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Explaining anti
progress: who encourages education and who do education and educators
threaten
Department of
Information and Culture
Eritrean People’s
Party
24.08.2008
There seems nothing in
common between Isayas Afeworki and Ferdinand Martin. Of course, the
former is ex fighter for independence and the latter was chief of
Eritrean administration during Eritrea’s rule under the fascist Italian
colony. But to everybody’s astonishment, they have something in common.
They share the same views on education and educators (educators from
every discipline). For example, Ferdinand used to say, “If Eritreans are
denied education, they cannot be our enemies.” However, Isayas never
uttered the exact words of Ferdinand, but his actions and measures
against education and educators are widely known.
Ferdinand Martin adopted a
policy of providing education to Eritreans within specified bounds that
would only facilitate and reflect the colonial enterprise. Isayas
afeworki has curtailed academic education, and has concentrated on
vocational and training courses that do not amount to higher educations
and professions.
Yet, history attests that
all those who were considered backward regimes and societies were
supportive and perceptive on the value of education and educators than
both of them.
There is an Eritrean adage,
“unlearned person saves nobody; a dull grain mill grinds no grain.”
Another Ethiopian saying goes, “let a learned person kills me.” The
context or the wisdom of these sayings demonstrates that education is a
guide to development, progress, and justice. But there are no words to
suffice the decline of education in Eritrea. Not even remotely
comparable to the educational standard ran under Emperor Haileslassie.
Haileslassie university students had every right within the confines of
the campus to form their associations, to express their disapproval on
maladministration, and to voice their concern on educational policies.
Such freedom in the university had become instrumental in dethroning
Emperor Haileslassie from his power in later years.
Contrary to all norms of
educational institutions, University of Asmara has been turned into
political institution, serving the interest of Isayas’ regime. No
instructor, professor, or university administrator is nominated or
appointed on basis of qualification, but on how much loyalty one has to
the regime. As a result, those who voiced their opposition to such
utter politicizing of the institution either were fired or became the
subject of fear and terror under the regime’s hand. Nor did the
university students have academic freedoms commonly granted in the world
of academic communities. Whatever student union the government said it
allowed did not transpire to anything practical. The University of
Asmara lost every semblance and trace of higher education; the campus
freedom grossly violated that attempting to exercise a simple right met
with heavy-handed government measures: arrests and imprisonments.
Instances of abuse and violations are numerous. For example, when
University of Asmara students first opposed to going to Sawa prior to
the end of their academic year, they were swiftly hoarded to Wia prison
camp, a place known for its melting temperature and inhabitability. Life
for many students dramatically changed in this dreadful place: many
imprisoned and many lost their lives.
Eritrean high school
students met with the same fate. Frantic and threatened by the prospect
of young educated Eritreans, the regime concocted a cover up to distance
students from the realm of education. Defend your country, follow the
footstep of your elder brothers, learn your culture and people – all
designed to deny and ban the students from sitting at the University
entrance exam and instead send them to military training. The regime did
succeed in doing this. However, it is not Sawa or the well being of
students that the regime has been pursuing; it was the threat that might
come from the young educated Eritrean students against its rule. Viewed
in its actuality, Isayas’ policy is not different from that of Ferdinand
Martin.
The source of threat and
fear of education the regime holds, which is likely to continue, came to
a turning point in 2006. That is the regime shut down the University of
Asmara in 2006 and it remains shut down since. Such actions and policies
of the regime on education really lend themselves to public and
international awareness. Henceforth, trying to hide its true nature any
longer would be the same as “stealing a camel and attempting to walk in
a crouching posture” or “Gehmel Serkikas Gumbh Gumbh as the Tigrinia
saying goes.
Now, let us give some
detailed illustrations on Isayas’ educational policy by way of analogous
examples. Who is anti progress? Is it the regime whose actions and
practices represent immeasurable obstacles to education and educators or
is it the people who skip dinner in order to send their kids to school?
Who is resisting to progress? Is it emperor Haileslassie who allowed his
palace to be a university or is it Isayas who shut down the only
university in the country? Who is lagging behind? Is it the kingdom that
granted academic freedom or the system in perpetuity of hording students
to military training and front lines? Who is anti progress?
The Eritrean People’s Party
believes that education is the cornerstone of development, prosperity,
and justice and democracy. Cognizant of the present status of education
in our country, the constituent and first congress of Eritrean People’s
Party passed resolutions concerning University of Asmara. The party’s
resolution partly addresses the former students of University of Asmara:
“The official decision
to close down the University of Asmara in 2006 by the PFDJ regime
demonstrates its long-held policy of both anti education and anti
scholars/educators. The congress strongly condemns the measure taken by
the regime to close down the University of Asmara. The congress also
calls upon Eritreans in general and those who attended courses in Asmara
University in particular to bring pressure to bear on the regime to
reopen the closed University. The Eritrean People’s Party further
resolves to campaign aggressively throughout the international community
and expose the acts of the PFDJ against higher education in Eritrea.”
Following is the Eritrean
People’s Party vision on education adopted in its first and constituent
congress.
Developing a Modern
Educational System that focuses on Professionalism and Promotes Economic
Growth
·
Develop an
educational system that serves national unity and progress and supports
speedy economic growth.
·
Establish
programs, which bond together professional knowledge and academic
education.
·
Make education
free for all citizens.
·
Ensure that
students do not stay out of school because of shortage of money; as
needed, make education available to students in their local areas where
they can get material support.
·
Make education
up to 8th grade compulsory.
·
Ensure that
university and higher education levels meet recognizable international
standard.
·
Encourage
establishment of privately owned schools. Introduce rules and
regulations, which guide private schools to follow national curriculums.
·
In addition,
introduce practical programs that encourage and ensure increased
educational participation in areas that are economically less advanced
in view of the economic disparities among Eritrean provinces.
The medium of instruction
at elementary school will be Arabic and Tigrigna. From high school and
above, the medium of instruction will be English, while Arabic and
Tigrigna will be taught as language subjects. |
