In "The Stranglehold of English Lit." Felix Mnthali takes a stand that Jane Austen novels are not beneficial to students in African countries to read and learn about. They are not relevant to the lives of these students nor do they pose any benefit by reading them. Mnthali states that she is "mauling the flower of our youth in the south". Jane Austen's novels are unrealistic fairy tales for even the Africans with the European education to understand and read them. Their country does not run this way.
I personally have never read a Jane Austen book nor do I ever plan on reading one. I have seen two movies, not by choice, based on her books "Atonement" and "Pride and Prejudice". Based on these movies and from what I heard about her in class, I know that she writes Chick Lit. and romance novels. I do not feel that they are beneficial to anyone in Europe or North America. I completely agree with Mnthali when he asks "how could questions be asked...with Jane Austen at the centre? How could they be answered?" I feel and I believe that Mnthali feels the same, that students in Africa need to read books and novels that are more relevant to their situations and lifestyles. This does not mean that they should not learn about the outside world but should learn from their own countries readings.
Mnthali is not quite as forward about saying that the colonization of Africa by Europeans needs to be abolished as Kenyatta was in "The Gentlemen of the Jungle", he is trying to state that their needs to be more African Literature. Mnthali is closer to what Ngugi states in "Creating Space for a Hundred Flowers to Bloom". Teach everything, learn about all cultures, let everyone have a language and come up with their own written language. They both feel that it is a costly suggestion but it is worth the cost to make it happen.
I like your qualification that a student can learn from the literatures of other cultures, but it is also important to include the literature from their own culture at well. I think you are right that Mnthali's point of view is more closely aligned with Ngugi's point of view. We should learn it all, but not one at the expense of another. And, do have to say, Jane Austen did include some social critiques in her novels, so while it is Chick Lit, it is quality Chick Lit. :-)
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