Minister Mtambo proposes introduction of cultural studies in school curricula

The Minister of Civic Education and National Unity, Timothy Pagonachi Mtambo, has proposed the introduction of cultural studies in school curricula to help students understand each one’s cultures.

Mtambo said adding cultural studies to the school curricula could potentially foster cross-fertilization of cultures as students appreciate each other’s actions and learn new beneficial things from each other.

The minister made the remarks on Thursday in his contribution during a virtual conference on the role of Culture in Education, Tourism and Sustainable Development Challenges and Opportunities for a Better Future Forum.

The conference was organized by the University of Pavia in Italy.

Mtambo said culture does not only assure socioeconomic development, but also assures its sustainability.

He said this fits well in the concept of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – Agenda 2030 – as well as Agenda 2063 of the African Union.

“The principle of ‘leaving no one behind’ requires that our development endeavors should be inclusive of all people regardless of their race, sex, nationality and age. This principle requires us not to be selfish i.e. using the resources inconsiderate of the future generations. It requires that in our development policy planning or programming, we should see the unborn generations ahead of us as beneficiaries of these policies. All economies rely on the health of its environment because that is where we get the productive assets that are so crucial for our economic development,” he said.

“It is, therefore, very important that cultural studies should be added in school curricula in order for students to understand each other’s cultures. This should be done not only at national schools/universities, but also the international schools/universities so that we learn more from each other for the betterment of our global village,” added Mtambo.

He further stated that the introduction of cultural studies in schools would help teachers and lecturers to understand and model their lectures while knowing the background of students in the classroom.

Mtambo said cross-fertilization of cultures would enrich education institutions, which will, in turn, produce well-informed and quality graduates who would be ready to contribute to the development of their nations and the world in general.

On tourism, the minister said there is an interwoven tapestry between culture and tourism as most tourists visit places to appreciate its cultural events, architectural designs, physical landscape i.e. mountains, lakes, and oceans, among others.

“Naturally, human beings enjoy visiting new places because of cultural diversity. If our cultures and values are the same, there would be no need for cross fertilization of cultures and hence limited movements for cultural tourism or tourism in general,” he said.

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