A look into classification: Towards building an indigenous knowledge platform for educational use

Indigenous knowledge (IK) refers to knowledge specific to a locality or community. Although deemed vital for many developmental endeavours, IK remains unavailable in explicit formats for poor communities living in Africa. As part of an ongoing effort to collect every day IK in a form suited for later use in (formal) schooling, this paper discusses the role of classification, with due consideration for the intended context of use. The paper examines how IK is classified, and discusses the wide implications of classification in the eventual process of developing an ICT based platform that would allow IK to be used in the classrooms, and perhaps even consumed in the production of formal school material.