WELCOME TO THE KWAME NKRUMAH LEARNING CENTER
The KNLC is your one-stop free learning site primarily for Mathematics , Science and Computer Literacy but also for other disciplines that are of interest to teachers and students at all levels of the educational ladder as well as adults who are eager to seek knowledge in these areas either for personal enjoyment or for self improvement.
Why primarily Maths , Science and Computer Literacy?
We believe that these core disciplines constitute an important missing link in the African development equation. This is because apart from the fact that maths forms the basis of engineering and technology , the study of which is inevitable in modern industrial development, it is also used virtually in all professions.
As Dr Rob points out in the Math Forum,
“ There are uses of mathematics in all the hard sciences , such as biology, chemistry and physics; the soft sciences such as economics, psychology and sociology. …….There are even uses in the arts such as sculpture, drawing and music. In addition anything that uses a computer uses mathematics , and you are probably aware how many things that is.”http://www.mathforum.org/drMath/faq.
Furthermore, mathematics enables one to acquire the skill of logical thinking, a skill which is essential in all works of life. Again, as a “language”, mathematics is used to analyse and draw conclusions in fields where ordinary language has a very serious handicap. Go to the Math Forum to read a lot of interesting questions and answers on the study and uses of maths.
That math and science go together in forming the basis of modern economic development cannot be disputed. But even more important than the end result of science for development is the scientific method which, we believe, must be taught in all African schools as a basic course. The brilliant scientist and ardent popularizer of science, Carl Sagan, once wrote,
“If we teach only the findings and product of science- no matter how useful and inspiring they may be- without communicating its critical method, how can the average person possibly distinguish science from pseudo science?”
(Carl Sagan: The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark pg 21.Ballantine Books, NY).
Other aspects of science, such as the History of Science, are also useful for understanding how the world works. The knowledge of the history of science enables us to appreciate the limitations of science, both as a discipline and a tool for development. To quote Carl Sagan again,
“Science is far from a perfect instrument of knowledge. It’s just the best we have. In this respect, as in many others, it is like democracy. Science by itself cannot advocate the courses of human action, but it can certainly illuminate the possible consequences of alternative courses of action” (ibid pg 27 )
Why “ Kwame Nkrumah “ Learning Center ?
We decided to name this website, which directs its intended audience to free educational sites to promote their education especially in science and maths, after Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the flag bearer of African freedom and unity and the first president of Ghana for two major reasons:
Firstly, he was an untiring advocate of education for freedom and development and he amply demonstrated this in Ghana. I daresay that, but for him, a whole generation, or, perhaps, several generations of educated Ghanaians would not have had any education at all. He instituted free and compulsory primary education, introduced mass education and undertook massive educational reforms never before seen in Ghana. Sadly his free and compulsory educational program as well as mass education were made to lapse by successive governments in Ghana, most of whose members benefitted themselves from these reforms. Today about 30% of Ghanaian children of primary- school-going age remain virtually invisible. How very sad!
Secondly, he showed a keen awareness of the need for maths and science in national development and demonstrated this by establishing the University of Cape Coast, which was originally conceived as a University for Science Education, and upgrading the College of Technology in Kumasi to the status of a university. He further negotiated 3000 scholarships for Ghanaian students to study various science courses in the former USSR and Eastern Europe.
THIS SITE IS DEDICATED TO HIS BLESSED MEMORY.
.Today his daughter, the Rt Hon Samia Nkrumah, MP for Jomoro constituency in the Western Region, has assumed her father's mantle, and, in a characteristic Nkrumah-style, promoting education-for-development once again in Ghana.WE SALUTE HER.
Read about Ghanaian appreciation of Nkrumah's achievements here.
Conclusion
In conclusion we wish to emphasize that in this website, we are acting just like curators in a museum, pointing out and directing people to the free and useful works of others.