THE EMERGENCE OF EDUCATION IN TRADITIONAL AKPOKU SOCIETY

Abstract

Before the introduction of western education (formal education) into indigenous Akpoku society; indigenous education (informal education) had been in existence. In this system, elders (i.e. custodians of the customs and traditions of Akpoku) are regarded as the instructors. Through this system, they taught the young ones indigenous Akpoku beliefs and practices, customs, traditions, values of hard work, respect for elders and constituted authorities; chastity before marriage, taboos of the land that forbids incest, sexual intercourse in the farm, killing and eating of sacred animals dedicated to the deities, desecration of sacred places that helped to maintain the equilibrium that exist between the living and the dead. As at that period, the indigenous Akpoku, not only emphasized so much on farming, but also believed Western education (formal education) to be for lazy children who had no strength to work in the farm. When western education was formally introduced, it exposed the people to the art of reading and writing which in turn changed their hitherto mentality that “education was only meant for lazy children who had no strength to work in the farm”. The methodology adopted was oral interviews (report of elders and handed down tradition from the custodians of customs and traditions of Akpoku) and secondary sources (published materials). Findings from the study reveal that western education is crucial and that it has helped in all round development of the people.