Kenyan Little-Known Primary School Wins Global Prize For Preserving Culture
After being nominated for the T4 Education initiative’s World’s Best School Prizes Award for preserving African culture, a little-known primary school has put Kenya on the international map.
In addition to the Ministry of Education’s curriculum, pupils at ‘Children in Freedom School’ in Lanet Umoja Ward, Nakuru Town East Sub-County are also taught their respective mother tongues and an alternative local dialect.
A child from the Kikuyu tribe is taught Luo, for instance, and vice versa.
Children in Freedom School, which is one of ten finalists for the World’s Best School Prizes in the Overcoming Adversity Category out of more than a thousand entries, also learn about their history, origins, identities, and lineages.
The school is notable in that pupils are permitted to use their traditional names and dress in traditional African garb.
This is uncommon in the majority of African nations, where the majority of students wear western-style school uniforms. The children are permitted to dress according to their tribe of origin.
Ms. Zipporah Ngugi, a member of the County Executive Committee (CECM) in charge of Education, ICT, E-Government, and Public Communication, observed that many young people do not comprehend their cultural backgrounds, but the school’s initiative has sparked an interest in the students’ own cultures.
“This is a great learning experience for our youth who have not experienced the raw African culture. Making our culture applicable in modern times is very important. Learning institutions are the best avenues for inculcating African values among the youth,” stated Ngugi.
The CECM spoke when she lead officers from the devolved unit’s Department of Education to congratulate the administration and students of the school for being shortlisted for the award.
Students from various communities dressed in their respective traditional attire and displayed their traditional music, rituals of passage, and religious practices, as well as traditional delicacies.
Noting that the award is one of the world’s most prestigious education prizes, Ngugi described the T4 Education Initiative as a global organization dedicated to providing teachers with engaging tools, initiatives, and events to enhance education.
Other World’s Best School Prizes Award categories include “Community Collaboration,” “Environmental Action,” “Innovation,” and “Supporting Healthy Lives.”
Some western education and foreign cultural concepts, according to the founders of Children in Freedom School, have moved African traditions to the back of the textbook. The school encourages children to acquire “Afrocentrism,” which assists them in embracing their own culture.
Principal and co-founder of the school, Ms. Utheri Kanayo, stated that the idea was conceived after realizing that Kenyan pupils from different communities are ignorant of each other’s cultures.
According to Ms. Kanayo, the teaching model at the institution combines elements of the National Curriculum and the Afro-Centrism Curriculum.
This approach is guided by five fundamental principles and values: Utambuzi, which focuses on self-awareness; Udadisi, emphasizing curiosity and inquisitiveness; Ubunifu, promoting innovation; Bidii, highlighting the importance of hard work and excellence; and Ubuntu, reflecting the belief that “I am because we are.”
By integrating these principles, we aim to provide a comprehensive and holistic educational experience for our students.
Ms. Kanayo and her husband, Engineer Oku Kanayo Egbeni, co-founded the school, which now has over 500 pupils between the ages of 5 and 14 years old.
“We were fed up with international rhetoric that paints the African continent as hopeless, backward, and in need of saving. We emphasize Africa’s value as a capable continent, historical goldmine, and current global competitor, “says Ms. Kanayo.
Ms. Kanayo asserted that if this alternative perspective is fostered in young African children, the 21st century will be filled with abundant opportunities.
Because this is who we are, we promote our mother tongue, our African colors and motifs, and our African attire. Our culture contains our heart, soul, intellect, and essence,“ the principal continued.
She expressed regret that African culture was being marginalized in the classroom by other cultures.
The principal further elaborated on the decision to reintroduce an Afrocentric approach, stating, "We are reopening this avenue because our own cultures have been overshadowed and marginalized by various external influences.
Embracing Afrocentricity entails a deliberate and conscious effort to reconnect with our rich African heritage and prioritize its values and agenda.”
This commitment to Afrocentricity reflects a desire to reclaim and celebrate African culture within the educational context, fostering a sense of cultural pride and identity among our students.
Engineer Egbeni indicated that they understood that the majority of students attend school to learn and not to develop an identity.
He stated that most students’ academic performance improves after learning about their diverse heritage.
“We have decided to begin teaching these children an identity clause using the Afrocentric Curriculum, also known as the Freedom Curriculum. "When we began doing this, we noticed a significant change,” says Engineer Egbeni.
Afrocentrism implies that the provided education is African-centered and that children are taught to embrace who they are and where they come from. Additionally, the children are instructed to embrace their traditions.
UNESCO, the cultural agency of the United Nations, has advocated for multilingual education at all educational levels.
The agency observes that many African curricula continue to include concepts that are no longer applicable to the contemporary African context.
“It is important that curricula approaches are revisited, that learners are taught about the issues and challenges, but also the opportunities in relation to the African context,” states UNESCO.
Onyango, age 12, is a student at the institution. He expressed satisfaction with the school’s trajectory. It is modifying the mindset of young people like him so that they can embrace their origins.
He added that at his previous school, African names were mocked and children did not embrace them.
“In my previous school, it was extremely difficult for someone to be addressed by their African name because people believed that African names were demeaning. He stated that they admired European culture more than our own.
Kerubo, age 12, attends the same institution. She stated that the school assisted her in embracing her African heritage and gave her the opportunity to share her culture with the world.
“This school has helped shape my Africanism by making me embrace my African name, making me love my African name, and making me wear my African attire, basically letting us embrace our culture to the world,” she
added.
Mr. Ambayi, a guardian at the school, has a son attending the school who is 9 years old. He bemoaned the fact that most parents are too busy with their work commitments to teach their children about their culture.
"As a result of modern popular culture and expanding access to social media platforms, African culture is deteriorating, and parents who are too preoccupied with earning a living to teach their children about their culture,” said Ambayi.
He added, “We are ecstatic that Children in Freedom has undertaken the task of teaching our children about our culture, including dress, food, and vernacular language.”
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Kenyan Little-Known Primary School Wins Global Prize For Preserving Culture
