Introduction of country’s history as a subject in schools significant

Dar es Salaam. Juma Abdul, a university student studying science admits that if you asked him about the history of Tanzania before and after colonisation, he won’t be able to tell you.

The 21-year-old says most of what he knows in history are colonial warriors from the history he learned in secondary school, which mostly talked about how the colonists came to Africa.

“If you ask me questions about the history of my country I really can’t answer you because I don’t know many things. This is due to being fed more colonial history than the history about where our country came from, where it is and where it is going,” says the young mathematician.

Juma’s comments highlight the importance of what the government, through the ministry of education, science and technology has decided to do.

The ministry aims to restore the image of the country for generations who have not been fortunate enough to witness the beginnings of their country and who for many years have missed the point.

It has now planned to write the history of the country and make it a compulsory subject from pre-primary, primary and secondary school, a role that is being played by the Tanzania Institute of Education by preparing textbooks for distribution in schools soon.

In addition to commending the government for the great step of nation-building among Tanzanians, historians and education experts say the facts of the incidents and those involved must be included to make it a science.

Many things are taught in general history but what was missing is how what is being taught builds patriotism to students, this is what should be considered,” says Dr Charles Kitima, a researcher and former vice chancellor of St Augustine University.

Dr Kitima suggests that all citizens should be made aware of this subject so that everyone is hungry to know the contents of the books in order to build nationalism for every Tanzanian.

According to experts, the future preservation of a culture and heritage lies in the preservation of people’s heritage, culture and values through education. Teaching History as a compulsory subject at school level provides a foundation of much needed celebration of the country’s past.

Pundits envisage that through the country’s history, learners will come to appreciate different related and inter-related factors that make the Tanzanian society more meaningful in terms of how it developed, its practical experiences all of which manifest in the way society constructs itself even to this day.

“Tanzania’s History subject would be a discovery project. Learners would be able to undergo a process that adds to them knowing what exactly happened in the past with regard to their present lives,” says Dr Moses Soloi, an education and history specialist in Dar es Salaam.

He adds that the subject would make it possible for learners to connect the dots of their current lives and how it came to be.

Dr Soloi tells Success that problems that are mostly experienced presently could most definitely be traced to the past.

“Students who will study this subject will be fortunate as it will give them and the society a sense of belonging, pride and truly being a member of the collective part of something worth protecting and preserving,” explains Dr Soloi.

For Dr Gustaph Muikaria, a consultant in Dar es Salaam, culture is what counts with a group where in one sense it shapes the group and in another it is most certainly shaped by the group.

“All these crucial issues need to be explained to learners. If they are not clearly documented and articulated, it becomes difficult to believe and embrace them and more importantly to summon the spirit to protect and preserve them for future generations,” he observes.

Dr Muikaria believes there is no future that can be built without the concrete knowledge and the understanding of the past.

“It is on this reason that from basic education, Tanzanian youth need to be taught the real history of our struggle, the route from slavery to independence and into the current context they find themselves,” he says.

Experts believe that the subject is the only proper way that young people will get to value and appreciate their democracy, be conscious of their social, economic and political landscapes, so as to build a more just and progressive Tanzania.

“If you don’t like someone’s story, write your own” Chinua Achebe, as quoted by Lilian Mori of University of Dodoma.

“As a compulsory subject, history is the most important tool that can and should be used to heal the wounds of the past in order to build a united Tanzania,” says Dr Mori.

She says it is not surprising that some Tanzanians cannot even sing the national anthem; they are not very patriotic when it comes to the country.

“These are some of the results of failing to tell the real Tanzanian story but we are too quick to learn about other histories which do not impact a lot on the ordinary Tanzanian,” she says, adding, “This subject must be able to carry facts of what exactly happened.”