs of that particular society. In a nutshell, schools should serve the purpose of training a labor-force that is in keeping with current economic and social conditions. Runyararo Chirapa

Writing 6 There needs to be a transformation in education in Zimbabwe. The system needs to encourage the use of books written by African authors. Though a number of changes have been made since independence, it appears the system is still colonially based. Most governments of the newly-independent African countries recognized the role which education plays in the development and socio-economic transformation of their countries in order to realize their peoples’ aspirations for a better life. Sadly however, educational policies and strategies of the developing countries are more often than not, designed by the non-indigenous people – the “experts” who have taken upon themselves the burden of designing the educational strategies for the developing countries. Rarely does one find nationals of the particular country concerned or engaged in research into the problems of their own countries in order to map out appropriate development strategies. Africans need to transform the educational structures inherited from colonialism if the educational system is to serve the people.

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African societies demand transformation in their educational systems. It is clear that the education systems in post colonial Africa are not relevant to their societies hence the need to transform the educational system. The government of Zimbabwe through the ministry of education designed and implemented a curriculum that incorporates education with production and education. Innocent Kanyemba

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REFLECTION In post colonial Africa the issue of democracy, particularly the lack of it, has always been an intricate yet popular subject. Students in this chapter decry the lack of democracy in Zimbabwe’s education system and see this as the root of lack of social transformation and national development and progress which the country needs to move along to meet the demands of this century. Traditional culture is identified as a major culprit in stifling democracy in Zimbabwean schools. The silencing of students -- depriving them of choice and decisionmaking -- makes them passive learners and dampens their intellectual curiosity so crucial for nation building. If we take the functionalist’s position that schools are designed to serve the needs of society one may argue that the democratization of a society must start in the school system because what happens in the school system must build toward a more democratic society.

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Chapter 8

A DIALOGUE

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“Their salvation must cling to their own cultural foundations.” Albert Memmi

This chapter contains a dialogue, conducted in May, 1997, features Fortune Madzime, Kundai Moyana, Etta Kralovec and Ms. Margaret Pender. Ms. Margaret Pender is a third generation White Zimbabwean and has been a secondary school teacher in Zimbabwe. We felt her perspective on these issues would give the readers a broader perspective on the issues under discussion. A central theme that runs throughout the student writing is that of culture and the ways in which the schools in Zimbabwe participate in defining and maintaining a foreign culture within the society. You will find that there are no answers here, but through the dialogue we see openings for the reformation of education in Zimbabwe. In the dialogue we move from a discussion of the inevitably of cultural change to questions of how to instill pride in a generation of students who have lost touch with their cultural roots. We raise questions about the ways in which European solutions are being used to solve African problems. The students brought to our attention the issues involved in trying to teach within an African context. The dialogue ends with an exploration of the role of writing in the preservation of culture. Etta: For the purpose of this dialogue, Fortune has proposed that we use as the definition of culture: human interaction with the environment. This definition implies one essential characteristic of culture, that of change.

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Fortune: First, we need to define one thing. When we interact with the environment we have to change, but we don’t have to distort. We used to have a spring just behind our house that dried up and now we have to go fetch water elsewhere, so we changed. But we didn’t distort that spring, it’s not that we changed that spring into a tourist resort so that people can come to our backyard and view the beautiful spring we have. So distortion and changing are two different things. We are not saying culture shouldn’t change, it must change according to what is around us, change is natural; but distortion is man-made as a result of external pressures and usually very oppressive.

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Margaret: It is very difficult to come to terms with change and it happens in all aspects of our life: the personal and the spiritual. We must learn reconciliation to change. I think what we fear is a loss of control over the shape of the cultural body. However, we have to be careful that fear does not control the future. Kundai: Isn’t there the possibility of domination of culture? Change with necessity is natural, but change because of other factors which make you lose your identity is not. Like with African dance which is changing in part because of changing economic situations. It is not a very healthy cultural change and we are losing the full essence of what that dance was supposed to mean. We are dancing in order to attract the most amount of tourists and to attract the most amount of money. If the change is driven by necessity, then people are open to it. But it is so simple for another culture to come along and dominate if you are too open to change. If the environment isn’t necessitating that change then we shouldn’t have to change. E: Can we take African dance as an example? Can you help me to understand the function of African dance in traditional cultures here in Zimbabwe? K: African dance is a thanksgiving celebration after harvests and at weddings. In celebrations when rain has come, it’s a thanks to the ancestors. Or it could be a dance to incite the arrival of an ancestor or somebody who is the care giver of an area. It is a very spiritual thing. Now if it’s a tourist attraction, it has lost its value in terms of the thanksgiving aspect. They look at it in terms of the movements, the music, the form and they will begin adding pieces onto the dance that are not evoked by the happiness of thanksgiving but that are stimulated by the need for money. It looses its punch when it is performed that way because people don’t really remember the way it was supposed to be performed. In that way we lose something that was traditional and that has now become very commercial.

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M: You as educationalists must think of some way of preserving the spiritual aspect of the dance because you cannot prevent its becoming exported as a commodity. Foreign audience won’t understand what’s being communicated at the spiritual level, but they find something of value in the dance. F: I personally feel that human existence throughout history has been actually a state of fighting. You are fighting against those who want to stop your survival. So actually our existence is a choice between life and death. As Africans, we don’t just choose to survive. No, we have inspiration. We have people we look up to just like a Christian would look up to Mother Maria or Jesus as the model. When you look up to these people you feel you should live up to their standards. In fact, to reach to this ideal person you are aspiring to become, you should have some emotions within you, and it is not like you live like a machine. These emotions are embedded in these cultural dances and rituals. If we look at the liberation struggle, we will find that after a dance people got strong despite the difficulties they faced. The dance is a source of power. Whether or not you are formally possessed and people are clapping hands at you while you sit on a chair with people saying, “Makadii Sekuru?” (how are you ancestor?). Africans are possessed. They have the people and standards of success they aspire to be in their minds. These should guide what they do. If Africans are going to stand in this world of competition, if they are going to compete with Americans, Koreans, whoever; their source of power and inspiration shouldn’t be destroyed. M: What is the role of education in the preservation of that emotional powerhouse? Must you include dance in the education, to inspire the youth of today to plug into that power source? F: If you teach it in schools, it becomes difficult to maintain its inspiring capacity. Education should be divided. In formal education we can talk about mathematics, English, geography and other academic subjects. There should be a less formal department that deals with disciplines like traditional dance because if you take it as a subject in the school and then punish the student because he didn’t perform his ritual in the morning you are teaching that child to hate his tradition. K: What about if you teach it not so much as the dance itself, but the relevance of it, perhaps in a subject like African rites and values. I know a lot of our generation who do not know the relevance of these things. The students should get in focus what was the relevance of the rites so in the development of cultural understandings they don’t disregard these traditional forms as something

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for the past and therefore inferior and primitive. They must understand that it was relevant in specific aspects of life. Preservation of some of these aspects in a more modern framework would guide students in a particular way towards becoming modern Africans. F: We still run into problems over that. Most of our education curriculum is actually guided by market demands. If you read and natural sciences and commerce today you are more marketable than one who graduate from college with humanities. Our economy dictates what it best wants from schools. The point is if you are teaching, you have to be equipped in terms of relevant knowledge and skills for that particular subject area. It is unlikely that there will be enough financial resources to support such an effort in Zimbabwe for the foreseeable future. Unprepared, ill-prepared and half baked teachers will simply become agents of distortion rather than education.

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M: We must include this power source. Whatever area students go into, they will need to go back to the power source. F: The moment we make it a subject in schools we remove the power source from that spiritual information. We remove the power source and put it on whom? The person who sponsors it. K: The point is Fortune, I am not saying go and buy mbira and drums and have a uniform for the dance session. It’s asking the students: tell me what you think? what is the relevance of the Muchongoyo dances? And you giving back to them the central reason for that dance or rite. They then have an awareness of where they are coming from and what historical period they have come from. M: Is it like teaching divinity, you can’t teach spirituality, but by teaching divinity you are placing the student in time and space and they can see for themselves and either accept the inspiration and explore it, or ignore it. K: The point is that you don’t have to make it a six year program that the child gets sick of. You could just talk and it is a cultural awareness rather than a concrete subject matter, you just want to place them in a cultural framework. E: I am interested in whether we can think about a course like commerce as being rooted in a cultural context with the learning starting from traditional forms of commerce on the continent. So it isn’t like you have this commerce course,

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economically driven or you do arts and learn about traditional cultural forms. In fact, tradition forms of economics are cultural forms. So why should commerce be excluded from having a cultural context. F: I think that is where I was trying to head. If the definition of culture we are using is correct, commerce can also be seen as a form of cultural interaction. It should take the African cultural contest into consideration. If we are going to teach dance, no matter how you frame it, one week two weeks, the point still remains that this is something we will do as a pass time. For a living, we will do commerce. So we are belittling that culture. If we look at the current trend in education, the Curriculum Development Unit makes the syllabus and is financed by donors and whenever a professor wants to do her research, she will have to satisfy that donor. I don’t know if we will ever satisfy a donor if we look at our culture as a way of liberating ourselves.

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K: So what you are saying is that all courses must have an African cultural context built into them instead of having a time when we occasionally discuss the culture. M: But what is the modern equivalent to a traditional celebration? Can that be a power source? F: More often than not, we will see that something European is that modern parallel to what we used to do. Like in Europe there is snow and here we don’t have snow but we are taught to think in terms of a snowy country. Let’s look at the fever about conservation. Conservationists are saying, “Don’t kill elephants, and don’t do this or that.” But at the same time they are trying to underplay, destroy or discredit whatever traditional method of conservation was there before Cecil John Rhodes. For example, when I was young I was told never to cut down a tree at the head of the spring for the tree mourned. We were told you could be eaten by a snake if you cut a tree and we were afraid of snakes. When the missionaries came they said: “You should not be afraid of snakes, there is no snake which is instructed by ancestors to bite you.” People’s fear of nature was eroded. The culture of conservation was destroyed among the Africans. Now, because the missionary system has failed, they are sending Non-Governmental Organizations, who now say “Ah no, don’t cut trees.” And Africans think, ‘But you told us to cut trees when you were a missionary’. We have conserving traditions which any serious researcher interested in conservation can look into,

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since they are not completely dead yet. But they have been sort of dishonored. Finding a western parallel to these will not work. M: We would all agree that we cannot go backwards like you say, but we must find an equivalent source for inspiration, where might that come from?

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F: The tragedy of Africa today is that we are trying to solve problems with the tactics which destroyed our values in the first place. And then we are trying to use those same tactics to revive what we lost? Can we really use the education system as it is today to preserve our environment, recapture our culture? K: I think another problem is that we are trying to solve today’s problems using European or Western methods. Say this cutting down trees issue. We are going to make stickers, have marches, and shows on TV to try to talk to people. This is stuff that doesn’t reach the ordinary person; most people don’t look at stickers as having relevance to them. We should try to use the old values, trying to put it within the family network that it used to be. It used to be in the extended family you would pass on whatever information was told to Uncle so- and so to nephew so and so. Maybe we should try to solve problems within the extended family framework, even though it is broken down now. But put it in the family situation where people talk to strangers about cutting down trees. Because that obviously is not going to have an impact; and stranger talking to stranger is not really an African way of addressing an issue. So maybe not the formal education system, maybe trying to put it in the family framework, the informal education system might be a possibility. E: You seem to think that education can’t do much, that it’s an outdated system. But the fact is that your government spends 25% of its budget on schools. Are you happy to give them up, to say these are Europeans structures and useless to us if we want to think about cultural preservation and transformation? K: The major problem is that it is very much a cram for the exam system, not an open your mind kind of system. It is a system of getting all this information and reproducing it for exams. In order to get something meaningful from this system, the whole system will have to change. That is why I am so disillusioned with the system; it is just a preparation for exams and to fit yourself into the economic sector. It is not really a process of developing your mind and the way you think.

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M: I think those things happen but you are not aware of them. You might not gain that much knowledge, but it forces you into an exercise that makes you a better person, it teaches you personal discipline. The actual ritual of going to school, passing exams, all that is inconsequential, what it teaches you is processes. You prove by succeeding in the system that you are ready to expand and learn. K: The system does not give you information it gives you experience, you cannot rely on the system to put in these cultural values, it is more like let me go and get this over with than let me go and find out about this. E: I think the schools teach more than all that, they teach kids that they are failures. School is more than the 10% that do well, what about the 90% who fail. What do they learn?

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M: They learn to cope with failure. K: The discriminatory method they use is that you can’t really put all this information into a two hour test and say you test them on what they know. So perhaps if it wasn’t so hard and fast and a little more accommodating of the fact that intellect is not for reproducing information but for knowing where and how to find it. So it is redressing the whole situation that is required. M: Knowing where to find it, that is an interesting idea. How does that compare with ancient initiation rites? What were the processes in that form of education? F: I think the initiation rites were examinations, but they were collective examinations. Young boys would stay in the bush for two weeks. And I don’t think an adolescent would be taught to be a man in two weeks. The education was from youth through the family to the time you go to the bush. But you were actually tested on whether you are now capable of being a man, and if you pass, you were then circumcised. M: What happened to the people who couldn’t cope with that process and the pain? F: There were none. Despite personal weaknesses, every candidate would be supported and encouraged through the process to go through it. Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

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K: It was more than this as well. Let’s say there were four of you and you were given a test: do this, do this, do this. And this one does it like this and that one does it like that. The person guiding you through would point out what each one did and how each tactic was different and one was more clever and this or that. It’s like you all go back realizing that you should think something through before starting and you should think about the long term gains and you learned that people do things differently. So it wasn’t something like you got back and someone failed.

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M: So it’s like everyone succeeds. How to incorporate that cultural belief into the present system? You’re right, 90% of students feel like major failures when they come out of schools now. F: That is why perhaps I think the education system as it is today actually is producing 100% failure. Whoever is going to succeed has passed despite the education system. If 10% succeed every year, the 90% are condemned to say, “I am a failure” and they take themselves as failures for life. Perhaps that is why they become street kids or vagrants. Those who pass only pass because they have satisfied the exam panel and will go into the industrial sector and commercial sector and become good workers, good employees who maintain the system no matter how unviable it is. But for the liberation of the Zimbabweans they will do nothing else other than working for the same old bosses, they are learning to be servants, they are learning to labor, is that success? So it is a question of 100% failure. If the education system is going to produce people who honestly want and are able to improve the human condition in Zimbabwe, it is by accident. M- Is that one of the purposes of education, to improve the human condition? How would you do that, are there two practical things that you suggest that would do that? K: Perhaps making the system less individually focused and more group focused. Say if there was a situation where people had to work in groups. It would be less of a problem of my failing than of my contributing to the group so we all succeed. In that way the education system is instilling a concern to make all of us survive, rather than for me to survive and get on with my life. We learn to take into account all of us, so I don’t look at the man on the street and say that is his problem. We should learn to work together to make this society something. In that way the education process maintains the cultural value of communalism, and at the same time it improves the human condition.

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M: That’s excellent, that’s taking the role of the initiation rites into account and the communal nature of African culture.

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E: Can I move us to one other place about education that I am interested in which is related to the conflict between school and traditional cultural forms. It is actually in science where there is the largest difference between Western thought and African thought and in the explanatory systems that we use. Is there a way in which the teaching of western science bifurcates the student and makes them unable to reach equilibrium in school because what they are taught is schools is so far different from what they are taught at home. Is that the case, maybe that’s not the case. F: I think it is the case. The situation is like Africans had their own science, they were scientists. The development of African science started with people believing “God was the guarantor of the truth.” There was no need for experimentation, for God guarantees this. So if you go to the bush, and get your herbs you know they will cure a certain ailment. Why do you know they will cure it? God is the guarantor. In the western world the priest became the guarantor. Later the researcher replaced the priest. And ultimately, the research itself and the sound scientific method and technology became the guarantor. In Africa when colonialism came, it caught African science at a state where naturally God was still the guarantor. African science in its development however got a full stop from colonialism. There is soot that hangs from the grass roofs of huts. When rains are about to come then the soot falls down to the floor. Elders observed that this soot falls down every time rains were about to come. Such knowledge and observations were discredited and not rightfully investigated and used to teach atmospheric pressure to children in mission schools. It was looked upon as a myth despite the fact that it is a valid scientific observation. Everything was a lie from an African, so at the end of the day African sciences were stopped and ridiculed before they could go through the evolution of all the other sciences. To both the colonial and neo-colonialist educationist, there is no science to be learnt from the soot on the floor of the African home! M: Does that outline another goal for education? Should we reconnect traditional science with Western science, or illuminate traditional science with western science. How much of this will be lost soon.

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K: Maybe what should be done is that teachers should relate what is taught with the everyday life of the African child within the African context. My science teacher in Form 2 taught fermentation. He started by asking what happens when you brew beer at home, traditional beer. We didn’t understand his question, so he asked, “If you leave it for 7 days and you occasionally open the pot, what will be happening.” Someone described bubbles; another said “If you leave it very long it will get very strong.” So he asked what was happening. People said the concentration of alcohol will be getting stronger or something because it would be losing water. He started teaching fermentation and we related to it because it suddenly made sense to us because we all knew there is yeast in traditional beer and that’s where the alcohol actually comes from. There should be less of the focus on Western science and more a focus to relate what used to happen in traditional African society. What is actually happening is the same, its still yeast in beer.

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M: That’s wonderful and it goes back to what Fortune was saying about not teaching culture as a superimposed subject but incorporating it into all classes. F: But there is one other thing. Anybody can say at conferences that, “Ah no, we will take African society as the basis of our lessons. We will take case studies for geography and environmental education from our society.” Anybody can say that, but what will make teachers take examples from our own culture and make the students appreciate an African example if given? If you get into the classroom and derive examples and lessons from the ever- demeaned experiences in their homes, they will not hold you in high regard and you will end up giving the examples they prefer. You will go back to the conventional exotic examples. K: There is also the problem that students in urban areas, say Harare, they only know Harare, and the way they were brought up in a home like this one and they have never had the rural experience. You can’t talk about the traditional brewing beer because they know nothing about it. It is really hard to try and relate these things to a generation of students who has never had the experience. The real root of the problem is that there are parents who have discarded their culture and brought up their children to believe in the western life. Trying to actually relate the African way of life to them is like trying to explain to them some primitive world beyond their reach. And maybe the best way to address that is to provide students with a rural experience, which is impractical in an African context and it’s so expensive. Obviously you can’t reach everybody and obviously what you are trying to teach cannot have the same effect on everyone. Maybe the

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hope lies in teaching students now who are going to be parent tomorrow. Maybe the hope is in trying to reach tomorrow’s parents in hopes of some kind of reconciliation. E: What is your role as an educator in the process of helping people rethink the Westernization process? The newspapers here talk about what sounds like surface issues of cultural imperialism, western clothes, music and the like but what I hear you saying is that it is the deeper cultural roots that are important, the communalism, the spiritual nature of African cultural traditions. How does that get conveyed to students who say they aren’t interested?

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K: Telling people their heritage is very different from people experiencing it. If you are going to tell a child who has never had a rural experience and whose grandparents live in Harare and who parents live in an urban area about their roots, they are really a player in a different culture. And it’s a foreign culture, but that doesn’t get to them because it’s the only culture they know. So with them it’s more of the teacher telling them that theirs is an alien culture. But they are in that alien culture and it’s the only culture they know. I don’t know how you can actually tell a person about their heritage to make them feel it. M: By telling them what you’ve got is not real, you take away the urban kid’s confidence by telling them what they is not real. E: Are we thinking about culture as being located in a place? I think culture is inside all of us; it may manifest differently in rural and urban areas, but is there a commonality regardless of place? What is common whether you wear jeans or a wrap skirt or whether you serve on your knees or have your maid do it? Is there something that is there that isn’t dependent on where you are or whether you educated? K: What you have to do is to find out from the students the way they live. There are people whose mothers still kneel but they don’t. We should help students try and find out why their mom does that. We must ask, “where did your mom get that kind of mentality?’ And then help them trace it back to find the deep cultural inheritance or common ground. The practice is related to a culture that is still going on but you may not practice it. However, some aspects of our character display this African heritage and we don’t know anything about it. Like a crazy respect for your brothers that you don’t understand. Bur you realize your mom does everything your dad says and you realize that you have put your brothers as

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the male above you and that’s because of your cultural heritage and you can trace it back with them. It has to still be there manifested in some sort of way. E: We might say that we are modern women and we don’t kneel, and we focus on the kneeling. But the kneeling was only symbolic of a whole series of relationships and attitudes of giving. Are there still those relationships and attitudes if there is no kneeling involved? How is that? M: The west looks at that practice and criticizes it as the woman being subservient to the man. But the ritual is more about respect, and the man has another ritual in which he shows respect to women and it hasn’t been pointed out to the west. By tracing the roots of certain rituals you will find the real essence of it.

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K: The real way to do it, to bring back this African heritage is by trying to make it fashionable to the west. That is the only way a donor will give money to promote it. As long as donor money is given for commerce, they are actually not going to promote that thing, as long as things with the African essence are fashionable you can manipulate your way. However, that is really difficult. F: That is the toughest thing to do. If we start talking about making it fashionable, we are trying to appeal to the same people whose minds have been bribed and corrupted and these are the people we are trying to rehabilitate to make them Africans once again. M: We run into the problem that in making fashionable, by exporting it to the West and making it fashionable so donor agencies that it is important, you have to sacrifice something, like the deep spirituality of it, which cannot be made fashionable. F: Once you sacrifice that, it is going to come back to you as another thing which you never intended. If exporting our culture is the only thing we can do to make our culture fashionable to us, we are actually saying that for ourselves to be acceptable to ourselves, we must be acceptable to our neighbors first. M: You don’t have that problem Fortune, but what about the urban youth? F: One thing about the urban youth is that they are so conscious of their position. They really know that they are disadvantaged by colonialism and neoKralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

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colonialism. They know that, but they are not ready to take the steps to fight against these forces. They get small bribes from the system. You grow up in a high density suburb and you cheat your mother and you get some money and you go for cinema which shows very old films- - these are the cheap bribes: cheap entertainment. They can simply get these things which they think are atoning for the things which the upper classes are getting. Actually that is how the whole system of oppression operates, they give these cheap things and the urban youth become reluctant to identify with the rural youth which is getting an even worse deal. I just think that the people who are going to be teachers must be ready to fight against whatever form of injustice exists.

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M: How would you suggest doing that? Politics and culture are so powerful. F: I think that the answer lies more in politics than in education. In fact for the time being I would agree with Kundai that you just have to teach these things. Not just teach, but go a little further than that. Let’s make our Department of Culture and the Ministry of Education vibrant. They must capture whatever things are going on in the rural and urban areas as regards culture like the successful theater groups around the country. Let’s have the departments look into that seriously for the time being. But ultimately what will matter, what will make our culture or our people fashionable will have to come from economic change, a political economic change in the whole structure. This way our people will not identify our cultural arts with poverty failure as they do now and naturally, they will take pride in the things that are theirs. K: That’s a long wait. F: It’s a long wait, but currently what can we do? We can only go as far as preserving, just preserving, but not to develop, just to make people not forget that there was Muchongoyo or Jerusarema or Chinyambera. (Traditional dance forms discussed in the introduction) M: So you must write books because that is the only way to preserve the immediate. To collect stories -- like the story of the soot. F: In fact writing won’t be preserving, it will only be rough sketches. If I am going to write a book on the dances, the editor might say that the book is good but there will be problems with the readership.

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M: Perhaps it won’t be published now, but perhaps your grandchild will get it published. K: I don’t think you should be so disillusioned with writing Fortune, you might not publish it tomorrow, or in Zimbabwe but it will get published, depending on your determination. It is important to document this stuff. Like the African science and Western science, it would be interesting reading. There would be no political reason not to publish it. We have to write. F: I don’t dispute that, people should write, when you write, if let’s say, you have picked a good topic, African science. But when you write about it, you write with an African perspective, it will be difficult to get it published.

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E: There is interest in the States in afro-centrism and African thought, we might even say it is fashionable. Here in Zimbabwe might not be the best place to get things published, due to the political and social conflict that is being played out over issues of history and culture. It may be easier to publish in the States. F: Many books have been published; very good books have been published, outside. But few good books are on our bookshelves. So you can publish the book in the US but it just remains on the shelves of a few academics. K: The readership you want to reach is the Zimbabwean people, it defeats the purpose if it is going to be read outside only. I want to write on African science because I want people to be conscious of the fact that being African is not stupid or inferior. If it is not going to be read in Zimbabwe, I feel I have betrayed my people if it was read by someone else. I’d really want the ordinary school kid to find interest in my book, for the sake of instilling African pride. I am not disputing the fact that it should not be read anywhere, but I think it is important that it is read here. E: There are only a couple of different projects we have been talking about here. One is the recording project that will preserve but not develop culture. And the other is, how do you help people understand their own cultural depth so they have pride in that. M: Well, we could have school kids collect the stories in groups and in that way start the process; I don’t think it’s as limited as it may appear to be. What your generation may need to do is go back and capture that communal spirit

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where you are willing to sacrifice your individual contribution for the contribution of the whole for the future. Perhaps your ideas will only be accepted in four or five generations’ time. But it is a process that you must set in motion. F: In fact, perhaps in Zimbabwe or in Africa in general that is still the only chance for Africans to develop. If we discard the group and community and think individually, I don’t see anybody or any of us getting anywhere. It is still only in the community that we can develop because we are here fighting against a system which is organized and to fight it as individuals is very difficult or impossible. In American universities there are African studies programs. But you never find such departments in an African university. So Americans who are serious in African studies, know more than I do. I had a course at the polytechnic where we were joined by students from Syracuse University. We were discussing African film themes and they had wider examples of African films than we had. The best examples that we could give were example from around your village. They know a lot about African heroes and they could talk convincingly about them. They were very enthusiastic that University of Zimbabwe was at that time headed by the leader of the national n’anga association, and a traditional healer. Meanwhile, most of us were very ashamed that the vice chancellor was a n’anga. They were very impressed yet it was a fact many Zimbabweans preferred to hide. So you write your book and it can be a best seller in America but Zimbabweans will not appreciate it. M: But Jesus was not accepted by his own people; maybe that is just a fact of existence.

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In: Identity in Metamorphosis Editors: E. Kralovec, M. Chitiyo

ISBN: 978-1-60741-072-0 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 9

“WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?”: RECOMMENDATIONS Morgan Chitiyo "In walking, the path is made"

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Antonio Machado

The writings in this book reflect opinions of college students in Zimbabwe regarding their own cultural identity and aspirations for a future that is devoid of the confusion and inconsistencies surrounding racial and cultural issues, a result of the country’s colonial history whose vestiges are still evident in its education system today. That confusion belies clichés about Africanism and Pan-Africanism so characteristic across the continent of Africa today. Students, in these writings, express their yearning for reaffirmation of their culture. Although they acknowledge that culture is dynamic, there is still a resounding call for a preservation of traditional culture. One way to do this could be by adjusting the school curriculum so that it reflects traditional values and practices. But this has to be done in a way that accommodates different subcultures of other minority groups in addition to the dominant Shona and Ndebele subcultures. Such an eclectic approach could help to reduce prejudices based on race and ethnicity which have polarized the country for years. The government, through the ministries of education and higher education, could implement cultural studies at different school levels. Cultural studies would expose students to different cultures and issues that affect those cultures, helping them to better understand their own culture and how it shapes who they are. By

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reflecting on their own culture students may be able to understand their place in history which may help to resolve the identity crisis that is reflected in these students’ writings. English is the language of instruction in Zimbabwean schools starting from third grade and passing it is a pre-requisite for admission into college or for entering the job market. Indigenous languages play second fiddle to English. In addition to alienating students from their traditional culture this policy also denigrates those students who are otherwise good students yet do not speak or write English well. Although learning English creates opportunities for Zimbabwean students vis-à-vis the global community, imposing the language on the students is a practice which perpetuates the colonial legacy. Since language is considered a vehicle of cultural heritage cultural reaffirmation efforts should target, among other areas, the revival and perpetuation of indigenous languages. Indigenous languages should be prominent in the country’s education system as they represent the students’ heritage. Policies that foster the dereliction of indigenous languages at all levels should be revised and the eminence of these languages should be projected in public policies and through the public media. Furthermore, the government should consider revising the policy of grouping schools based on the colonial government’s policy of segregation of blacks from whites. Although most group “A” schools which were formerly reserved for white students now have an increasing enrollment of black students, they still practice the segregation policy albeit now it is based on social class. Perpetuation of such policies also fuels the erosion of traditional culture in favor of that of the colonial masters through the continued use of the curriculum inherited from the colonial system which emphasized English practices in terms of extra-curricular activities and language. One way the government can redress the imbalances in the education system, which were inherited from the colonial past is by building more schools to increase access for previously disadvantaged children and improving conditions in rural schools where a majority of Zimbabwean students attend school. Although it is noteworthy that the post colonial government of Zimbabwe has been credited for expanding the education system to become among the best in the region, current economic hardships bedeviling the country threaten to erode those gains. However, many schools, particularly rural schools, are poor and understaffed. Teachers’ morale is low. This situation bolsters the students’ call for the improvement of school conditions across the country particularly in rural areas. By improving teachers’ working conditions, the government may be able to retain qualified teachers, a precondition for better educational outcomes for students.

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“Where Do We Go from Here?”: Recommendations

93

The students acknowledge in their writings that culture is dynamic. It is natural that as different cultures interact people are likely to assimilate and adopt certain cultural practices from the different cultures that they encounter. However, as previously mentioned an eclectic approach helps to identify essential cultural practices that may be adopted and certain cultural practices which should be shed in order to facilitate this transition. From the students’ perspectives, these include traditional beliefs that perpetuate gender inequalities and hinder participation of the girl child in education. In the wake of the HIV/AIDS pandemic such beliefs have been found to be counterproductive because researchers have found education of the girl child to be associated with lower rates of HIV and other infectious diseases. Thus, clinging onto such practices on the pretext of cultural preservation may in fact be self-defeating especially as the HIV/AIDS pandemic threatens to wipe off a whole generation. One of the issues raised in the students’ writings is the need for democratic change in the education system. According to the students a democratic system of education creates a free atmosphere in which every student is respected, enjoys freedom and is not discriminated based on gender and economic status. It is a system which is not rigid but flexible in its curriculum in order to address students’ needs vis-à-vis their backgrounds and aspirations. Unfortunately, the students lament the lack of democracy in the current system of education. Thus, there may be need to overhaul the current system of education in order to make it more democratic. School should be made affordable and hence equally accessible for both boys and girls and for students of all economic backgrounds. The curriculum should be revised to reflect students’ experiences; a curriculum that relates to student experiences tends to be more engaging and students are likely to value it. For example, rather than focusing heavily on European history and literature -a legacy of the colonial education system- the curriculum should be dominated by African history, literature, and values. This, the students believe, will result in more meaningful education for the African student. In a nutshell, students in these writings call for an overhaul of the education system which was inherited from Great Britain, the former colonial master. They see the current curriculum as divisive, denigrating to their heritage, invasive to their culture, detrimental to their identity, and perpetuating of the colonial legacy. The government of Zimbabwe, through relevant ministries may need to adjust the curriculum, revise some of the country’s educational policies, promote better accessibility of education for all through building more affordable schools, and implement policies that promote reaffirmation of traditional culture. Such policies may help students develop a positive concept of which they are, create a free atmosphere which promotes positive educational outcomes, and promote equality

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and social cohesion which may both be considered preconditions for development. In a culture where young people’s voice is not heard much, one can only hope that these students’ writings will galvanize those in positions of authority into action to salvage their heritage in face of the cultural transitions currently taking place.

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REFERENCES Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin (eds.) (1995). The Postcolonial Studies Reader, London: Routledge. Adaralegbe, Adeniji (ed.) (1992). Education for all the challenges of teacher education. International Yearbook on Teacher Education, Nigeria, Lagos: The Federal Ministry of Education. Appiah, Kwame Anthony (1992). In my father’s house: Africa in the philosophy of culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Banana, Canon (1982). Theology of promise: The dynamic of self-reliance. Harare: The College Press. Barbarinde, Kola (1994). Can schools teach democracy? Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research, 6, 225-239. Barnes, Terri and Everjoyce Win, (eds.) (1992). To live a better life. Zimbabwe: Baobab Books. Bhabha, Homi K. (1988). The commitment to theory. New Formations 5: 5-23 (1990). Nation and Narration, London: Routledge. Bhabha, Homi K. (2000). The postcolonial and the postmodern: The question of agency. The Cultural Studies Reader (ed.) Simon During. New York: Routledge Press. Bishop, Alan J. (1990). ‘Western mathematics: The secret weapon of cultural imperialism’, Race and Class, 32(2): 51-65. Bull, Theodore (1967). Rhodesia: Crisis of color. New York: Quadrangle Books. Chung, Fay (1987). The new teacher, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Foundation for Education with Production. Curle, Adam (1973). Education for liberation. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Davidson, Basil and Bronda, Antonio (1980). Cross roads in Africa. Spokesman Press.

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Dengarembga, Tsiitsi (1988). Nervous conditions. London: The Women's Press. Fanon, Frantz (1991). The wretched of the earth. Preface by Jean-Paul Sartre; Trans. Constance Farrington (1963). 1st Evergreen Edition, New York: Grove Press. Foucault, M. (1980). Truth and power. C. Gordon (ed.), Michel Foucault: Power/knowledge: selected interviews and other writings, 1972-1984. London: Harvester Press. Feinberg, W. and J.F. Soltis (1998). School and society. New York: Teachers College Press. Freire, Paulo (1983). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Trans. M.B. Ramos. New York: Continuum. Garwe, Edmund (1996). Report on education. Zimbabwe Parliamentary Debates, 23(10):23-24. Gatawa, B.S.M. (1990). The Politics of the school curriculum. Zimbabwe: College Press Publishers. Gretcha, Ciru and Jesimen Chipika (1995). Zimbabwe women’s voices, Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre and Network. Hodzi, Richard (1990). Students’ attitudes towards science: A study of secondary school science in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research, 2(1) Lynch, Hollis R. (ed.) (1971). Black Spokesman: Selected published writings of Edward Wilmot Blyden. Plymouth, Great Britain: Clarke, Boble and Brendon Ltd. Marope, P.T.M. and Weeks, S.G. (1994). Education and national development in southern Africa. Gaborone, Botswana: Botswana Educational Research Association. Mautle, G. and Youngman F. (eds.) (1989). Educational research in the SADCC region: Present and future. Gaborone, Botswana Educational Research Association. Mbuya, Paul (1991). Thoughts of Kenyan sages. Research findings, Department of Philosophy, University of Nairobi. Sagacity in African philosophy, by Henry Odera Oruka. African Philosophy, edited by Tsenay Serequeberhan, New York: Paragon House. Memmi, Albert (1965). The colonizer and the colonized. Boston: Beacon Press. Mpofu, Stanley (1995). Color preferences and usages among the illiterate in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research, 7(2). Mugabe, Robert (1983). Literacy for all in five years. Courtesy of Zimbabwe Ministry of Information.

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References

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Mungazi, Dickson (1993). The fall of the mantle: The educational policy of the Rhodesia front government and conflict in Zimbabwe. New York: Peter Lang. Mungazi, Dickson (1988). Education and the quest for human completion: The African and Afro-American perspectives compared. Bloomington, Indiana: ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/ Social Science Education. Mungazi, Dickson (1985). Educational innovation in Zimbabwe: Possibilities and problems. Journal of Negro Education 54, 196-212. Ngugi was Thiong’o (1987) Decolonizing the mind: The politics of language in African literature. Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Publishing House. Serequeberhan, Tsenay (1991). African philosophy: The point in question. African Philosophy, Serequeberhan, T., New York: Paragon Press. Shumba, Overson (1995). Indigenous Zimbabwean science teachers’ understanding of the nature of science relative to models of the nature and relative to profiles of teachers in two countries. Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research 7 (2). Shumba, Overson (1995). Science teachers’ assessment of the interaction of indigenous African culture with science education in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research,7 (3). Smith, William (1981). Nyerere of Tanzania. Harare: Zimbabwe Publishing House. Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty (1988). ‘Can the Subalern speak?’ Marxism and the interpretation of culture. Cary Nelson and Lawrence Grossberg (eds.), London: Macmillan. Sylvester, Christine (1991). Zimbabwe: The Terrain of contradictory development. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. Vera, Y. (1996). Images of the West. Zimbabwe: Baobab Books. World Bank (1995). Priorities and strategies for education: A World Bank Review. United States: The World Bank. Zimbabwe Foundation for Education with Production (1982). New schools to transform Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Foundation for Education with Production. Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (1996). Beyond ESAP: Framework for a long-term development strategy in Zimbabwe beyond the economic structural adjustment programme. Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.

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INDEX

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A academic performance, 42, 61 academic problems, 61 academics, xiv, 48, 88 accessibility, 69, 93 accommodation, 40, 42 achievement, 61 administrators, 4, 5 adulthood, 16 adults, xix, 68, 72 advertisements, 6 advocacy, 26 affirmative action, 47, 51, 52, 54, 56 Africa, viii, ix, x, xi, xvi, xvii, xxi, xxiii, 3, 5, 7, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 32, 35, 36, 46, 48, 49, 50, 52, 55, 74, 80, 83, 89, 91, 95, 96 African languages, 32, 35, 36 African National Congress (ANC), 8 age, 25 agriculture, 13, 41 AIDS, 93 alcohol, 84 alienation, xvii ambiguity, xv ambivalent, 26 appeasement, xviii argument, 16, 20, 30, 31, 52 Asian countries, 2 assault, xix

assessment, 97 assumptions, xi, 26 atmospheric pressure, 83 atrocities, 57, 58 attitudes, 50, 55, 86, 96 authority, xiii, 94 awareness, 78

B banks, 47 beef, 68 beer, 3, 20, 84 behavior, 23, 24, 49, 65, 68 beliefs, 17, 49, 51, 52, 56, 93 Bible, xvii binding, 3 birth, 18, 34 black tea, 60 Blacks, vi, 5, 6, 57, 62 blame, 21, 22, 31, 40, 44, 45, 48, 62 blood, 11 Botswana, 1, 50, 96 boys, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 81, 93 brain, xx, 40 brain drain, xx breakdown, 47, 70 breakfast, 45 bribes, 87 Britain, xvi, xix, 3

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100

Index

brothers, 85 brutality, 49 buffer, xviii, 32 bureaucracy, 12

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C cable television, 18 capitalism, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 48 carrier, 34 cattle, 2, 18 childhood, 55 children, xvi, xx, xxi, 5, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 31, 32, 34, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 53, 54, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 69, 71, 72, 83, 84, 92 China, 7, 8, 11 Christianity, 6, 16 classes, 84, 87 classroom, ix, xxi, 16, 68, 84 classrooms, 43, 44 codes, 6 cohesion, 94 collaboration, 4, 16 college students, xiii, xv, 29, 58, 91 colleges, xviii, 55, 61, 69, 70 colonial education, xvi, 69, 93 colonial rule, xvii, 19 colonization, 4, 20, 36, 63 commerce, xvii, 5, 13, 59, 69, 78, 79, 86 commodity, 77 communalism, 82, 85 communication, 33, 34, 70 communism, 8, 32 communist countries, 7 community, vii, xix, 26, 31, 40, 58, 60, 68, 69, 70, 71, 89, 92 community service, 68 competition, xviii, 4, 59, 77 complexity, xv, 56 composition, 10, 62 compounds, 5, 16 concentrates, 72 concentration, 41, 43, 84 concrete, 78 confidence, 13, 57, 63, 85

conflict, xviii, xix, 4, 16, 20, 37, 56, 60, 83, 88, 97 confusion, xiii, xvi, xxii, 91 Congress, 97 consciousness, xiv consensus, 2, 56 conservation, 79 conspiracy, 7 consulting, 5 control, xvii, xviii, 2, 7, 62, 64, 76 conversion, xvii corruption, 72 course work, xxi coverage, 48 creep, 18 crime, 68 crying, xiv cultural beliefs, 25, 51, 54, 56 cultural heritage, vii, xiv, xxi, xxiii, 12, 17, 86, 92 cultural identity, xxii, 26, 91 cultural imperialism, 40, 85, 95 cultural norms, 49 cultural practices, 16, 93 cultural transformation, xxii cultural transition, xiii, xxiv, 94 cultural values, 81 culture, vii, ix, xiii, xvi, xxii, xxiii, 4, 5, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 40, 47, 48, 52, 54, 55, 56, 59, 73, 74, 75, 76, 79, 80, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 91, 92, 93, 95, 97 curiosity, 74 currency, xx, 10 curriculum, xx, xxi, 18, 31, 53, 69, 72, 73, 74, 78, 91, 92, 93, 96

D dances, 5, 6, 77, 78, 87 danger, 43 death, 52, 57, 77 debt, 4 decay, 73 decision making, 11, 13, 55

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Index decisions, 26, 71 definition, xxiii, 5, 17, 75, 79 democracy, vii, xxiii, 32, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 93, 95 democratization, 74 density, 87 dependency ratio, 51 deposits, 4 deregulation, xx designers, xvii developing countries, 73 developmental process, 26 diamonds, 4 dignity, 13, 17, 48 discipline, 68, 81 discontinuity, xiv discourse, 65 discrimination, 61, 63, 64 disseminate, 11 distribution, 42, 43, 56 diversity, xxiv division, 9 doctors, 5 donors, 19, 79 doors, 43 dream, 10, 12, 39, 55, 60 dropout rates, xx drought, 21, 23 duties, 44, 49, 70

E earth, 96 Eastern Europe, 7 economic change, 87 economic growth, 36 economic reform, xx, 68 economic status, 41, 43, 93 economic transformation, 73 economics, 79 education, vi, x, xiv, xvi, xxi, 5, 41, 42, 44, 61, 67, 69, 72, 77, 95, 96, 97 educational policy, xviii, xix, 97 educational process, xiv educational system, ix, xvii, 45, 63, 73, 74

101

elders, xiv, 20, 24 election, 9 electricity, 41, 42 elephants, 79 emotions, 77 employees, 58, 82 employment, 33, 50, 60 energy, 5, 43 England, xx English Language, 34, 36 enrollment, 52, 92 enslavement, 36 entrepreneurs, 10 environment, 41, 62, 75, 76, 80 environmental change, 15 equality, vii, 26, 58, 93 equilibrium, 83 equity, 65 erosion, 21, 23, 24, 26, 33, 92 ethnicity, 91 Europe, 5, 48, 79 evil, 48 evolution, 83 examinations, xix, xx, 29, 44, 81 excuse, 62 exercise, ix, 20, 54, 71, 81 expenditures, xviii exploitation, xvii, xviii, 4, 55 exports, 2 exposure, 41 expulsion, 62 extinction, 35

F failure, xix, 3, 13, 45, 55, 81, 82, 87 family, xi, xxii, 5, 17, 18, 24, 39, 48, 52, 80, 81 farmers, 4, 5, 40, 58 farms, xvii, 58 fear, xviii, 13, 31, 56, 76, 79 females, 47, 49 feminism, 48, 49 fermentation, 84 fever, 47, 68, 79

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102

Index

films, 87, 89 finance, xx, 41 financial resources, 78 financial support, 48 financing, 12, 40, 58 firms, 59 First World, 5 focusing, 93 folklore, 17, 36, 49 food, 17, 18, 20 foreign investment, 10 foreign language, 31, 35 forgetting, 31 formal education, 40, 77, 80 free education, xix, 50 freedom, xvi, 7, 10, 20, 32, 55, 67, 70, 71, 93 frustration, 68 funding, xvii, xviii funds, 69

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G gender, viii, ix, xxiii, 17, 18, 26, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 69, 93 gender differences, 49 gender equality, 52, 55, 56 gender gap, 51, 52 gender inequality, viii, 48, 56 gender role, 49 generation, ix, xiii, xxi, xxiii, 19, 20, 22, 25, 54, 56, 60, 75, 77, 84, 88, 93 geography, 77, 84 girls, xv, 24, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 93 global economy, 32 GNP, xix goals, xviii, xix, xxiii, 8, 15, 16, 70, 71 God, 22, 55, 83 gold, 2, 3, 4 government, vii, viii, xiv, xvii, xviii, xix, xx, xxi, xxii, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 29, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 48, 50, 51, 54, 57, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 67, 69, 70, 73, 74, 80, 91, 92, 93, 97 government policy, 10

grades, 34, 40 grass, 54, 83 Great Britain, vii, 93, 96 grounding, 24 grouping, 48, 92 groups, 2, 9, 10, 12, 37, 47, 62, 82, 87, 88 growth, xviii, 34, 65 guidance, xx, 26 guidelines, xviii guilty, 8, 36, 68

H hands, 8, 20, 77 happiness, 76 hate, 58, 77 health, 11, 58 hegemony, 3, 56 higher education, 29, 51, 91 HIV/AIDS, 18, 93 homework, 44 homosexuality, 21 homosexuals, 20 house, 7, 96, 97 human capital, 45 human condition, 82 human rights, 16, 17, 20, 26 hunting, 57 husband, 18, 27, 52

I identity, vii, viii, xiv, xv, xvi, xxii, 19, 25, 26, 31, 33, 35, 36, 37, 76, 91, 92, 93 ideology, xvi, 10, 12, 16, 48 illiteracy, 35 imagery, 36 imbalances, vii, viii, xx, 17, 46, 52, 62, 92 IMF, 19, 32 implementation, 9 income, 62 independence, vii, xiii, xvi, xix, xx, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 19, 20, 21, 26, 29, 32, 35, 39, 45, 46, 60, 64, 68, 73

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Index indigenous, vii, xiv, xvi, xix, xx, xxi, xxii, xxiii, 10, 19, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 58, 59, 64, 73, 92, 97 indigenous knowledge, xix industrial sectors, 60 industrialized countries, 16 industry, 5, 10, 11, 13, 59, 69 inequality, viii, xix, 6, 56, 61 infancy, xiv infectious disease, 93 inferiority, 35, 52, 60 inflation, viii infrastructure, 40, 71 inheritance, 18, 48, 85 initiation, xxiii, 16, 81, 83 innovation, 97 insane, 18 insight, xxiii inspiration, 77, 78, 80 institutions, 10, 11, 12, 16, 23, 29, 47, 58, 62, 63, 64, 71, 72, 73 instruction, xxiii, 29, 30, 32, 92 instruments, xix intellect, 30, 81 intelligence, 11 intentions, xvii interaction, 15, 75, 79, 97 interest groups, 9 interference, 49, 63 International Monetary Fund, xx, 11 inventions, 16 investment, 10, 40 investors, 10, 59 iron, 5, 67 Islam, 16 isolation, 53

J jobless, 51 jobs, 6, 10, 33, 44, 50, 60, 62, 68 journalism, xxii judges, 68 judgment, 24, 70 judiciary, 17

103

justification, 60

K knees, 85

L labor, xvii, xviii, 2, 4, 5, 10, 13, 16, 41, 47, 73, 82 land, viii, xx, 1, 4, 21, 39, 41, 59 language, xvi, xx, xxi, xxiii, 3, 17, 18, 23, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 47, 92, 97 language barrier, 18, 35 language policy, 30, 32 laws, 4, 10, 17, 48, 57, 58, 62 leadership, 71 learners, 74 learning, 18, 31, 49, 68, 71, 72, 73, 78, 82, 92 legislation, xvii, 5 lending, 11 liberalism, xviii liberation, xvi, xix, xx, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 22, 23, 26, 35, 36, 39, 46, 48, 50, 55, 57, 58, 63, 77, 82, 95 lifetime, xix Limpopo, 1, 3 listening, xiii literacy, xix, 35, 36, 39 literacy rates, 39 livestock, 2 living conditions, 35 local government, 40 localization, 36 location, 50 long distance, 2, 43 love, 8 lying, 61

M machinery, 5, 11, 16, 63 Malaysia, 32 males, 49

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104 manslaughter, 9 mantle, 97 manual training, xxi marches, 80 market, xxi, 4, 52, 60, 78, 92 marriage, xv, 16, 17, 54, 69 Marx, 8 mathematics, 77, 95 meanings, xv, 12 measures, xx, 9, 51 media, 4, 10, 11, 16, 23, 48, 49, 55, 58, 59, 60, 92 membership, 58 men, 4, 6, 18, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56 middle class, xviii, 58 migration, 26 military, 2, 3, 7 Ministry of Education, xx, 52, 68, 87, 95 minorities, 30 minority, 30, 32, 33, 58, 91 minority groups, 30, 91 minors, 27, 49 mobility, 56, 64 models, 60, 97 modern society, 1 modernization, 18 momentum, 6 money, 6, 11, 13, 18, 41, 43, 51, 62, 63, 76, 86, 87 monopoly, 2 moral code, xxii, 26 morale, 40, 92 morality, 17, 68 morning, 43, 44, 77 mosaic, xxiv, 25 mother tongue, 35, 36 mothers, 50, 72, 85 motion, 89 movement, 8, 9, 17, 26, 48, 49, 55 Mozambique, 1, 2, 3, 9 music, 12, 16, 76, 85

Index

N nation, xviii, 2, 4, 8, 12, 26, 51, 72, 74 nation building, 26, 74 national identity, 25, 26 nationalism, 6, 9, 26 natural sciences, 78 neglect, 23, 25, 35 network, 4, 80 newspapers, 6, 26, 58, 85 next generation, ix Nigeria, 95 nursing, 50 nutrition, 16

O observations, 83 oil, 7 one dimension, 25 openness, xv oppression, 6, 11, 15, 48, 55, 56, 62, 87 oral tradition, 49 organization, 6, 17, 21, 40 organizations, xviii, 6, 12, 37, 47, 48, 52 oversight, 13 ownership, 13

P pain, 81 parasite, 11 parenthood, 17 parents, xvi, xx, xxi, xxii, 18, 19, 23, 24, 31, 34, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 53, 54, 62, 71, 84, 85 Parliament, xxiii, 19, 20, 60 partnership, xviii passive, 74 pastures, 59 personal problems, 25, 67 personal relations, 70 physical education, 22 planning, 11, 13, 40, 51

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Index plants, xvii policy makers, 60 policy making, 40 political power, 62 politics, ix, 52, 87, 97 poor, 8, 30, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 63, 69, 71, 92 poor performance, 30, 43 population, xvi, xviii, 7, 50, 51, 57, 58 population growth, 51 poverty, 69, 87 power, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 23, 37, 40, 42, 56, 58, 60, 62, 67, 77, 78, 79, 96 preference, 42, 51, 52 preferential treatment, 55 pregnancy, 50, 53 president, 32 pressure, 6, 10, 24 pressure groups, 10 prestige, 30, 41 prices, xx primary school, xix production, xx, 41, 47, 68, 74 professions, 10 profit, 4 profitability, 41 program, viii, xx, 16, 50, 54, 78 prosperity, 55 psychology, 70 public schools, 60 publishers, 36 punishment, 33, 53, 68 pupil, 43, 44

105

radio, 23 rain, 3, 76 range, xxii, 1 readership, 87, 88 reading, ix, 88 reality, xxiv, 25, 40, 49 reconcile, 62, 64 reconciliation, 9, 57, 58, 60, 62, 63, 76, 85 recreation, 58, 59 reduction, 62 reflection, xxii, xxiii refugee camps, 7 regeneration, 48 reinforcement, 21 rejection, xxi relationship, vii, xiv, xxiii, 26, 32, 60, 68 relationships, 60, 86 relevance, 77, 78, 80 religion, 16, 17, 58, 70 repression, xviii, 5, 16 reproduction, 37 resistance, 16 resolution, 26 resource allocation, 45 rhetoric, xix, xxiii, 10 rings, 18 risk, xvii, 5, 8 Romania, 7 rural areas, xxiii, 18, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 71, 92 rural development, 40 Russia, 8, 11

S Q quality of life, 48 questioning, xi, xviii

R race, ix, xxiii, 58, 60, 62, 91 racism, xviii, xxiii, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64

sacrifice, 86, 89 sales, 12 salt, 2 sanctions, 7 sanctuaries, 59 satisfaction, 5 savings, 47 scarce resources, 2 schema, 26

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106

Index

school, vii, xv, xvi, xvii, xviii, xix, xx, xxii, xxiii, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 16, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 88, 91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 97 school enrollment, xxiii, 52, 61 school failure, 45 schooling, xiii, 27, 69 scientific method, 83 search, xx, 25, 58 secondary education, xix, xx, 33 secondary schools, xix, 39, 52, 54 security, 59 segregation, 50, 63, 64, 92 self-worth, 68 seller, 89 separation, 6, 32 series, xvii, 86 sex, xv, 24, 54 sexism, 17 shape, 76 shares, 48 sharing, 70 Shona, v, xx, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 18, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 47, 52, 59, 91 sign, 2, 62 skills, 15, 78 snakes, 79 social change, vii, ix, x social class, 17, 92 social injustices, 59 social order, 9 social problems, 72 socialism, 11, 12, 48 soil, 68 South Africa, xviii, xx, 3, 6, 7, 32, 57 Southern Rhodesia, xvi, xviii sovereignty, 35 speech, 20, 36, 70 spirituality, 78, 86 stability, 72 staff development, 69 stages, 49

standards, xviii, 36, 45, 62, 70, 77 statutes, 40, 58 stereotypes, 12, 55, 57 strategies, 73, 97 stratification, 46 strength, 2 structural adjustment, 97 students, vii, viii, ix, xi, xiii, xiv, xv, xvi, xx, xxi, xxii, xxiii, xxiv, 5, 17, 19, 26, 29, 30, 33, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 49, 52, 53, 56, 60, 61, 62, 64, 68, 71, 72, 74, 75, 77, 78, 82, 84, 85, 89, 91, 92, 93 subsistence, 4 superiority, 59 suppression, 35 Supreme Court, 68 surprise, xix survival, 10, 39, 45, 77 sustainability, 9 sweat, 11 systems, xvi, xvii, xviii, 11, 41, 45, 49, 74, 83

T tactics, 4, 60, 80 Tanzania, 7, 32, 97 teachers, xix, 11, 31, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 61, 69, 70, 71, 78, 84, 87, 92, 97 teaching, ix, 32, 33, 43, 68, 73, 77, 78, 83, 84, 85 technology, 10, 15, 18, 83 telephone, 41 television, xxii, 11, 23 tension, xviii, 26 tenure, 41 textbooks, 31, 41, 43, 44 thinking, 12, 21, 55, 72, 85 threat, 36 threshold, xv time, ix, xi, xiv, xviii, xxiv, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 17, 19, 26, 32, 35, 41, 42, 43, 49, 51, 52, 60, 69, 71, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 87, 89 torture, 8, 53, 54 trade, 2, 12, 15, 17, 57 trading, 2, 3, 7

Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An

Index tradition, xiii, 12, 20, 21, 22, 24, 32, 49, 77, 79 traditional practices, 48 training, xiv, xvii, xviii, xxi, xxii, 7, 43, 50, 69, 71, 73 transactions, 30 transformation, xxiv, 65, 73, 74, 80 transition, 1, 93 transportation, 26 treaties, 3 trees, 79, 80 trend, 79 tribes, xvii, 10 tuition, 44, 51, 64

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U unemployment, viii, xx, 51 UNESCO, 42, 44 uniform, 78 United States, vii, xxi, 97 universities, xix, 5, 18, 19, 47, 52, 89 university education, xiv, xx university students, xxiii urban areas, 24, 39, 40, 42, 43, 84, 85, 87 urban centers, 24 USSR, 8

V values, 23, 24, 35, 36, 73, 77, 80, 91, 93 venue, 6 victims, 59 village, 89 violence, 55, 72 vision, xix voice, xi, xiii, xiv, xv, xxiii, xxiv, 9, 29, 94

W wages, 4 walking, 42, 91

107

war, xvi, 3, 7, 8, 10, 13, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 46, 48, 57 weakness, xviii wealth, 49, 64 wear, 85 welding, 25 welfare, 11 West Africa, 36 Western countries, 23 western culture, 24 whites, xvi, xvii, xviii, xix, 6, 7, 19, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 92 wind, 43 witchcraft, 5, 25 wives, 8 women, xxii, xxiii, 6, 9, 11, 17, 18, 26, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 69, 86, 96 workers, xviii, 10, 59, 70, 71, 82 working conditions, xx, 92 workplace, 11 World Bank, xx, 11, 32, 97 World War I, xviii worldview, xv worry, 34 writing, ix, xv, xxii, xxiii, 26, 33, 75, 87, 88

Y yeast, 84 young women, 22

Z Zambezi, 1, 2 Zimbabwe, vii, viii, ix, xi, xiii, xiv, xv, xvi, xvii, xviii, xix, xx, xxi, xxii, xxiii, xxiv, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 78, 82, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 97

Kralovec, Etta, and Morgan Chitiyo. Identity in Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Writings From Zimbabwe Students : An