Reimagining Higher Education in Tanzania: A De-Colonial Approach to Knowledge Production

The study of Africa has created two clear borderlines; the northern circle and the African circle itself. These circles do not necessarily operate in isolation or in harmony but what is clear is that both struggles to produce knowledge in and about Africa. I call them circles because they have been circulating within their networks without necessarily going beyond the circles. Higher learning education institutions have maintained asymmetrical relationships with similar institutions from the north as they draw much from them instead of producing and taking leadership roles in pushing an African scholarship agenda. This chapter examines the sources of such asymmetrical relationships and the challenges that come as a result. Drawing examples mainly from Tanzania and other African countries I analyze the relevance and politics involved in the production and dissemination of knowledge in and about Africa. I argue that successful decolonization of knowledge production systems should start from the continent by improving internal structures and systems. The chapter shows that despite the increase in the number of higher learning institutions and the number of African-based scholars in the continent; the powerhouses on African studies are still in America, Europe and recently establishing in Asia. This has influenced theories, methods and thematic trends to which Africa depends on and has no control of. As a result, similar challenges transcend into the teaching in lower and higher levels of education because the materials and conceptualizations used are West-centered understanding of Africa.