Critical thinking imperative for Rwandans

A recent article in The Economist lauded Rwanda’s promising business future (“Africa’s Singapore”, February 12th) but it also raised some issues attendant to ensuring a viable business-friendly environment, critical thinking being one of them. According to research allegedly conducted by the Legatum Institute, “Most domestically educated Rwandans have never learned how to think independently and critically…” The question is how does one arrive at such a conclusion? Can critical thinking be measured in quantifiable terms? What is critical thinking anyway? The problem here may be the offending generalisation - but the qualifier -most- is quite ambiguous! Because saying “most” reeks of mass characterisation whose methodology must be questioned or countered with other research to the contrary or otherwise. I will leave methodology for another article, however, for what it’s worth, thinking critically is imperative in all professions. Here is why. At a job interview in New York, a colleague was asked how many sewerage manholes are on Manhattan Island, New York City? Another common critical thinking question goes, “if you had a rope around the circumference of the Earth and you wanted to extend the rope so that it was always 3 meters away from the Earth, how much rope would you need? If these are the questions that bespectacled interview panelist is asking – some critical thinking is necessary or you lose that job. First, you do not have to know the “correct” answer even though that would be excellent. Second, you must know how to arrive at the answer. The issue is how you think it through. For instance, it is unrealistic for anyone to be expected to know the sewerage system of New York City but “Hey, am not a plumber!” will not cut it. Manhattan has between 150 and 160 streets traversed by 12 avenues. If there is a manhole at every intersection (160 by 12 = 1,920), there should be approximately 2000 manholes. That’s what my colleague answered and I believe he passed the critical thinking test. Also the rope question requires you to “think critically” and apply relevant facts or knowledge like the fact that the earth is round and that if you have a rope around it, you’d have to add 6 meters to the earth’s diameter to ensure that the rope is always 3 meters away all around. The important thing is to be able to explain how you arrive at your response. Not necessarily the correctness of the answer. I believe this kind of thinking has to be learned and may just be necessary for your business manager or field officer to have. By definition, critical thinking enables us to recognize a wide range of subjective analyses of otherwise objective data, and to evaluate how well each analysis might meet our needs. Facts may be facts, but how we interpret them may vary. It is a two step process, first is internalization of content like ideas, principles and theories; followed by application of the learned (internalized) content as it becomes relevant in the learner’s life. Critical thinking employs not only logic (either formal or, much more often, informal) but also broad intellectual criteria such as clarity, credibility, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, significance and fairness.By contrast, passive, non-critical thinkers take a simplistic view of the world. They see things in black and white, as either-or, rather than recognizing a variety of possible understanding. They see questions as yes or no with no subtleties or gray areas. They fail to see linkages and complexities. They fail to recognise related elements. Non-critical thinkers take an egotistical view of the world; they take their facts as the only relevant ones, their own perspective as the only sensible one, their goal as the only valid one.This clinical approach is mainly attributed to Western culture and its proponents are hard pressed to adapt its functionality to non-Western reality. After all, does one need critical thinking for subsistence farming in Nyamagabe?Or a bicycle repair shop in Gicumbi? Maybe not, but one thing is for sure, in order to achieve Vision 2020, attract substantial foreign investment and position itself as a magnet hub for regional commerce, Rwanda’s skilled labor force has to be equipped with critical thinking skills. A 2009 National Skills Audit conducted by HIDA and Rwandan Ministry of Public Service and Labor found the private sector with a “severe shortage of both technicians – 17% and professionals – 24%” available with the private sector lacking more than 60% of required skill capacity. This brings us to Rwanda’s domestic education and whether it actually equips its graduates with critical thinking skills; critical thinking is not yet a forte in Rwandan pedagogy considering “bloquage / kuboloka” – university slang for cramming content for exam purposes (incidentally etymologically the verb “bloquer” in Quebec also means ‘to fail or to flunk an exam) is still the encouraged norm for high grades. A slight shift in the pedagogical approach may be all that it takes. The current trend in mainstream higher education provides skills that satisfy the needs of the private sector or corporate employers requiring a direct link between the business sector and tertiary curricula. The rationale is that what is taught would then be current and directly applicable in the field. It makes no sense to churn out graduates who have been taught stuff that is not useful to the current employer because they will be unemployable or at best under-employed. “…economic growth and social development crucially depend on increasing supplies of trained and educated- entrepreneurs, workers and citizens, and that higher education is key to doing that.” says Ian Scott, Executive Director of a recently held Emerging Markets Symposium, on a segment aptly titled “Tertiary Education in Emerging Markets” the meeting, featured current and former government officials, university leaders, academics and other experts from developed and developing countries. These participants were preoccupied with, among other things, this resounding question; How can governments (like Rwanda) and tertiary institutions in emerging markets build working relationships with potential employers to improve their understanding of future demand for graduates? Well, in the short run, introducing relevant curricula in the school system is more easily achievable – one hour a week on critical thinking in écoles sécondaires including a mandatory part in the finals - may be sufficient. In the long run, a consistent and systematic effort between the government and private sector to build those working relationships has to be implemented because critical thinking is only one imperative factor in attaining Vision 2020. Martin Musinguzi is a Rwandan Harvard Law School graduate practicing law in the U.S.