FKachero

From KLAMediaWiki

Title: STRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY THROUGH EDUCATION

A discussion took place during the WSF at Kasarani, Nairobi today (23rd January, 2007)on the above topic that ignited some thoughts alongside the discussions.

The fight against repressive regimes can have the challenges of retaining the features of the repressive regimes, i.e liberation movement becomes a mere replacement of the earlier regime with a similar one. This becomes a betrayal of a people.

A civil rights movement ought to articulate different postulates. In order to do this, education is necessary as it provides dignity, means of articulation and self-respect. Education empowers one to speak. Education strengthens the capacity of civil society as it brings diversity. For educaion to have an impact, it should be planned on a long-term basis as civil societies goals tend to be far reaching.

However,in poor countries such as Kenya, the challenge is more on achieving basic rights such as food, water and shelter assuming that there is no internal or external strife. In such circumstances, civil society is not a priority. Moreover, the type of education in the formal learning structure in most developing countries is determined by the government. Curriculum is put in place by the government. Authoritative regimes can use education as a tool for the continual perpetuation of the system. Thus, if education is to have a lasting impact within the civil society,it ought to be liberalized to permit curiosity and a search for better systems. It should open the minds to questions, and justify or challenge held postulates. It should never be dogmatic.

Education also defines the value system of a country's people. While external influencing factors role is not being underestimated here,often the value system depends on how people were socialized through education. If we inculcate openness, transparency, human dignity and other social values in our curriculum, then our products will tend to manifest these values in life.

Civil societies themselves also should show more decorum. African presidents and leaders often question - very rightly so -whether civil societies are democratic.Mismanagement of funds in civil societies, lack of accountability and transparency make it impossible for them to have the moral authority to question the government on the same.Impeccable leadership in such groups ought to be a fundamental pre-requisite so that the position adopted by them is "Walk the Talk".There is also the need to have benchmarks to measure and check the successes or failures of civil societies.

In Kenya, there is the principle of non-partisanhip i.e. encouraging those in civil society leadership to desist from engaging in partisan politics. I believe this principle is good for the society if the gains made, and ought to be made are not to be polluted. The Kenyan case also has witnessed corruption and theft of civil society resources by their leaders, hiring of relatives, divisions among civil society groups along ethnic lines. Ethnicity,in particular, lowers the intergrity of civil societies to a point of ridicule. This is because, as pillars of social justice, equality, human rights and democracy,civil societies lose face when they engage in practices that totalitarian, divide-and-rule governments engage in. The need to re-examine ourselves as leaders and participants in civil society - to be impeccable and incorruptible - is great if we have to lent credance to the process of achieving nobler goals.