ASSIGNMENT 3
2025 (Answer
Guide)
QUESTIONS WITH 100%
VERIFIED AND
CERTIFIED ANSWERS.
,1|Page
HED4806 ASSIGNMENT 3 2025 (Answer Guide)
QUESTIONS WITH 100% VERIFIED AND CERTIFIED ANSWERS. WRITTEN IN
REQUIRED FORMAT AND WITHIN GIVEN GUIDELINES. IT IS GOOD TO USE AS A
GUIDE AND FOR REFERENCE, NEVER PLAGARIZE. Thank you and success in
your academics.
Contents
SECTION A ................................................................................................................................................. 2
Question 3.1: Explain the effects of the above practice in the broader context of
decolonisation. (5 marks) ...................................................................................................................... 2
Question 3.2: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o advocates the use of the local language to decolonise the
minds of African people. What is your understanding of the term “decolonisation of the mind”?
In your discussion, summarise the views of Wa Thiong’o regarding language. (15 marks) ...... 3
Question 3.3: Wade (2018) states that the Alliance High School, which Wa Thiong’o attended,
used English as a medium of teaching and learning. Children who were caught speaking the
local Gĩkũyũ language were beaten. Do you consider such punishment to be fair or unfair?
Provide reasons for your answer. (10 marks) .................................................................................... 5
Question 3.4: Explain the concept “mother tongue”. Give examples to support your answer.
(10 marks) ............................................................................................................................................... 6
Question 3.5: Some scholars think that teaching learners in their mother tongue is
counterproductive. Argue for and against the use of mother tongue instruction in your
educational context. (10 marks) ........................................................................................................... 7
Arguments For Mother Tongue Instruction: ................................................................................... 7
SECTION B ............................................................................................................................................... 10
Question 3.1: What is your understanding of education for self-reliance? (5 marks) ................ 10
Question 3.2: What is generally understood by the concept “Ujamaa”? (5 marks) ................... 10
Question 3.3: In a few sentences, explain the aim of education for self-reliance. (10 marks) . 11
Question 3.4: What were the challenges of education for self-reliance? (5 marks) .................. 12
Question 3.5: Define the concept “comparative education” by focusing on its role in the
evaluation of other education systems. (3 marks) .......................................................................... 13
Question 3.6: Mention and discuss each of the four areas under the application of
comparative education to explain its value, purpose and contribution to education. (12 marks)
................................................................................................................................................................ 14
Question 3.7: Briefly discuss any five qualitative challenges that negatively influence the
supply of quality education in the Global South. (10 marks) ......................................................... 15
Reference List ........................................................................................................................................... 16
, 2|Page
SECTION A
Question 3.1: Explain the effects of the above practice in the broader context of
decolonisation. (5 marks)
The practice described in the extract where children were physically punished,
humiliated, and fined for speaking their indigenous language (Gĩkũyũ) in school has
significant psychological, cultural, and political effects in the broader context of
decolonisation. At its core, this practice represents a systematic erasure of indigenous
identity through linguistic suppression, which Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (1986) identifies as a
crucial tool of colonisation.
Psychological oppression was a direct consequence of such punishment. Associating
one’s mother tongue with shame, stupidity, and backwardness instilled a sense of
inferiority in learners. As a result, indigenous children internalised colonial values that
deemed their culture and identity as inferior, undermining their self-worth and pride in
their heritage (Wa Thiong’o, 1986).
Cultural alienation occurred as learners were forced to abandon their linguistic and
cultural norms. Language is a vehicle of culture; its loss meant the erosion of traditional
knowledge systems, oral histories, and ways of life (UNESCO, 2003). This
disconnection from indigenous roots impedes efforts toward cultural reclamation and
identity formation in postcolonial societies.
Political and educational disempowerment was also perpetuated. By privileging English
as the language of instruction and success, colonial systems limited access to
education for those not proficient in the foreign language, thus reinforcing social
hierarchies and restricting upward mobility (Wade, 2018).
In the broader decolonial framework, such practices are viewed as instruments of
control, used to assert dominance and maintain colonial ideologies. Decolonisation
therefore entails not only the political departure of colonial rulers but also the restoration