Using Oral History to Redress Moral Degeneration Amongst the Youth in Higher Education Institutions of South Africa

Abstract

Africa has a rich oral history of indigenous peoples that is enshrined in their indigenous stories, folklore, myths, and legends. Indigenous elders in Africa have remained the key aspect who transmit knowledge from generation to generation by word of mouth. Moral degeneration is a problem throughout African communities generally, and South Africa particularly where there is growth in anti-social behaviour amongst the current generation. The study utilized qualitative document analysis (QDA) research methods to elucidate meaning from previously published works. The findings revealed that the youth today lack respect and morals in higher education institutions. Educators in higher education institutions are concerned over many issues that relate to the moral behaviour of the youth. Among those issues, learners are heavily affected by new concerns such as teenage pregnancy crime, suicide, alcohol, and drug abuse. Moral delinquency is at the core of their lives, and this has proven to be a serious concern. Consequently, the current education system which is devoid of indigenous knowledge fails to communicate positive morals to students leading to moral degeneration. This is proof that the facilitators in higher institutions should be equipped with skills to educate young people about morals. It is concluded that higher education institutions should be refined to respond to societal problems and challenges thereby reconstructing the morals of the youth. Without morals, the youth will have nothing and if their morals are not redressed, South Africa is likely to have immoral leaders tomorrow. This paper contributes to the area of oral history and indigenous knowledge as it advocates that oral history serves as an influential instrument for maintaining culture.

Keywords

• indigenous knowledge systems
• indigenous knowledge
• moral regeneration
• indigenous ethics
• university.