THE PHILOSOPHY OF TRADITIONAL AFRICAN Education SYSTEM

Why it is necessary to study African Education? What principles that formed this type of Education? These are some of educational questions you may ask when exploring African Education system.
I want to establish that there was African traditional Education and there is still there this form of Education system which had contribute to modern Education system in African societies.
The west colonialists had demigrated and even went further rejected anything and everything Africans believed as a way of their Education culture. Their purpose was to dehumanise the Africans Education system so as to make for themselves easier to totally subjugate them as they regard it as primitive or informal Education, whilst others refer it simply as socialisation or child rearing. This resulted in this form of Education resorts to its existance as traditional Education and is not Education at all.
According to Sifura(1990) Education is the whole process by which one generation transmits its culture to succeeding generation or the process by which people prepare to live effectively and efficiently in their community.
Tafuwa and Babs (1974:15)say ,''Every society whether simple or complex has its own system of training and educating its youths and Education of good life has been one of the most persistant concerns man throughout history.''
Therefore traditional African Education is by the indegeneous people of Africa even before the western colonised their continent. The difference between western Education and traditional African Education is being regarded as formal and informal respectively.
The scope of Traditional Education is its cultural process since it is all the cultural forces and surroundings that the child rely on to educate him/her. It is an approved way of life as lived by majority of members. The group values were built into the individual. This Education system prepared each child for the roles he/she had to play in the community and society. So its Education is from infants throughout to adulthood and for life to death. One never ceased the learning culture ,that's Education from womb to the tomb.
The teachers are anyone ,everywhere as the need arouse during the daily interactions and didn't rely on formal instructions mainly because the focus is on practice ,thus acquisition of practical living. This is an apprentice type of Education where the learner learn as working or performing the job.
Individuals has to get practical skills plus an outstanding of their place in the society,gender,roles and to be aware of what the environment offered them and others.
The principles of this informed traditional Education ,its functionalism or preparationism means Education is by means to an end where the end product is the functional in society. Children are prepared for future roles as adults. Here immitative play is important ,for example the boys played with wooden spears or build huts whilst girls make mats and dolls.
The activities prepared them for functional responsibility of husbands and wives. They also learn to plough ,plant and weed crops to produce food.
Holisticism is whereby an individual totality is considered on mental ,physical ,moral ,social ,spiritual etc. Children are given Education encompassing their intellectual ,moral ,spiritual,emotional and physical development.This make learning an integrated experience in methods and content. They intellectually study their local history ,legend ,environment ,poetry ,riddles ,proverbs ,storytelling etc.
Moral stories of upright people and a strict code of mankind ,female relations. They play physical games and dances whilst practice spiritual rituals to respect and appease the dead.This is African ontology in their belief that a person dies ,but his soul is still living and collaborate with the living.
The community is built as one and the individual come second to the community because the community provides one with a spiritual ,sexual ,social and intellectual identity. Hence the individual has to conform to the community 's demands.
The essential values that are passed on to the next generation ,for instance sanctity to life ,hospitality ,honesty ,sacrifice ,obidience ,humility ,respect for elders.
Most of these essentials centred on progation of life and of acquisition.And the transmission of people's heritage in the form of beliefs ,totemic system is to ensure continuity and survival of the clan (identity).