Abstract: For years, knowledges from non-western contexts have been under-represented in the both Western and nonWestern contexts. This study argues that, for African region to achieve sustainable development, African indigenous values, customs and practices need to be considered/ privileged, and not to be marginalised. This reviewed study, therefore, uses Southern theory (Connell, 2007), to challenge Western ideologies that what counts as rational knowledge comes from the West. Southern theory, therefore, challenges this dominant discourse, this Eurocentric belief that African societies are backwards and incapable, and paves the way for the possibility for change in finding and using knowledge from an African perspective. The application of Southern theory therefore makes it possible for knowledge originating from non-Western contexts to be recognised and legitimated. On the other hand, Southern theory is employed to suggest ways of making knowledge from Western contexts more responsive to Southern contexts. In other words, it suggests the deconstructions of Western knowledge to fit into non-Western contexts, such as Tanzania. Drawing in some postcolonial ideas, the study suggests that it is high time for people in Africa to embrace African ways of thinking, their ways of living, and their languages to ensure sustainable development in Africa.

Received January 23, 2020; Reviewed March 26, 2020; Accepted April 17, 2020

Abstract: This online study investigated levels of plagiarism from different regions, for example, Africa, Asia, U.S.A and Europe. Specifically, the study investigated theses similarity index according to the following indicators: Sex, University, Region, Level of thesis -Doctoral or Masters and Year the thesis was written. The paper also tested if there was any significant difference between levels of plagiarism and sex of student, regional institutions, level of thesis and year of thesis writing. The results indicate that females plagiarized more than the males, doctoral theses had highest degree of plagiarism than the masters theses, there was significant difference between the sex of student and similarity index, there was no significant difference in the level of plagiarism when grouped according to sex of student, there was no significant difference in the level of plagiarism when grouped according to region, there was no significant difference in the level of plagiarism when grouped according to the level of thesis, there wasa significant difference between the plagiarism similarity index when grouped according to the year of the thesis.The following are the recommendations shared from the study: institutions of higher learning should train students and academic staff on the importance of staying plagiarism free, academic staff should remain keen on plagiarized work and once detected, legal action should be taken,including punishing the student, each institution of higher learning should have plagiarism policy in place, student supervisors should work with students showing them how to avoid plagiarism in their academic writing.