We live in an unequal world where not everyone has the privilege to access basic human rights such as education. Despite this sad reality, there are people who use what they have to impact their communities and we all need someone to believe in us like Cynthia Onwuchuruba Bryte-Chinule from Nigeria.
Onwuchuruba is a mathematician who teaches mathematics to dropout kids in Igbo and Nigerian Pidgin. Her teaching is targeted at children who dropped out of school due to unforeseen reasons, as she redistributes her expertise in the subject to ensure that they get basic maths skills.
The mathematician graduated with a first-class mathematics degree from Nnamdi Azikiwe University and is also the founder of PEEL initiative, an NGO aimed at educating dropouts.
According To Research
Learning something in your mother tongue cannot be underestimated. In fact, research shows children who learn in their mother tongue understand ad perform better.
UNESCO says numerous empirical studies have shown that children who start learning in their mother tongue tend to perform better academically. They demonstrate a deeper understanding of the subject matter and develop superior comprehension skills compared to their peers who start their education in a second language.
Furthermore, UNESCO adds that education in the mother tongue is a key factor for inclusion and quality learning, and it also improves learning outcomes and academic performance. This is crucial, especially in primary school to avoid knowledge gaps and increase the speed of learning and comprehension.
Concluding Thoughts
One of the most key takeaways from this story is language / mother tongue instruction. How Cynthia uses Igbo and Pidgin to teach is intriguing. Which makes you think; if may be people who struggled with maths and sciences as a whole were taught in their mother tongue, would that increase their chances of grasping the subject?
Imagine if our education system on the entire African continent embarked on a complete overhaul by centring our beautiful rich diverse languages? Imagine using our languages in Humanities and STEM subjects etc? Understanding science and the social spheres of life in our first language? That would be disruptive and impactful in so many aspects of life; but here we are forcing colonial languages in our schools and punishing kids for expressing themselves in their mother tongue and labelling our languages as “vernacular.” Despicable.
This is a perfect example of community building. How she leverages her mathematics expertise using mother tongue and pidgin (creole) is exemplary, however, it ought to be the norm.