u/IcyWoodpecker386

‎Colonial schools didn’t just educate Africans — they erased African languages. Kids were punished for speaking their mother tongue, taught only in English or French, and made to see their own languages as “backward.”

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‎Here’s how it happened…

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‎1. English / French Only in Class

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‎Colonial schools banned local languages from classrooms. Children were taught that only the colonizer’s tongue (English, French, Portuguese) was “proper” and “educated.”

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‎2. Punishment for Speaking Local Languages

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‎ In many mission and government schools, pupils were b€@ten, fined, or made to wear shame badges if they were caught speaking their mother tongue. This created fear and shame around native languages.

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‎3. Textbooks & Curriculum Imported from Europe

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‎ All reading materials came from Europe. Local history, proverbs, and oral literature were excluded. Students learned to read and write only in European languages.

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‎4. Teacher Training in European Languages

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‎ Teachers themselves were trained in English or French, so the system had no pipeline for teaching African languages. This reinforced the cycle.

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‎5. Linking Language to Social Mobility

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‎ Jobs, promotions, and civil service positions required fluency in the colonizer’s language. Parents pushed their children to abandon the local tongue to “get ahead.”

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‎6. Replacing Oral Traditions

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‎ African education used storytelling, songs, and proverbs. Colonial schools replaced these with rote memorization of European facts, weakening intergenerational transmission of culture.

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‎7. Stigmatizing “Mother-Tongue Accents”

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‎ Students who spoke European languages with African accents were mocked, while “good English” or “good French” was praised as a mark of intelligence.

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‎ Within two or three generations, many children grew up speaking European languages at school and even at home, while their grandparents’ languages shrank to ceremonial or rural use. The school system didn’t just teach subjects; it taught a hierarchy of languages that made African tongues seem unfit for progress.

Ethiopia officially inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on September 9, 2025

This massive hydroelectric proiect is set to transform energy production and regional cooperation in Africa

Kev facts about GERD

• Africa's largest hvdroelectric dam with 5,1 50 megawatts capacity

• Construction lasted from 2011 to 2025

• Reservoir is 172 kilometers long and holds up to 74 bilion cubic meters of water

• The dam is 170 meters high and 1,800 meters long

• Over 25,000 Ethiopians involved in construction enhancing local economy and skills

• Total cost around $5 billion, mostly funded internally (91% by Ethiopia's central bank, 9% from citizen bonds and donations)

• Expected to double Ethiopia's electricity production and supply power to over 120 million people

• Enables electricity exports to neighbors like Kenya

• A symbol of national pride and unity despite regional political tensions

• Supports Ethiopia's green energy goals and sustainable development

Source: www.webuildaroup.com/en/media/ press-releases/grand-ethopian-renaissance-dam-gerd-inaugurated