DECOLONISING CURRICULA FOR A KNOWLEDGE-DRIVEN SOCIETY: THE TIME IS NOW

Abstract

This conceptual paper was inspired by Nako Timepieces, a brand that bears Botswana’s heritage on a wrist and is founded on the belief that state-of-art watchmaking innovation can be synonymous with cultural and historical significance (Nako Timepieces, 2019). The introduction of a local language and history of Botswana to the international community through a luxury watch carries an important hallmark of decolonisation. Decolonisation of curricula is a discourse that provides an indigenous understanding of education as a decolonial exercise. Decolonising curricula means redefining curricula by considering other cultures and contexts from which education is understood. Of particular importance in this paper is African indigenous knowledge and cultures from which education is defined. The current curricula is founded on colonial mind-set framed around the idea of usurping the being of indigenous people and also purge the colonies of indigenous knowledge. This is the knowledge that a decolonised curricula should promote and use to compete on the international stage as demonstrated by Nako Timepieces—by promoting a local language and Botswana’s heritage. Decolonisation should start at primary school level rather than at higher levels of education as taught in the saying lore lo ojwa lo sale metsi, a Setswana proverb that says ‘mould the plant while it is still young and supple for when it is older and hardened, it will break.’