OUR INTOLERANCE AND OUR EDUCATION.

In a typical Ghanaian setting, irrespective of the context, it is difficult for people to disagree with others without making enemies. You cannot but conform to whatever position that most people, at least those within your immediate circle, or your social subscribe to. The typical Ghanaian social system will cave you in. You had better conform if you want anybody’s support or social recognition. Do otherwise and you risk being tagged and taken on a lonely route. Healthy disagreements that could be the source of many new discoveries and breakthroughs are otherwise suppressed. This level of intolerance in Ghana dominates and permeates, every facet of our lives, including but not limited to popular social discourse on radio, television and even social media. We seem to be happy with building a people who are alike in so many ways, including the way they think, how they behave and talk. Interestingly, we want our intolerance towards others to be tolerated without question but cry foul when ours is being questioned. This is a common place anywhere in Ghana that giving evidence by way of examples is counterproductive. Check the debates on social media if you are in doubt.

Developed Countries

On the contrary, this is not how civilized societies form and grow. I have always maintained that the best way to assess a society’s level of civility is to measure their level of tolerance, especially to dissenting and divergent positions. In developed cultures, unpopular positions on matters are not the source of disdainful disagreements and hateful reactions. People are allowed and protected to be different, to the extent that the position they hold and their actions do not infringe upon the rights and opportunities of others. This is how great societies grow, expand and become more viable in all fronts. Challenging the latest mobile technology have led to revolution in the telephony industry, same can be said of so many other groundbreaking discoveries in fashion, automobile, and many others. Developed cultures have taken years of questioning reasoning behind things to develop complete technologies and systems that make their world a better place. Unfortunately, this appears not to be the case in developing countries, such as Ghana.

 

Our Education

A greater part of why we are incorrigibly intolerant is our educational system. The practice where answers to a question in the class room context can either be correct or incorrect is the reason, we are so intolerant and can hardly think outside of the metaphoric box. In practice, anyone whose answer does not match that of the teacher is far from being correct, no matter the originality of their reasoning. In fact, I had some lecturers who will mark a student down for using phrases and words that are different from that which was used in class. This practice has tamed many geniuses, it has cowed many people who could be investors for new and creative approaches to solving problems.

Our education has a lot to do with how we conceive and make sense of the environment and anything around us as people. We have succeeded in creating a system that promote conformity than anything else.  In Ghana, it is highly common to associate conformity with discipline, decency and respect, when in fact the opposite may be the case. We have credited the most conformist people as the best and serially acknowledged them, even though those people have hardly solved any problem that have come with time. People who are highly conformist have the highest rewards, anywhere from career to social organization. This, approach, is what we carry through life and entrench it anywhere we are. I am tempted to believe that until we open up to learn, relearn and experiment with new ideas, and most especially hear people out, however differently opinionated we are, nothing will change. The same people and mindset that has kept us in perennial penury and poverty cannot change our fortunes.

Conclusion

Next year is our opportunity to learn, relearn and unlearn as a people and we cannot fail ourselves, but we must start requiring the accountability from our educational institution where knowledge and behaviour is fundamentally formed.

Happy New Year.

Samuel Boateng Osarfo

Writer/Researcher and Trainer