NEVER CONFUSE EDUCATION WITH LITERACY
BY ABRAHAM AKOON DENG, Aweil, South Sudan
January 20, 2016 (SSB) —- Too many people confuse literacy with education. They consider the ability to read and write in English as being educated. It’s not any bit correct. That you see a man reading news in Sudan tribune and talking good English doesn’t mean is educated.
It’s like equating anyone who can do basic Math to be a mathematician. The troubling part is that this is usually a self-error. A boy or girl, just because he/she can comfortable speak English and read books (which he/she seldom does) take upon himself/herself the title of being educated.
And the result is we have many south Sudanese who have deliberately ended their path to education because they wrongly believe that they are educated. They keep equating fluency with knowledge.
They have made their website to be full of lies and propaganda e.g. Nyamilepedia, African press, Wangrubkonda, Imatongmountain, Uppernile news and many other.
They say things that are obviously wrong and you can’t correct them without risking a terrible. It’s not mean that they are less knowledgeable than the rest of us, in fact, some of them are actually more knowledgeable.
The problem is they don’t know the limit of their knowledge. They will talk on anything with a tone of expertise even if they have just become aware of it minutes ago. Anyway it’s a problem we have an overdose in South Sudan.
And the result is we have millions of people who are not educated in the country. Many people are okay with knowing enough English to sound educated and speaking with an accent that makes them look knowledgeable.
Then we complain that our economy is not diversified. And we are depending on crude oil exports and solid materials imports from our neighbor’s countries. How the heavens will it be diversified?
We don’t try to skill ourselves enough to produce anything that attract the rest of the world market would be willing to buy. Ugandan are supplying us with everything like sukumawiki, cabbages, potato, tomatoes and even cattle for beef while South Sudan is have thousands of cattle for beef but we refuse to bringing them in the market and our land is fertile to produce everything cultivated in land.
Even our universities education is less so we can’t decorate ourselves with certificate in our country. Until we start being very well educated and highly knowledgeable and producing something that attract the developed world goodbye.
You can reach the author, Abrahamico Abusala, via his email: abusalaabrahamico@gmail.com
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