Hunhu (Ubuntu) and schools discipline in Africa

Abstract

Ubuntu lies at the heart of the African way of life and impacts on every aspect of people’s well being. Broodryk observed that Ubuntu is present in all languages of Africa. For instance Hunhu a Shona description in the Zimbabwean context, is known as Ubuntu in Zulu; Botho in Sesotho: Ajobi in Yoruba: Numunhu in Shangaan;Vhuthu in Venda; Bunhu in Tsonga; Umntu in Xhosa; Utu in Swahili and Abantu in Ugandan. This paper seeks to explore the notion of being human by grounding discussions around the concept of what is generally referred to as ubuntu in South Africa and hunhu among the Shona in Zimbabwe. The issue of discipline in schools is selected as a way to demonstrate the concept of hunhu/ubunlu mostly amongst students. Ubuntu can be regarded as the soul force that drives almost every facet of societal life in African societies. In this paper the concept of ubuntu and hunhu have the same meaning and are used interchangeably. The paper seeks to understand how hunhu impacts on discipline in Zimbabwean schools. While hunhu in the Zimbabwean context is seen as that act of being human, Nussbaum observed that ‘ubuntu is a capacity in African culture to express compassion, reciprocity, dignity, harmony and humanity in the interests of building and maintaining a community with justice and mutual caring.’ Nussbaum further notes that ubuntu expresses ‘our interconnectedness, our common humanity and the responsibility to each other that deeply flows from our deeply felt connection.’ Adjibolosoo noted that ‘one of the greatest desires of every human being is to live in a society where people respect human dignity, liberty,justice, fairness, equity, and other aspects of human rights.’ There is a general trend for African people to demonstrate a strong desire and a tendency to live a life governed by ubuntu principles. Thus for many authors particularly those of African origin like Tambulasi and Kanyuni, ubuntu is seen as the foundation of African people’s cultural and communal life. In addition, it is seen as something that works and reinforces the nature of a person’s being human. Ubuntu, action-oriented as it is, celebrates the people’s lived experiences and their potential.This paper examines the consequences of ubuntu when applied to the school context especially in areas of school discipline.A high performing school is likely to be characterised by the presence of ubuntu in its midst. Generally the level of school discipline reflects the presence and/or absence of ubuntu. The underlying argument is that when schools embrace ubuntu we witness a disciplined student body. Consequently, the type of leadership that leads to improved school performance is related to the presence or absence of ubuntu. An ill-disciplined student body, on the other hand, shows the failure to embrace the principles of ubuntu.Hence, the absence of ubuntu would result in undesirable outcomes in schools.This paper is organised into four major sections excluding the introduction and conclusion.The first section defines key concepts such as ubuntu (hunhu) and the human factor.The second section discusses hunhu in its relation to school culture and school discipline. The third section examines the link between ill-discipline in the fonn of the absence of hunhu to what is termed human factor decay. The fourth section preceding the conclusion examines the relationship between hunhu and school leadership. Lastly the paper draws a conclusion and presents concluding remarks in the light of the discussion of ubuntu/hunhu.