LECTURE FIFTEEN: DEVELOPMENTS IN EDUCATION TO 1945

The Coming of Europeans

Early traders

European merchants interested in trading activities along the coast of West Africa first
introduced western education to the African continent. The Portuguese were the first to venture
when they conquered Ceuta in [Link] later on extended their influence to the ports of
Fernando Po in 1475, Sao Jorge da Mina in 1482 and Benin in 1483.

The Portuguese fortunes however started to decline from about 1530 due to rivalry by the other
European powers such as; the Dutch, Danes and English who were also interested in gold and
slaves. By the 16th C, about1300 slaves were being shipped out of Africa annually. This figure
increased to 27 000 in the 17th C and70 000 in the 18thC

It is these European traders who first introduced Christianity and western education on the
African continent. This initially targeted African men who got introduced to basic literacy to
enable them work as interpreters and clerks to the traders. Special emphasis was given to the
education of children born out of the relationships between European men and African women,
the mullatoes. At Cape Coast for instance, a Mullato Fund was started with monthly
contributions from the traders to cater for these children. Others were sent overseas for
education. The traders started schools in their castles to teach Christianity, reading and writing.

The demand for the abolition of slave trade in the early 19 th C opened the way for new
relationships between Europe and Africa. By 1772, Sierra Leone became a freed slave
settlement. In 1808, it became the first British Colony and henceforth the centre for British
activity on the continent. The French were not to be left out of this. By 1840, they had started
carrying out trading activities along the Senegal River. In East and Central Africa, the British,
the French and the Germans started involving themselves in trading activities but later on they
turned to agriculture.

Christian missionaries
The decision by Christian missionaries to come to Africa was motivated by slave trading
activities. The internationalization of this trade went against the Christian doctrines while the
African suffering touched the hearts of many Christians in Europe. This led to the abolition
movement in Britain that focused attention to conditions of the Africans back on the continent.
The kind of suffering that these people went through brought out a sense of guilt among some
Christians. The first to take up this challenge were those who had experienced the evangelical
revival of the late 18th C started by John Wesley of the Methodist Church and the evangelical
wing of the Anglican Church. This new fervor affected all Protestant denominations in Europe
and North America and led to the formation of various missionary societies towards the end of
the 18thC. Sierra Leone became a Protestant base for Anglicans, Baptists and Mothodists.
Southern Africa attracted German Morovians, London Missionary Society, British Methodists
and German Lutherans. In East Africa, came; CMS, Catholics-White Fathers, Society of African
Missions, Oblates of Mary Immaculate and Oblates of de-Sales. These Christian Missionary
groups played a very important role in the education of Africans apart from evangelizing them.

Colonization

The European interests in Africa during the last quarter of the 19 th and 20th Cs increased
tremendously due to:

the need to secure markets and new products brought about by the Industrial
Revolution,

the search for cheap raw materials for their industries,

the severe economic depression that occurred between 1873-1893 forced European
firms to appeal for help from their respective governments to remove the African
middlemen as a way of increasing their profits, and

the need to expand European influence elsewhere especially by the French after the
loss of Alsace and Lorain to the Germans.
These were among the major factors that led to the European scramble for territories in Africa
that eventually culminated into the partition of the continent during the Berlin conference of
[Link] “sharing” of the continent was made behind the backs of African chiefs on the basis of
the treaties they had signed with Europeans. After the establishment of territorial boundaries, the
respective powers set up administrative structures in their areas of jurisdiction.

Colonial policies and education

Two types of policies were used by colonial administers in Africa. These were; direct rule which
was used by the French, Belgians and Portuguese. and indirect rule used by the British. The
policy of direct rule was based on the assumption that African institutions were weak and that
they could not be used to sustain the colonial machinery. It was argued that Africans were
illiterate and technologically backward to adapt to the colonial mode of government.
Accordingly, the Europeans had to operate their own administrative structure. The policy of
indirect rule on the other hand was meant to have Africans play some role in the colonial set up.
The African leaders were supposed to assist in the governance of local communities as a way of
cutting down on colonial expenses. Accordingly, African rulers or chiefs were given powers,
rules and regulations to carry out administrative functions.

The colonial systems of education in Africa were heavily influenced by the two administrative
policies outlined above that translated into the educational policies of assimilation and adaptation
respectively.

Direct

Assimilation

The French applied this policy on the understating that all colonies were to be integrated into the
French nation in future. The French therefore wanted to use education to:

Familiarize Africans with European social, political, cultural, economic and moral systems as
a first step in the process of integration since French institutions had to be uniform all
over the world.
 Create African elite cherishing metropolitan values with aspirations of becoming Black
Frenchmen, people of high intellectual quality identical and similar to those of France to
help adapt African societies to the French model.

Maintain standards that were equivalent to those in France especially in the teaching of
language and culture.

Spread mass education and create an improvement in the standards of living.

The French system used French teachers while French was the medium of instruction hence no
use of vernaculars in the schools. This approach was meant to cut down on expenses with regard
to the training of teachers and the translation of books.

[Link] Association

The French later on discarded the educational policy of assimilation for association, a more
pragmatic and flexible educational policy that sought the co-operation of the colonial subjects for
the economic and social development of their societies. The French authorities decided to respect
the native institutions as a way of bringing about a more and greater productive co-operation
between the natives and French “associates”.

It was argued that metropolitan education was not wholly appropriate hence the need to adapt it
to serve local needs in each part of the colonial empire. Mass education was not supposed to
alienate people from their own societies. Education was also supposed to contribute to the
progress of the natives and increase productivity such as; improved agricultural methods, modern
health practices and the speaking of French. The new policy set out to preserve African traditions
that were not in conflict with French standards.

The lack of clarity between the two policies by the French led to difficulties in adapting
education. The later was however meant to have Africans develop along their own lines.

Indirect

Adaptation
This British colonial policy was meant to have western education adapt to the local African
situations. The system aimed at cultural adaptation where metropolitan institutions were to be
adjusted to the local political and social organizations for purposes of forming Africans well
rooted in their own culture. Primary / elementary education placed more emphasis on the study
of the local environment and vernaculars which were also used as the media of instruction.

The Africans were not to be exposed to the western curriculum to guard against creating
malcontents as was the case with the British experience in India. The system of education for the
Africans therefore emphasised the acquisition of industrial skills as well as adapting the people
to their local needs. The approach was contained in a proposal put forward by Lord Chirol in his
book, The Indian Unrest in which he advised the British administrators to guard against the
problems experienced in India that were largely blamed on the practice of an academic
education.

The British education was meant to create an African civil service to operate a model British
administration but one that was adapted to the African conditions of life. Lord Lugard, one of the
main exponents of this approach to the education of the Africans advocated for the school to be
conducted in accordance with native customs in matters of dress and etiquette as per the African
conditions of life to stop them from imitating their European masters.

The two systems as practiced by the French and the British were however similar with regard to
secondary and higher education since both emphasized on standards similar to those of Europe

Missionary education policies

The main objective of Christian missionary activities in Africa was to evangelize and civilize
Africans. To achieve this, the missionaries established a network of village schools to offer basic
education by teaching the 3Rs and religious instruction for baptism. The early schools were
meant for converts, catechists and the African middle class as the best way of introducing
European civilization to the natives.

The Protestant groups unlike the Catholics took the lead in the education of Africans. This
motivation came from the emphasis by the former on the reading and understanding of the Bible
which led to the establishment of literacy classes as well as other basics for evangelism such as;
singing, scriptures, prayers, reading, arithmetic and religion, similar to the education of the
working class introduced in Europe following the Industrial Revolution.

Missionary education was also aimed at uprooting Africans from their depravity, believed to be
rooted in their culture and traditional beliefs. These according to the Europeans had to be
destroyed and be replaced by something higher. “Many missionaries truly believed that Africans
were savages whose barbaric tendencies were manifested in their pagan customs, licentious
dancing and drumming and communal family structure” (Berman, E.H.1975).

The missionaries set out to change this by;

uprooting Africans from their societies through the establishment of boarding schools,

giving them basic education to make them good Christians, and

exposing Africans to industrial education because according to them Africans were lazy and
therefore manual work was the only best way for fighting this malaise.

The missionaries were also convinced that the African inferiority hindered them from attaining
European standards. This thinking heavily influenced their educational policy, which led to the
conclusion that Africans could not benefit from a purely literary curriculum. “Rather their
education should be geared towards those manual occupations more attuned to their arrested
development and childlike bearing.” Vocational education was therefore used as a weapon to
combat indolence and depravity. A combination of industrial education with Christian virtues
was meant to fight African immorality.

These unfortunate ideas about the Africans emanated from the pseudo-scientific and racist
European thinking of the mid-19th C whose basic argument was that the Africans had a small
cranial capacity compared to that of Europeans. This was further strengthened by Darwin’s
theory published in 1859 on the “Origin of Species” which led to the conclusion that the African
was indeed inferior.

Apart from these arguments, the successful vocational programmes at Hampton and Tuskegee
institutes in the United States of America for the rehabilitation of former slaves (Negroes)
enticed missionaries to focus on manual education for the Africans because of their common
ancestry. It was against this background that the CMS Board in 1890 under the influence of
Booker T. Washington decided to have industrial education form part of their curriculum in
Africa. Washington was also invited to the First World Missionary Conference held in
Edinburgh in June 1910 where he recommended that missionaries working in Africa ought to
pay special attention to experiments of Hampton and Tuskegee.

It is however important to note that these ideas were meant to win support of their parishioners
back at home for financial support. At the same time, vocational education was seen as a way of
raising funds and the self-sustenance of missionaries through the production of food while
training in crafts/trades ensured the availability of carpenters, masons, blacksmiths, among others
to cut down on field expenses.

Education during the inter-war period

The First World War fought between 1914 and 1918, was an important event in many ways. But
most importantly;

It destroyed European arrogance and their superiority myth.

It led to serious feelings especially back in Europe to the effect that colonialism had to be
backed by a good and justifying philosophy.

The Phelps-Stokes Commission

In education, tremendous expansion of opportunities for the Africans during the inter- war period
followed the recommendations of the Phelps – Stokes Commission on education in Africa. The
Phelps – Stokes Fund was established in 1910 in the U.S.A. and following requests by same
missionary groups, the commission carried out five studies in Africa between1920 – 1924. Its
terms of reference were: to assess the nature and quality of education of the Negroes both in
Africa and U.S.A. The commission focused attention on the needs and problems of African
education and encouraged local administrators to study the experiments that had been carried out
among American Negroes.
The report recommended the following:

The need to take girls education seriously, character training, rural improvement, secondary
schools and the co-operation of Africans themselves.

Education was supposed to conserve the good aspects of African life while at the same time
transmit the best in European civilization and Christianity.

Education had to focus both on the masses and the training of African leadership especially
for service to the community.

It also called for co-operation between colonial governments and Christian missionary
groups in the advancement of African education.

The major contribution of this report lay in the interest it generated towards African education.

i). In 1923, the Colonial Office formed a Permanent Advisory Committee on Native Education in
the Tropical Dependencies in British Territories. This committee called for full co-operation
between governments and missions.

ii). In 1925, the governors of African colonies held a conference that produced a practicable and
important education policy where colonial governments would spend their limited funds in
subsidizing, inspecting and improving mission schools than establish rival and more expensive
systems of education.

iii).10 to 15 years later, most British territories had developed education systems, which
provided about a quarter of the children with 2 – 4 years of schooling and a select few with 8 to
12 years.

The French on the other hand did not use missionary education systems but instead established
state schools for very few Africans who followed the metropolitan curriculum. The Belgian
policy also led to increased educational opportunities in the Congo but put a lot of emphasis on
primary education
The inter war period recorded some important developments especially in the area of higher
education. This was partly to discourage sending Africans for education overseas since the
colonial authorities felt that it encouraged the alienation of Africans from their societies. Some of
the Africans sent outside by missionaries decided to enrol in other courses they thought were
more promising than the technical courses initially admitted for that at times led to change of
universities in Britain and USA to the dismay of the colonial establishment. The Phelps –Stokes
Commission for instance was categorical that sending Africans overseas was expensive and
suggested the establishment of a “Colonial Native College” to provide higher education for the
whole of East Africa like Achimota in West Africa (Furley and Watson, 1978).

This pressure plus African agitations saw Fourah Bay College In sierra – Leone affiliated to the
University of Durham and started offering degree courses. Achimota College in Ghana, was
opened in 1924 and by 1930; it was offering education from kindergarten to University.

Nigeria registered tremendous developments in secondary education but the establishment of

Yaba Higher College that pioneered in University education became an important landmark
during the period.

The James Currie Report of 1933 on Higher Education in British Africa called on Britain to
establish universities in Africa to meet African demands than have them go elsewhere in search
of education. It recommended that Makerere in Uganda, Yaba in Nigeria, Gordon in Sudan,
Achimota in Ghana and Fourah Bay in Sierra Leone develop progressively to university status.
The plans were further reinforced by other commission recommendations that followed. For
instance, the Earl De La Warr Report of 1937 recommended that Makerere develop into a centre
of higher education for East Africa.

As the war moved to a close, there emerged a shift in London in favour of establishing full
universities in Africa. In view of this, the Colonial Secretary in 1943 appointed a Commission of
Higher Education in the Colonies headed by Sir Cyril Asquith. The Commission’s Report
released in 1945 formed the foundation on which policies for colonial universities were based as
per the policies of the post-war Labour government regarding developments in the colonies. The
report recommended the elevation of existing colleges; Makerere in Uganda, Achimota in
Ghana, Ibadan in Nigeria and Gordon Memorial College in Sudan to university college status.

African reactions

This period marks the beginnings of political agitations to colonial rule. This sometimes took on
a religious perspective in the form of independent churches that aimed at making Christianity
relevant to local needs. They sometimes led to violent revolts e.g. John Chilebwe’s in Malawi in
1915.

Educated Africans also started challenging colonialism by demanding equality and when this
was not realized they formed political parties. West African students in France or Britain first
started the spirit of African nationalism. They were heavily influenced by the writings of
Africans and west Indian blacks such as Edward Blyden, [Link] and Marcus Garvey. This
made Africans to start thinking in terms of Pan – Africanism as the most appropriate political
force in the fight against colonialism.

Other forms of African discontent were expressed through African initiatives in developing their
own education. They criticized missionary education because of its inter-denominational biases,
emphasis on religious and vocational subjects at the expense of serious academic work as among
others.

The second World War

The Second World War fought between1939 – 1945 became a turning point in the history of
modern Africa. Major political changes on the continent resulted from the following factors.

African soldiers who participated in this war were able to see their countries with an
outsider’s perspective. On their return, they became the main sources of new ideas as
well as militant members of the independence struggle.

Economic boom brought about by local manufactures that started supplying goods, which
were no longer coming from Europe. This brought a lot of money to local producers
making many people move into towns to take up new jobs. This led to congestion and
 unemployment with their attendant social problems. These together with increased
awareness sparked off African agitations for social, economic, and political reforms.

More than the First World War, World War II destroyed the myth of European superiority.
Africans saw the defeat and humiliation of some of the colonial powers. The African
interaction with soldiers from Europe made them realize that they were not as arrogant as
colonialists, settlers, and traders. Furthermore, tales about colonial mistreatment on the
continent only served to embarrass some of the soldiers while others condemned the
British and French rule.

Soon after the War, Africans called for revolutionary changes by agitating for self-
government, a situation that exacerbated with European neglect of the colonies during the
reconstruction period.

The effects the Second World War on education

On the educational front, colonial governments realized that the shortage of educated people
posed a serious problem to development. The systems lacked qualified personnel due to the few
secondary schools at the time. Expatriates were therefore employed to carry out new
development plans, something that not only proved very expensive but their presence infuriated
the Africans further. The education of Africans therefore became an important agenda.

Primary education, which at the time only provided four years of schooling was extended to
six years with an emphasis on the teaching of European languages.

The establishment of more primary TTCs to train more teachers formed a significant
educational development triumphant colonial African in the 1940 s.

Secondary schools were increased with the employment of more European teachers as well
as employing some successful Africans. Junior schools were upgraded to senior
secondary status although the development of the six-year program took much longer.

In 1943, the Elliot Commission was appointed to look into university education. The report
stressed the necessity of university education for the successive implementation of the
 policy of self-government. This led to the opening of four university colleges at Ibadan in
Nigeria, Gordon Memorial College in the Sudan, Achimita in Ghana and Makerere in
Uganda. In 1953, university college of Salisbury in Rhodesia was added. These colleges
were to operate in a special relationship with the University of London.

The French also trained Africans at higher levels although they preferred sending African
students to established universities in France. Accordingly, French colonies in Africa continued
their dependence on France during this period. However, with time, a higher institute was
established in Dakar in 1950, which developed into a university in 1958. In the same year,
another centre for higher learning was established in Abidjan, which also gradually developed
into a university.

LECTURE SIXTEEN: EDUCATION SINCE INDEPENDENCE

Educational planning at independence

Most countries in Africa took the education of their people very seriously at the time of
independence because it had been one of the key rallying points during the struggle for
independence. After independence education was charged with the following key tasks:-

Assist in the provision of the much needed technical manpower.

Enhance the social agenda for a united and cohesive society.

Consequently, most governments spent a lot of resources on the expansion of educational

facilities, provision of qualified personnel as well as reforming the educational systems. The
impetus for all these came from discussions in a number of conferences on education.

Addis Ababa conference

This conference was meant to give opportunity to African states to decide on their priorities
as per their needs for the promotion of social and economic development. The conference:
 Called for more and better opportunities as well as adaptation in education.

The need to reform the curriculum - make it relevant to the African situation through causes
on African history and culture.

Emphasis in education was to be put on secondary and post – secondary education.

It set the target for U.P.E. by 1980 although primary and adult education was to develop at
the same rate.

Requested for financial commitment and donor support to realize educational activities in
Africa.

Paris conference

The meeting was called to discuss the implementation of the Addis Ababa conference
resolutions.

The conference resolved among others:

Importance of carrying out proper plans in education.

Give priority to teacher and secondary education as well as rural schools and adult education for
purposes of productivity.

Tananarive conference

This conference focused as the role of higher education in the development of African countries.
Discussions at the conference centred on targets; planning, curriculum and staffing. The
following recommendations were made:

Universities were to have a minimum target population of 5000 students.

Called for networking among African institutions instead of dependence on overseas ones
as well as avoid duplication.
 Enrolment in African universities was to emphasize on science, technology and
agriculture.

Universities were to avoid elitism “ivory tower” mentality.

Abidjan conference

The conference once again focused on scientific research as well as adult literacy.

Also reviewed the question of regional targets set at the Addis Ababa Conference.

Place emphasis on the part that education could play in economic and social progress of
communities especially those in rural areas.

Scientific research and adult literacy were to be considered in all educational planning. Adult
education was to address issues of literacy and vocational training. Literacy was made a
functional concept, which contributed, to development and use of resources. This new
meaning led to its full recognition and support at the Teheran Conference in September
1965.

Recognized the relationship (co-operation) between O.A.U and U.N.E.S.C.O.

Addressed the problem of wastage and primary school leaver unemployment.

17.3.5 Lagos conference

This conference focused on the organization of research and training in Africa in relation to the
study, conservation and utilization of natural resources.

Addressed the organization and financing of scientific research and technical training in
Africa to enable African states make the best use of their natural resources to improve
their economies through industrialization.

Importance of teaching sciences and the introduction in education of subjects related to

natural resources.
 Create general awareness in the community the problems relating to natural resources.

General developments in education and challenges

Deliberations in the above mentioned conferences set the stage for the development of
educational strategies in a number of countries. Emphasis was put on the training of high-level
manpower both in public and private sectors because the colonial established had denied higher
opportunities to Africans. Accordingly, African governments committed large sums of money to
the education sector especially secondary and higher levels.

Most countries embarked on the process of restructuring their educational systems. This was
mostly reflected in curriculum reforms, which emphasised on the local needs.

Adoption of textbooks and subjects focusing on the African society.

Teaching methods.

At university, some countries opted for compulsory courses in African studies.

The new university courses were also made adaptable to African conditions regardless of
their acceptance within European patterns. These were also followed by the creation of
new degree structures e.g. B.A, [Link] with Educ and [Link]. Changes were also effected in
the duration of courses as well as entry points.

The French system on the other hand did not embrace changes and resisted any aspects that were
likely to alter the system from that of the metropolitan. Universities for instance adhered to the
French curricula managed by the Ministry of Education in France.

Guinea was the only country that went for radical changes. Following its demands for
independence, it revised the curriculum and systems in line with the new social and political
goals. Education was made relevant to life and emphasized the relevance of education to the total
cultural life of the community. For example, the teaching of political education (ideology) was
made compulsory.

Reforms in education

Julius K. Nyerere
Julius Nyerere, arguably the leading educational reformer on the African continent trained as a
teacher at Makerere College and later proceeded to the University of Edinburgh, Scotland for
postgraduate studies. He worked as a teacher, before joining the struggle for independence that
saw him become the first president of Tanganyika in 1961 and Tanzania in 1964 till his
retirement in 1985. Nyerere was one of the most respected African statesmen till his death in
1999.

Nyerere set out his agenda for education in Tanzania in his famous paper, Education for Self-
Reliance issued in March 1967 as a follow-up to an earlier policy based on socialist principles,
The Arusha Declaration of January 1967. He explained the purpose of education as that of
transmitting from one generation to the next of the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of
society and their active participation in its development. He criticized the colonial system of
education inherited at independence as one that only encouraged individualism as opposed to the
co-operative spirit of the African society.

To correct the situation, Nyerere first defined the nature of his society of Tanzania as:

A socialist country aspiring for equality and respect for human dignity, equal distribution of
resources and work by everyone and exploitation by none.

A society with little capital for industrial development and lacked a skilled workforce, but with
plenty of land with people were willing to work on it.

In view of the observations made above, Nyerere set out to define a new role for education:

Foster social goals of living and working together.

Prepare young people for constructive role in development.

Enhance positive social values; co-operation and not individualism, equality and responsibility
for service and counter intellectual arrogance.

Prepare young people for work in rural areas especially in agriculture.

Impart into the learners the following characteristics; enquiring minds, ability to learn from
others without discrimination, have confidence as free and equal member of society, one who
values others and is in turn valued by them.

Nyerere faulted the system of education for going against the above stated roadmap by:

Being elitist- only accessed by a small group of people and for preparing learners only for higher
levels.

Divorced the youth from the society by instilling in them the idea that the educated were too
fragile for the rough and hard life of the masses.

Encouraged book learning, and underestimated the traditional African knowledge and wisdom by
teaching the youth to despite their illiterate parents.

The school took the youth out of productive work yet they happened to be the healthiest and the
most strong.

To correct these anomalies, Nyerere addressed issues of attendance, content and organization of
education. The school entry age was raised by arguing that older children learnt faster. He also
called for the need to have every level of education as complete and not a mere preparation for a
higher level.

He downgraded the role of examinations which contributed to drilling in schools. He instead

called on schools to prepare the youth for the realities of life by imparting skills and values to be
cherished in a predominantly rural life

Nyerere changed the running of schools by turning them into communities that practised self-
reliance. Schools were to be communities of teachers and farmers as well as pupils and farmers
who engaged in food production and self-sustenance for purposes of integration. He
recommended that schools encourage freedom allowing learners to participate in their
administration. The pupils were required to engage in community service as a way of integrating
them with normal communal activities. The learners were to be assessed for participating as part
of school examinations.
Nyerere called on universities to play a leading in serving the society by developing a relevant
curriculum that addressed the pressing needs of society instead of engaging in academic
programmes for the sake of it.

Nyerere took a very keen interest in adult education, seen to be very important as it not only
served to better the lives of the people but was also necessary in enhancing democracy.
According to Nyerere a good education was one that made the recipient aware of his or her
potential as a human being.

Education had the role of making the individual aware of his personhood and the power to use
circumstances other than being used by circumstances. Instead of turning people into tools,
education should instead turn them into makers of tools, not creatures but creators. The school
according to Nyerere should not act as factory that turned people into marketable commodities
whose values were determined by certificates. A human being according to Nyerere is not a slave
who moved around with a price tag. country.

In the 1970s, Nyerere emphasized the role of education in liberating the individual by arguing
that

SECTION FOUR: EDUCATION IN KENYA

LECTURE EIGHTEEN: DEVELOPMENTS IN EDUCATION TO 1920

Early Missionary Activities

Christian missionaries are the founders of modern or western education in Kenya. The first
missionary contact with the Africans dates back to the time of the Portuguese that first came to
the East African coast in the 15 th century following the successful voyage by Vasco da Gamma
that took him up to Malindi in 1498. The Roman Catholic missionaries from Portugal were at
work at the coast for a short period in the 16 th and 17th centuries. The Roman Catholic
missionaries from Portugal were at work on the Kenyan coast during the 16th and 17 th centuries.
For example, in 1557 the Augustinian Friars established a monastery at Mombasa and later
began work further north at Faza and Lamu. Their activities were confined along the coast where
the Portuguese administrative influence had been established. Although their evangelical work
did not last for long, these missionaries are said to have converted 600 from the local population
by 1599. This effort however came to an end after their defeat and departure.

The second wave of Christian missionary activity which left a lasting impact to the people of
Kenya coincided with the abolition of slave trade. The process was spearheaded by the Church
Missionary Society (CMS) that sent John L. Krapf to Kenya in 1844. He was later joined by a
fellow German missionary, Johann Rebman in 1848. Although the two started their work in
Mombasa, they later moved from this predominantly Muslim town that was by no means
friendly to their activities to establish the CMS station at Rabai Mpia among the Mijikenda, then
known as the Wanyika. Krapf translated parts of the New Testament into Kiswahili and Kirabai,
which became important reading materials for preparing pupils for baptism. In addition, these
missionaries also taught the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic.

The last journey by David Livingstone together with his writings intensified the anti-slave
activities by the British. He had sensitized the British on the need to send missionaries to Africa
and abolish slave trade. Livingstone’s policy was to spread Christian western civilization and
supplement slave trade by legitimate commerce. He believed that the only way of ensuring
foundations of meaningful conversion was by combining Christian civilization with economic
and spiritual transformation of the African-this implied giving the African some education.

The abolition of slave trade necessitated the establishment of Christian missionary settlements.
The British warships were rescuing a sizeable number of slaves that were reaching the coast
every year from the interior. There was need to rehabilitate the former slaves who had to be
somehow educated to survive in new and alien conditions. This was meant to ensure that they
were not recaptured and turned into slaves. Accordingly, the CMS with support from the British
government established a freed settlement centre at Frere town near Mombasa in 1874. In the
plan, the settlement had a central school, an elementary school and industrial training.
By the late 1880s, the school had over 300 pupils taking a curriculum that consisted of 3Rs,
Swahili, English and vocational education which enabled them to make items such as bags, mats,
blankets etc. The local coastal communities did not see the importance of airing western
education and so attendance was generally poor. Although Frere town was mainly a settlement to
rehabilitate freed slaves by training them to be Christians and artisans, Frere town schools
become pioneers of Western education in Kenya.

It is important to note that missionary activity at the time was concentrated at the coast. This was
largely due to a number of factors that included; rough terrain that made communication and
transport difficult, fear of wild animals, harsh climate leading to diseases and deaths, and hostile
tribes like the Masaai. This however changed at the turn of the century.

A major factor that contributed to missionary expansion to the interior parts of Kenya was the
partitioning of Africa and the establishment of colonial administration. This was prompted by
various European nations scrambling for territories in different parts of the continent. This
culminated in the Berlin Conference of 1884 which established territorial boundaries. In the
Anglo-German Agreement of 1890, Britain took possession of the British East Africa
Protectorate (Kenya, Uganda and Zanzibar) while Germany took over German East Africa
(Tanganyika).

Kenya was officially declared British East Africa Protectorate in 1895. Apart from establishing
colonial administrative structures that ensured law and order, the construction of the Kenya-
Uganda Railway (1895-1901) opened the floodgates for missionary intrusion into the colony.
The CMS opened stations at Taita (1885), Kahuruko (1901), Weithaga (1903), Kahuhia (1906),
Mahiga (1908) and Embu (1910). They also extended their work to western Kenya from Uganda
in 1905. The Roman Catholics (Holy Ghost) established stations at Mombasa (1890), Bura near
Voi (1891) and Nairobi (1899). The Consolata Fathers from Italy opened stations in Kiambu
(1902), Limuru (1903), Mangu (1906). Later they reached Nyeri and Meru. The Mill Hill Fathers
extended their activities to western Kenya from Uganda and established stations at Kisumu
(1903), Mumias (1904), Kakamega (1908), Yala and Nyabururu before 1910. The Church of
Scotland Mission after an abortive attempt at Kibwezi founded stations at Kikuyu (1898) and
Tumu Tumu (1908).The African Inland Mission started a small station in Ukambani but later
moved to Kijabe (1901). The Seventh Day Adventists (SDA) set up missions at Kamagambo and
Nyanchwa. The Friends (Quakers) settled at Kaimosi (1902).

18.3.1 Missionary Education

The main objective that brought Christian missionaries to Africa was to evangelize the African
population. The missionaries believed that schools would introduce the Africans to Western
civilization which would make it easier to convert them. The Protestant missionaries were also
keen that their converts should be able to read the bible for themselves. Each mission therefore
started what was later to be called Central mission schools. Later, out schools, village schools or
bush schools were also established as feeder schools to the central ones. The village schools
mostly focused on teaching simple literacy skills in reading, writing and arithmetic alongside
religious instruction for baptism and church membership. This led to a kind of “scramble” for
African souls that led to a fierce competition between the Catholic and Protestant missionaries.
Consequently, schools were in most cases established as close as possible to those of the rival
group and taught pupils to mistrust their rivals leading to serious animosity among the converts.

Government Involvement in Education

By the beginning of the 20th century, Kenya ended up with two migrant groups that largely came
to direct the system of education in the country. The Asian labourers who came for railway
construction settled in key points between Mombasa and Kisumu while European settlers were
encouraged to come to Kenya to make the protectorate become a growing concern as well as
obtain some returns for the construction of the railway line. Charles Elliot, the Governor
encouraged many white settlers who started to arrive in the colony in 1903 from South Africa,
Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. This followed the 1900 Land Ordinance that
alienated Africans from their lands to create white settlements. The government also introduced
hut tax on Africans in 1901 to force them to provide cheap labour on settler farms.

Up to 1910, education in Kenya was practically in the hands of the missionaries. The
government was not initially involved in education but a number of factors forced it to take an
active part;

Pressure from the settlers who wanted education for their children.
 The colonial government realized that there was need for skilled labour that was cheaper
than the expensive labour of India.

The government needed the services of literate chiefs, village headmen etc.

Some of the European officials and settlers were opposed to the literary education given to
the Africans by the missionaries-they thought it would lead the African to dissatisfaction
and subversiveness. The settlers wanted the Africans given technical education to
provide cheap labour on their farms and in their homes.

An important aspect in the development of education in Kenya during this early period came in
the form of missionary – government co-operation as reflected in the formation of a joint
committee on education by the CMS and CSM in 1908 to provide a forum for the discussion of
common problems in education. This was later transformed into the Mission Board of Education
to represent the interests of a number of protestant churches in 1909. The Board actively
participate in the first education commission in Kenya in 1909 chaired by Professor Nelson
Fraser from Bombay, India.

The Fraser Report of 1909

The Commission was mandated to carry out a survey of education within the British East Africa
Protectorate and advice on the organisation and type of education to be given to the various
racial groups. The major recommendations contained in the Report of Education in the East
Africa protectorate were:

Provide Africans with industrial education to guard against the conceit and insolence that
was likely to follow the provision of literary education. This was to be through
apprenticeships with an aim of replacing the arrogant and expensive Indians that provided
artisan services at the time.

Education facilities for Africans to be provided by missionary societies in order to train them
in strict obedience to authority as well as ensure a good moral foundation.

Establish a Department of Education headed by a Director to administer the system of

education.
 Education was to be on racial lines i.e. Europeans, Asians and Africans. European and Asian
children were to be given academic education.

These recommendations were in line with the settler interests and established a policy that
ensured that missionaries could not teach a curriculum that was not approved by the settler
dominated government.

The implementation of the Fraser Commission Report saw the establishment of the Department
of Education in 1911 to regulate educational activities in the colony. James R Orr was appointed
as the first Director of Education. He introduced payment of grants-in aid to mission schools to
experiment the teaching of basic industrial skills like; smithing, agriculture, carpentry and
typing. The department also played an important role in establishing government schools
especially in areas that were not adequately served by the missionaries. It started by supporting
and expanding a school that had been started by a District Officer in Kitui in 1909, and the
establishment of Ukamba native school, Machakos in 1913. Other government schools were later
opened at Narok among the Masaai and Waa among the Wadigo.

In spite of the development following the Fraser Report, there were still many areas of
discontentment amongst various groups e.g.

The missionaries were not happy with the secular schools that the government was opening.

The government had no staff of their own for the schools they started. They depended on the
missionaries to teach for them or provide teachers.

The missionaries were experiencing shortage of funds. The grants given were not adequate
and were based on results-i.e. the better the performance, the more the grants.

The Asian and European communities were concerned with improving education for their
children and were agitating for more support from the government-they had to pay fees
and some found it difficult to do so.

The rapid expansion of the village schools was not favoured by the colonial administration as
it included literacy which was contrary to colonial policy.
 There was still the general question as to which agency-mission or government was best
suited to fully undertake the education of Africans.

18.4.2 E.A.P.E.C. Report of 1919

As a result of these concerns and the settler’s fears that the missionaries were not providing the
Africans with an education that would eventually address their needs led to the appointment of
the East Africa protectorate Education commission of 1918. The Commission solicited for views
from both the settlers and missionaries that formed the basis of the report of 1919 which
recommended that:

The missionaries were better placed to educate the Africans because Christianity was an
integral aspect in the process of civilization,

There should be regular moral and religious instruction in African schools,

That the government should support missionaries in developing African education through
grants- in- aid,

That the policy of payment by results should be abolished and a grant should be made on the
general state of efficiency of the school,

That the secular government normal schools should not be established. Since the
Commission believed that religious and moral instruction should be given in every
school, it did not think government secular schools, without any religious instruction,
would be a success, and

That vernacular should be taught at the beginning levels but later English be taught for
practical and patriotic purposes.

It is important to note that the desire by the Christian missionaries to monopolize the process of
educating Africans was specifically meant to prevent the government from undue interference
since education formed an integral part of evangelization. It was out of such suspicions that some
missionary groups such as AIM, FAM and SDA refused government grants.

African response
Despite intensive missionary activities, the period before World War 1 was marked by African
resistance or indifference to Western education by Kenyans-it is generally referred to as period
of resistance. Those who initially got attracted to mission stations did so out of curiosity which
shortly turned into hostility once they realized that the Europeans had come to stay. The mission
stations initially attracted social outcasts and victims of famine, diseases, and groups of curious
people most of who opted not to remain on mission stations. Schools were very small because
Africans were failed to appreciate the benefits of education and many of them in their hostility
refused to allow their children to attend school. This negative response resulted from the roles
that children were expected to perform in their traditional settings and the demands that were
placed on them at school especially the over emphasis on manual work as opposed to regular
classwork. Some parents even demanded payment for work done by their children on the mission
stations. These coupled with missionary opposition to traditional cultures led to the
establishment of independent churches and schools. The situation however dramatically changed
as new opportunities opened up in the colonial set up through the western school as opposed to
the traditional societies.
LECTURE NINETEEN: DEVELOPMENTS IN EDUCATION BETWEEN 1920 AND
1945

The First World War became a turning point in the African demand for western education. This
followed the realization by Africans that education was critical to European economic and
political power. The 1920s and 1930s witnessed tremendous clamour and subsequent increase in
the number of schools for the Africans that were occasioned by the following factors;

The colonial leadership persuaded local leaders to have their sons and subjects attend
school as a way of having African elite succeed or assist their illiterate fathers in
discharging administrative duties.

The settler economy provided job opportunities and subsequent material benefits at a
time when the traditional society was becoming unattractive to the African youth.

Forced conscription to the Kings African rifles during the War plus forced labour on
settler farms drove many Africans to seek refuge on mission stations, a factor that
brought about a sharp increase in pupil attendance.

The War was also instrumental in changing the mind of colonial powers towards their
subjects. Having engaged themselves in a worst war ever recorded in human history, they
could not afford to ignore Africans anymore. The War challenged the Whiteman’s
superiority myth and therefore needed a good philosophy to justify their colonial activities
since the claim of civilizing the African was no longer tenable. The colonial powers were for
example forced to initiate definite policies in education which marked their official entry in
directing the education of the Africans.

Government involvement

Initial political agitations by the ex-mission boys (new African elite) and opposition to mission
education led to the appointment of the Phelps-Stokes Commission which visited Kenya in 1924
having already visited West, South and Equatorial Africa. The Commission was mandated to
survey educational programmes and needs in each geographical area, identify the local, religious,
economic, social and health needs and the extent to which they were being met. The commission
was also to assist in the formulation of plans designed for the educational needs of Africans. The
Commission’s recommendations were heavily based on the theories of Negro education
developed at Hampton and Tuskegee institutes in the USA. These theories emphasized the
importance of relating education to the needs of people, with character training being the most
important educational objective (Jones, 1924).

The Commission noted the dismal state of education for Africans both in quantitative and
qualitative terms. They saw the Kenyan problem as being concentration on European and Asian
needs to the detriment of majority of the natives. They saw the solution to this racial problem and
challenge as “combining and promoting the interests of settlers, Asians and Africans in a fair
manner.” They also urged the government to make real effort to develop agricultural and
technical skills primarily for the African community, the majority of whom lived in rural areas.

The Commission made the following recommendations; greater cooperation between the
government and the missionaries in the financing and provision of education for Africans. The
commission drew the government’s attention to its neglect of African education. A uniform
system of all the various mission and government schools with increased grants-in-aid
administered by the Department of Education. Establish adequate teacher training centres with
more involvement by the government. The Africans to be given education that would equip
them for rural life. The form of education that would not drive them from their traditional
cultures nor encourage migration to towns in search of white collar jobs. This meant that
education was to focus more on training in agriculture and industry and be adapted to local
needs. So there was call for practical and vocational subjects. That education continues to be on
segregated lines as recommended by Fraser. Expand girl’s education and higher education in
future in form for Africans in form of a college at Kikuyu. English was to be the medium of
instruction in upper classes.

The colonial government responded to the above recommendations by enacting the Education
Ordinance of 1924. This marked the government’s definite commitment in controlling and
directing education in the colony at all levels with the assistance of three advisory committees to
deal with European, Asian and African education. Each administrative area was to have a
District Education Committee to supervise central and village schools. The school area
committees were composed of government officials and representatives of the settlers,
missionaries and Africans. All schools and teachers were to be registered. The Director of
Education was to be given power to inspect all the schools and to close any if necessary. All
schools had to follow a uniform nomenclature regardless of race although the content of
education for each race was different.

A more comprehensive education policy for the colony came with the Kenya Education
Ordinance of 1931. It created separate advisory councils for European, Indian, Arab and African
education to replace the central committees. The ordinance also laid down rules with regard to
the payment of grants to secondary schools, and established rules for primary teachers
certificates categorized as Jeanes School Certificate, Primary Certificate, Lower Primary
Certificate and Elementary Teacher Certificate which remained in force throughout the 1930s.

The District Education Board’s Ordinance of 1934 established District Education Boards in
various parts of the country to; handle the allocation of grants, fees and scholarships, determine
salary scales for teachers, maintain a register of schools and the leasing of plots.

In spite of these interventions by the government, African education continued under the
direction of the missionaries and was generally of poor quality. The village schools offered
elementary education that placed a lot of emphasis on religion. Majority of these schools did not
offer education that went beyond the third and fourth year of elementary schooling. Those people
who succeeded in the village schools went to the central schools where they completed the
primary course which by the early 1930s went up to standard VI. Examples of such central
schools were Yala, Maseno, Kaimosi, Kamagambo, Chogoria, Mathani, Tumu Tumu, Kahuhia,
Kikuyu and Kaloleni. By 1931, the missions had 2,266 schools but only 32 had developed into
central schools-so the majority of Africans were still only getting elementary education.

Central schools provided general education which led to teacher training courses, a combined
course of general and vocational instruction that led to a two years course at the National
Industrial Training Depot (NITD) while the general education course led to secondary school
admission. The NITD which crowned industrial training offered by mission schools was
established at Kabete in 1924. Industrial education which involved agriculture, carpentry and
brick making only addressed the needs of missionaries during the 1920s and 1930s. It was in
most cases very elementary such that it even failed to produce qualified artisans. Africans were
said to be only capable of “rough work” and so were not offered specialized technical courses.

19.3.1 Secondary Education

The development of secondary education was generally a very slow process. The first school was
established at Kikuyu in 1926 and named Alliance after an alliance of four protestant missionary
societies which had decided to take a common approach to the education of Africans. Apart from
offering a junior secondary curriculum, the school was also as teacher training centre. This was
followed by the establishment the Holy Ghost School at Kabaa in 1930 which later moved to
Mangu in 1934. Following the recommendations of Earl De La Warr Commission on Higher
Education in East Africa in1937 coupled with an increase in passes in the primary school
examination, Maseno and Yala were opened as junior secondary schools in 1938 and 1939
respectively.

The junior secondary schools prepared pupils up to Form II (current Standard 8) during the
1920s. The first candidates at alliance graduated in 1928. Alliance and Kabaa remained junior
secondary schools during the period under review. With time, they started to offer education up
to Form IV (current Form II). Those who passed proceeded to Makerere for two more years to
complete their ‘O’ level education. For example, in 1936, two former Alliance students sat and
passed Cambridge School Certificate Examination. The first candidates sat for their ‘O’ level
examination locally in 1940 at Alliance and Mangu.

19.3.2 Teacher Education

Initially, teachers were recruited from the best pupils in the mission schools who were trained by
the missionaries to be catechists cum teachers. Teachers were trained on the job during the initial
stages. This was a teacher- pupil system where promising primary school leavers joined the
programme that was ran by elementary school managers who were then examined by
government inspectors who inspected schools for grants. It was not until the recommendations of
the East Africa Protectorate Education Commission of 1919, that the government started giving
grants for training teachers and later on for opening training institutions.

Formal teacher training started at Alliance in 1926. By 1930, every missionary body had teacher
training facilities at one or more of its central schools. By 1931, there were 15 Teacher Training
Institutions with 12 of them being run by missionaries. These increased to 26 such institutions by
1934. These were however, mere appendages of either primary or secondary schools. The
missions started to centralize teacher training from 1935 through government intervention which
saw them establish separate training centres from primary or secondary schools.

The government also took part in training teachers for its own schools. The first institution was
the Jeanes School that was opened in 1924 modelled on Hampton and Tuskegee experiments for
training black African teachers in the USA following the recommendations of the Phelps-Stokes
Commission. The school admitted both the teachers and their wives for an intensive course in
community leadership. Apart from polishing their teaching methods, new subjects touching on
health, diet, clothing, shelter and crafts were taught. The Jeanes teachers were then expected to
supervise and train village school teachers but were also supposed to play transformative
leadership roles in their communities. By 1935, the school had produced 71 teachers supervising
349 village schools and 528 teachers. The approach in the school was to make education African
based where learning activities were based on the local environment. Other government teacher
institutions included Machakos Government School which started training teachers in 1931.
Others were Kabianga, Kisii, Mariakani and Msabweni. The War forced the closure of the Jeanes
School in 1939 and it was not until 1948, that it was reopened

African Initiatives in Education

Soon after the First World War, the Africans started taking an active role in advancing the
education of their children on realizing that the colonial government was not interested in
expanding educational opportunities. Apart from this, they were also dissatisfied with the kind
of education they were receiving. They accused missionaries of offering low quality education
that placed too much emphasis on religion. They also realized that their education was too
vocational oriented with very little literary orientation.

The African demand for more literacy based education was triggered by the following reasons;
 They hoped it would enable them to deal with the new conditions of life resulting from
contact with new ideas and methods of the Western industrial world-they had seen
Europeans do all sorts of things that they could not do and doubted that this ability
could come through technical and religious education they were receiving.

Literacy and ability to do sums tended to give immediate advantage over those who did not
have such knowledge e.g. good salary for little work and emancipation from manual
work.

They wanted to be on equal terms with the alien more educated communities-they were
afraid of being imposed upon by these communities who had the advantage of superior
learning.

They hoped this education would enable them face and survive the changing social,
economic and political conditions of their lives.

They wanted their children to be as efficient in business and contracting as the Indian
traders and competent in office work and accounting.

As a result of such reasons, the Africans wanted the government to start non-denominational
schools which would offer them literate education-they were ready to start such schools in
collaboration with the government or do it alone.

19.4.1 LNC schools

The Local Native Councils (LNCs) were established in 1925 in every district following the
enactment of LNC Act in 1924 to ease the administration of Africans. They were granted limited
powers to levy taxes for local development projects. Within a short time, they had collected
enough money and started to pressurize the government to allow them to start secular schools for
the Africans. They accused the missionaries for offering their children an education of poor
quality that was techno-religious in nature. Although the government was initially reluctant due
to tremendous pressure from the missionaries, African determination saw them start Government
African Schools (GAS) that were run outside the missionary influence that had dominated the
education of Africans. These schools were established at Kakamega (1932), Kagumo (1934), and
Kisii (1935). The LNCs also supported schools that the government had established earlier on at;
Narok(1922), Kabianga (1926), Kajiado (1926), Tambach (1928) and Loitoktok (1929).

African independent schools

The African independent churches and schools was another important movement that enabled
Africans contribute immensely towards the development of their own education. This started in
Central Kenya among the Agikuyu as a result of the circumcision controversy of 1929 involving
some of the fundamentalist missionary groups such as; CMS, Gospel Mission Society and AIM
who were strongly opposed to the practice of circumcising girls which they labelled barbaric.
The African converts found to support the practice were excommunicated. The Africans saw this
as an attack on their culture and with support from the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), a
powerful political organization at the time, they broke away from mission churches and founded
their own church, the African Independent Pentecostal Church (AIPC) with an aim of preserving
African culture in their Christian practices. Since their children were not allowed to attend
mission sponsored schools, they in turn established their own schools under the umbrella of the
Kikuyu Independent Schools association (KISA).

The other adherents broke away to form the African Orthodox Church on the pretext that the
African Independent Pentecostal Church had not gone far enough in reclaiming African values in
Christianity. They also established an educational wing known as the Kikuyu Karinga
Educational Association (KKEA) to run their schools.

These two organisations played a major role in establishing schools that enabled the children of
their faithful access education. By1935, they had established 34 schools with a population of
2,158 pupils. This increased to 44 schools with 3,948 pupils in 1936. By the time these schools
were proscribed in 1952 after the declaration of the State of Emergency in the Colony, there
were 200 such schools with 40,000 pupils.

The government was well aware of the political motive behind the establishment of these schools
but nonetheless recognised and allowed them to follow the official curriculum, appointed an
inspector for them and even allowed them to become members of respective District Education
Boards ([Link]).
An important landmark in these schools came in 1939 with the establishment of the Kenya
African Teachers College at Githunguri. The process had been initiated by Senior Chief
Koinange in 1938 when he organised fund raising campaigns using the traditional age-group
system. Once opened, the college trained teachers for the independent schools in Central Kenya
and other parts of the colony. The college later became a multi-purpose educational centre and
by the time of its forceful closure in 1952, it had over 1000 students.