Reflections on a chemistry conference. The teaching of chemistry in

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Reflections on a Chemistry Conference Gordon M. Barrow Middle Canyon Rood Cormel Volley, Col~fornio93924

The teaching of chemistry in English-speaking African universities

A conference in Nairohi on the Teaching of Chemistry in English-Speaking African Universities holds some special promise. T h e first discovery a U.S. visitor makes is t h a t the uuiversities and the schools still adhere closely to the English system of education and the universities continue t o he staffed in large part, by British "expatriates." T h e expatriate now is most often on a two year, renewable-for-two-year, term. (There are, in addition, some longer term expatriates whose appointments predate the now very general Africanization programs.) T h e British system i; sEen to be rharacterized hy a n carly suhject concentration. T h e "General Degree" program is descrihed as 3-2-1, the numbers indicating three suhjects in the first year, two in the second, and one in the third. This system, which also often includes examinations t h a t are set and graded in Camhridge, England, is valued by both expatriates and Africans a s a safeguard of "standards." The uuiversities are, therefore, under heavy pressure to take the incoming student-with, usually, a rural village background, a n uncertain command of written and spoken English, and a rote-learning attitude t o science and mathematics-to a degree t h a t stands up when tested by external British standards within a three year period. T h e conference itself, "Conference on the Teaching of University Chemistry," conceived and organized by D. McCormick of the Chemistry Department of the Universit y of Nairohi, was held on December 14-18, 1971, a t t h a t University. Some 73 delegates attended from the 14 E n glish-speaking countries1 "south of the Sahara, and excluding Rhodesia and South Africa," a s the often repeated phrase went. The conference was opened by F. R. Jevons, Professor of Liberal Studies, University of Manchester. His lecture, anticipating the initial thrust of the conference, concluded with the remark We should try to find suitable concrete situations of education value, some of which could well have social relevance. When relevance is introduced, the common practice at present is to do so by tacking on applications and implications at the end of an exposition of fundamentals, but it might be possible instead to start with the problems.

T h e opening regular session of the conference was titled "Objectives of Teaching Chemistry in Developing The conference was supported in part, by grants from UNESCO and Norwegian Aid. The author's travel and conference expenses were provided by a grant from Ciba-Geigy (East Africa) Ltd., for which he would like to express his very great gratitude to Mr. Silvo Stucklin, the Managing Director. The author would also like to acknowledge the warm hospitality of the faculty members at Makerere University, particularly Dr. A. J. Dandy and Professor S. R. Landar and the faculty of the University of Nairobi, and especially Dave MeCarmick. 'The countries included were Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mauritius, and Lesotho. 526

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Countries." There the theme t h a t was to lurk throughout the conference, even in later sessions when the newly oriented outside experts held forth, was quickly set. Dr. F. G. Torto of the University of Ghana hegan with If one accepts that the aims of university education must be related to the economic and social objectives of the country in which it is given, the "Teaching of Chemistry" must be examined in the African context. . . . . .. It has often been argued that chemistry is one of the subjects that is "the same in all countries." This was the underlying assumption when many English-speaking African universities were established. Chemistry syllabuses and teaching usually followed closely those of the sponsoring institution or the traditional U.K. pattern. The courses, especially those leading to the special or honours degree, were, and in many cases still are, designed to prepare graduates to undertake academic type research. The validity of this approach needs to be examined. According to D. A. Dadson, University of Cape Coast Science was introduced to us by scientists from the west; science has been taught to us, the peoples from the developing countries, by western scientists, and we have invariably received our higher degrees from western universities, especially the older ones, such as Oxford, Cambridge, and London. The result is that science in Africa has become an alien culture which is too irrelevant to the needs of Africa. And later In Africa, chemistry is punued as proof of our intelligence or as a means of securing same safe job. All this has happened because we have never really stopped to consider why chemistry is studied at all or why we should teach it to our young men from year to year. The most important objective of teaching chemistry in developing countries is to secure a complete understanding of our immediate chemical environment, control it and use it for national development.

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The nlea for "useful" chemistrv sometimes led towards programs we knew a s industrial rhemijtry. Dr. A. Amasa of the Lni\,ersity 111 Science and Technology at Kumasi in Ghana inrluderl the comments ~~~

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The personnel we train will be responsible for tapping the country's chemical resources, maintaining existing plants, and improving existing methods of production in order to increase the national yield and lead, hopefully, to self-sufficiency. Service to t h e country, even by means of some industrial chemistry courses is not, however, a straightforward procedure. According t o 0.L. Oke, of the University of Ife, Nigeria The main ohjeetives of teaching chemistry in developing countries is to train scientists who will be able to help in the tapping of part of the natural resources of the country and to train people who will be able to man the different sections of the industries in which chemistry is applicable. However, industries are not expanding as fast as the graduates are being produced.The

result is that most of the chemistry graduates go back to school to teach chemistry and other science subjects such as mathematics, physics, and biology. The general message in all these presentations seemed clear and reasonable, in spite of specific obstacles that were recognized. But the general concern of these opening speakers was soon driven underground. "Chemistry for Africa" soon gave way to "chemistry is international." The respectable, or really prestigious, view seemed to be that teaching should be directed to the development of chemists who could take their place alongside the research chemists of the world. The program moved on and in the following days outside "experts" gave their lectures and in later sessions many participants presented their experiences, successes, and failures, a t their home universities. But the failure of the conference to come to grips with the question of African chemistry versus international chemistry continued to be troublesome. The plea for "African chemistry" was too easily put down. At one level, the divergence of views on the type of university instruction that should be provided is easily encompassed. A very professional, and very common, view of chemical education sees i t as really nothing more than the training of technicians. High-level technicians are the research chemists who can take their place in the international set; lower level technicians are the bench chemists who can serve in local industry. This attitude seems easily to lead to a some-of-both solution and then to the diveying-up to universities, or within universities, of the prestigious education of high-level technicians and the service education, or as we say, training, of low-level technicians. There is, undoubtedly, an urge in developing African countries to acquire a standing in subjects such as chemistry that seems to typify the technologically and scientifically developed states. To do so the chemistry that is familiar to, and respected by, the developed countries must be emulated. The training of research chemists and bench chemist both qualify. Such chemists can certainly participate in the chemical research and in the development of chemical industries that will undoubtedly affect the new African countries. That African research chemists will greatly influence the research teams and industrial technical staffs of the international companies that will be involved is less certain. Neither is it clear that chemical industry will develop in most African countries to the stage where a large number of chemical technicians are required. What chemistry is worth doing in the African universities given the background of the students, the needs of the countries, and the overwhelming lack of resources? Such a question, which could be heard in many conference discussions, brings one to a fresh, quite general, inquiry into our attitudes to our subject. In our professionally established system such basic questioning seldom seems necessary. Often intermingled with rather specific chemical concerns was the recognition that African countries need leadership at many levels and in many areas of their developing economy and life. They expect their university graduates, of whom there are relatively few, to provide this leadership, and they can properly ask of each unit of the university if its program contributes to the development of leaders. A legitimate question is, does chemistry have any role in this leadership? Many of the speakers tried to convey to the visitors how alien the world of the university, and the chemistry program, seem to the beginning African student. The entries into chemistry that have been worked out in the various English and American programs and textbooks provide no easy avenues into the suhject for the African student.

Some students certainly overcome the initial obstacles and go on to become first-rate chemists. But I gathered that for very many students, chemistry remains a foreign laneuage, - - . which one cannot speak well and in wbich one cannot think. It was hard to avoid the frustrating conclusion, as various speakers and audience participan-ts struggledwith the contributions that chemists could, or should, make, that the chemistry that is taught, a n d the graduates that are produced, are not now crucial to the development of a country. The narrowness and the rote learning that are all too prevalent are poor basis for the self-confident entrepeneurs that are most needed. Alternate, imported chemistry programs seemed to provide no solution. The coolness with which the foreipnseeming UNESCO chemistry approach was received was an indication that this was well recognized. Something other than an imported "world chemistry," or a simple translation to "African chemistry" seemed called for. For African countries, and perhaps, in fact, everywhere, the narrow professionalism that chemistry has acquired seemed to be the principal impediment to the solutions that many of the participants sought. The subject should spring more naturally from the interests and backgrounds of the beginning student, and studies of chemistry should provide a mastery of an approach to the physical world that is of value in many later pursuits. We would, however, have to take a quite different attitude to our subject for the confines that we have accepted to be relinquished. If they were, chemistry might become a more natural development from the interests of the students to the extensions of chemistry that are now often isolated within labels such as biochemistry and biology, geology and minerology, oceanography, and even industry and economics. Such feelings about the broader goals that might be set for chemistry in view of the different, and pressing, needs of the developing African countries were nicely jolted by one of the final conference presentations. In a beautiful presentation, R. R. Hill, Senior Lecturer a t the Open University, gave an enthusiastically received discussion of the British Open University. This approach to higher education provides, it is claimed, a modern, efficient route to mass university-level education. It is a highly programmed, modern counterpart of the correspondence course. It makes use of work booklets, radio and TV broadcasts, summer "short courses," and frequent examinations. It was hard for this old programmer to understand the chill he felt a t this overwhelming operation, and a t the enthusiastic response with which it was received by many of the participants. The transmittal of the accepted subject matter of chemistry and the stress on examination, or as they say "assessment," seemed to aim too wide of the mark that should be set for African chemistry. But the programmed approach of the British Open University is beautifully produced and is undoubtedly efficient. It, or something like it, could well attract the attention of financially hard-pressed but striving countries. 'It was made quite clear to all the visitors a t the conference that immense, frustrating obstacles block the route to the chemical education programs that would best meet the needs of the newly-independent African countries. There seemed, nevertheless, to be a great opportunity for chemists brought up in the American system, or lack of system, to make significant contributions. Their ideas and attitudes would help to broaden the base on wbich the Africans will build their chemical education system. Unfortunately, few African universities have the funds to support additional, even short-term staff. A modest involvement of both chemists and private foundations could Volume 50, Number 8, August 1973 / 527

bring this added dimension to the scene in many African universities. The conference itself was an example of the contribution that an individual can make. It was organized by Dave McCormick, then a lecturer at the University of Nairobi. Although he was assisted by Dr. A. Lassen, a visiting lecturer from the University of Trondheim, no other regular staff or organization was available to him. I t is, however, characteristic of the situation that the follow-up on such contributions, so that they are fully exploited, is often not undertaken. Having completed his University of Nairobi appointment, Mr. McCormick is now a t the Manchester Centre for Education in Science. It is unlikely that the groundwork done a t the McCormick Conference

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will he built upon, even though some of the questions that were raised and refined seemed more appropriate to panAfrican consideration than to the separate and often small scale and financially restricted efforts that are now underway. The edited proceedings of the conference, containing both the presented papers and the discussions, provides an interesting insight into chemical education in the developing countries of Africa. Copies can be obtained by sending an international money order for $6, for surface mail, or $8.50, for air mail, payable to the East African Literature Bureau, Head Office, P.O. Box 30022, Nairobi, Kenya.