ABOUT AFRICAN NUMERALS
Numerals are symbols that represent numbers in mathematics language in culture. African Numerals are new innovative symbols invented to represent numbers by Amadu Hudu, a teacher, a development-oriented, and a Dagomba by tribe in Tamale, Northern Region of Ghana. African Numerals were initially known and registered as Ghanaian numerals in Accra, Ghana. More research was conducted on it and it was established that the numerals are suitable for the enhancement of teaching and learning of African mathematics, science, technology, languages, culture, education, and others, hence it was revised and registered as African numerals.
Studies and surveys were conducted among thousands of people comprising literates, illiterates, women, men, young, old, children and the visually impaired and the results indicated that the majority of the respondents understood African numerals faster and easily. Fortunately, tribes that took part in the African numerals survey understood the African numerals faster than expected. Most Africans used to tally to represent numbers (numerals). Others were writing vertical lines as numbers and numerals. Some Africans could not even write any symbol to represent any number or numeral. It was observed that most Africans could not write numerals locally unless they used conventional numerals such as Roman numerals and Arabic numerals.
Currently, most literates in Africa are widely using the Arabic and Roman numerals in their daily learning and other transactions.
Though both the illiterates and the literates count numbers orally in their local dialects, they cannot write the numbers practically or physically, they know the numerals abstractly or conceptually.
Some children at lower primary schools drop out of school because they find it difficult to write symbols to represent numbers easily in conventional ways. Many girls fear and dislike mathematics in schools because they cannot initially write Arabic numerals easily and amicably at an early stage. Girls and children who normally cope with mathematics to some level in their lives, later on, drop out of school because they find it difficult to go further with the conventional numerals.
Children who are intelligent in the formal schools in Africa do perform well sometimes when supported, but indeed struggle and spend so much time learning the conventional numerals, hence dislike mathematics and science.
Currencies or Bank notes in Africa are identified and recognized by the illiterates through the colour or the physical features and not because of the conventional numerals on the Bank notes. The illiterates are sometimes cheated because they do not know the difference or the value of the conventional numerals on the Currencies/Bank notes when the colours are the same. Many Banks in Africa use object symbols on Bank notes just for their recognition and identification, but still, the illiterates and children find it difficult to identify and recognize the Currencies/Bank notes.
These invented African numerals are easy for children to identify and recognize. Both the illiterates and the literates on the African continent take a shorter time to understand the African numerals. It takes a shorter time to write African numerals and is very easy to identify and recognize when written or printed on sample Bank notes and anything. Both the illiterates and literates identify and recognize African numerals faster than most of the current numerals in the system according to a study conducted. The African numerals will complement the conventional numerals in the formal and non–formal sectors to make teaching, learning, and lives simple and easy for Africans and to help speed up the development of many nations in terms of mathematics, science, communication, and technology.
There are four major levels or classes of the use of the African numerals. These are; (1) the Primary level, (2) the Secondary level, (3) the tertiary level, and (4) the advanced level.
African Numerals System contains African numerals with its series of innovative educational programmes that make teaching and learning of mathematics simple and easy at the lower primary in Africa. Other programmes under these African Numerals systems are aiding development faster for society’s betterment. These programmes consist of science and technological innovations, research, manufacturing, tourism, and others.
The Mission of the African Numerals System
The mission is to enhance teaching and learning in African basic schools to improve upon the livelihoods of the beneficiaries for the development and betterment of African society.
Vision of African Numerals System
The vision is to free Africa from poverty, hunger, and illiteracy for its development and betterment through Africa Numerals with its innovative programmes.
The Major Goal of the African Numerals System
The major goal of the African Numerals System is to improve upon the teaching and learning of mathematics in African basic schools and enhance science and technology in the manufacturing industry for the continent’s socio-economic and cultural development and betterment.
Below are the major objectives of the African Numerals System.
- To help Africa Central Banks improve on the features of the Currencies/Bank notes for easy identification and recognition by the illiterates and literates.
- To help ease mathematical challenges in the basic schools in Africa.
- To help mitigate the high rate of illiteracy on the African continent for speedy development.
- To help preserve and promote the African culture (African languages).
- To help speed up production through science and technology; link up education with development in a more practical manner.
- To complement the conventional numerals in our educational system to make teaching and learning easy in African schools and in the non-formal sectors.
- To manufacture African numerals wall clocks and other products to earn income to support children’s education and non-formal education.
- To help improve the African educational system more practically for the continent’s development and betterment.
- To promote tourism to attract tourists to our identified interested sites to enable earning income for our needy children’s education and non-formal education in the rural communities.
- To collaborate with organizations for the promotion of rural-urban development and betterment through volunteer hosting, volunteerism, and more. That is to improve upon community livelihoods (host volunteers for teaching, development work, and so on).
- To invite investors to invest in our programmes and partners to partner with our programmes.