Education Foundation Essays

Education Foundation Essays Education Foundation Essay Education Foundation Essay Essay Topic: Education Christian missionaries played a critical function in the debut and development of Western instruction in Kenya. These missionaries began their activities here in the 2nd half of the nineteenth Century. Although their chief purpose in coming to Africa was to Christianize a dark and savage’ continent. the proviso of fundamental instruction was found inevitable. Missionaries had found out that. by holding the ability to read the Bible and the anthem book. the early convert would be a valuable plus in acquiring more of one’s neighbors to Christianity. It would so look. the function of Christian missionaries in supplying western instruction to Africans was non by design but inadvertent. Should this premise be right. the full phenomenon of western instruction as introduced and provided by Christian missionaries was flawed. In that instance. they were to offer an improper instruction for every bit long as they were in control all by themselves. From 1895 Kenya became a colonial enclave of Britain up to 1920. Kenya was referred to as the East Africa Protectorate. The building of a railroad line from Mombasa in 1895 to Kisumu in 1901 was a roar for both missional and colonial authorities activities. Missionaries were able to distribute out faster by opening more Centres in the inside. On the other manus. the colonial disposal was able to lenify immune African groups. Unfortunately for autochthonal people excessively. the railroad line besides saw the in-flaw of European colonists and Asiatic groups. These foreigners were to alter the development of events to the disadvantage of Kenyan locals. Missionary spread out Inspired by the desire to encompass as many disciples as they could. Protestant and Roman Catholic missionaries moved to about all accessible and habitable parts in Kenya. The Church Missionary Society ( CMS ) led in this ambitious campaign. From 1844 John Ludwig Krapf of CMS began to research the East African Coast and was joined in 1846 by Johan Rebman. They established their first mission station at RabaiMpya. among the Rabai people. near Mombasa. Later the CMS operated a station in Taita in 1895. Other CMS Centres were started in the undermentioned topographic points: Kahuruko ( 1901 ) ; Weithaga ( 1903 ) ; Kahuhia ( 1906 ) ; Mahiga ( 1908 ) ; Embu ( 1910 ) etc. A subdivision of the CMS besides entered Western Kenya from Uganda and in 1903 had set up a mission station at Maseno. Holy Ghost Fathers set in at Mombasa in 1890 and a twelvemonth subsequently was besides stationed at Bura. They got themselves a station in Nairobi in 1899. Their opposite numbers. the Consolata Fathers opened Stationss at Kiambu ( 1902 ) . Limuru ( 1903 ) and Mang’u ( 1906 ) . Roman Catholics besides entered Kenya from Uganda and shortly established Centres at Kisumu ( 1903 ) and subsequently at Mumias and Kakamega. Other missional groups that were polar in the spread to assorted parts of the state were: Evangelical Lutheran Mission of Leipzig ( from Germany ) ; African Inland Mission ; church of Scotland ; Friends African Mission ( Quakers ) ; Church of God Mission. the Nilotic Independent Mission. the Seventh Day Adventists and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. Although with other indecent effects for autochthonal people the multiplicity of Christian church denominations stirred a competition that became a accelerator in the spread of churches and schools. Every other group scrambled for a domain of influence. On the whole. by 1920 Christian missional groups had stuck out their necks’ as of import participants in the spread of western influences among autochthonal people. By 1918. there were 16 missional organic structures active in the state. Roman Catholics and CMS had the largest proportion of schools for Africans. Between them. they controlled 46 station schools and 261 small town schools. Mission Education Basically. the intent behind the constitution of mission Stationss and schools was to distribute Christianity. The proviso of instruction for other terminals was hence secondary to missionaries. Education was merely used as a installation for evangelisation. The course of study of mission schools was mostly spiritual. Out of this experience. these schools have been referred to as supplication houses. These establishments merely taught Christianity. While strongly inclined to offering spiritual instruction. a figure of factors forced mission schools to include other course of study. First. Africans strongly resented spiritual instruction. In a figure of instances. pupils staged work stoppages and presentations to demand for a more unafraid course of study. Boys in Mumias at the Mill Hill Fathers schools staged a work stoppage in 1912. Second. the colonial authorities urged the missions to include industrial instruction in their course of study. Third. the circumstantial jussive moods of the twenty-four hours necessitated the inclusion of other classs such as industrial instruction. Missionaries. every bit good as the colonial disposal needed skilled labors to build edifices. do furniture inter alia. Religious instruction entirely could non bring forth such manpower. Out of this development hence. although mission instruction was mostly basic. it had to offer the 3Rs. spiritual instruction and industrial preparation. The method of direction was by rote acquisition. Learners were supposed to memorise and declaim whatever they were taught. Missionaries. above all. offered an instruction that was simple and designed to maintain Africans in their low-level topographic point i. e. being retainers of Europeans. Their educational orientation. in general emphasized the religious value of difficult work and the rules of evangelical Christianity with an purpose of bring forthing difficult working Christians. There were two types of schools. There was the village/bush/out-schools. These were feeder schools to the 2nd type – the cardinal mission school. Village schools offered really fundamental instruction. They were under the way of African catechists. On the other manus. cardinal schools were intended to offer extra course of study. In this instance. vocational preparation in instruction and nursing etc abounded. Vocational preparation was mostly a preserve of the bright pupils. All said of mission instruction. by 1920. though many larning establishments had been established ; merely a smattering would go through the litmus trial for quality. In the western portion of Kenya. merely three Centres and developed significant primary school programmes. These were mission schools at Kaimosi. Maseno and Yala. The same were true of cardinal Kenya with Centres at Kabete. Kahuhia. Kikuyu. Tumutumu. Kabaa and Nyeri as chief rivals. At the seashore fully fledged primary school classs which other simple schools of the clip were non offering. This instruction did non travel beyond six old ages. The receivers of such a figure of old ages were really few. Whatever missional activity in instruction this clip. it should be understood that a figure of factors influence their orientation. working and results/outcomes. For case. due to misconceptions by European anthropologists of the nature of Africans. missionaries were prejudiced in their interaction with Africans. Africans suffered in this interaction and so did their instruction. Africans were of three classs: stupid. norm and intelligent. On the portion of missionaries. a bulk of them were non professional pedagogues and hence they tried out what they did non cognize. A expression at the course of study during their preparation reveals no does of professional preparation in learning whatsoever ( Anderson. 1970: 25 ) . Besides. in their command to spread out educational activities they were ever curtailed by meager fiscal resources. More-so. the colonial government’s policy dictated certain Centres that they could barely accomplish and. in the class of playing the melody of the caller’ . stumbled. Unfortunately for Africans. they were the 1s who received all the consequences of these missional instruction bad lucks. The lessons learnt by Africans from this unfortunate province of their instruction were to be instrumental in recommending for schools of their ain. if non government-managed. from the 1920s onwards. THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN THE ESTABLISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN EDUCATION IN COLONIAL KENYA UPTO 1920 Between 1895 and 1911. the engagement of the colonial authorities in the constitution and development of educational chances for the autochthonal Kenyans was minimum. At this clip. the authorities was more concerned with the mollification of the cultural groups and instilling in them a proper regard for the European reading of jurisprudence and order. However. when the colonial disposal got involved in instruction. this sector was seen as a possible beginning of a better and more efficient labour force. In this official thought. through instruction Kenya would travel fast into going self-sufficing. The authorities besides wanted autochthonal people to be given an instruction that would assist it set into operation its philosophy of indirect regulation through heads and headsmans. These demands of the colonial disposal for African instruction did agree with those of the Europeans colonist community. The colonists needed an enlightened labor force that was capable of taking instructions both as house retainers and farm workers. But more significantly. colonists relied on both the missionaries and colonial authorities for African educational development to offer the right’ sort of instruction. whereas the colonial authorities was to command its degree. Educational advancement during the early period of colonial regulation was directed more by the force of fortunes instead than be calculated and good developed policy. In many instances. the policy that was laid down failed to run into practical demands. More frequently. policy was frustrated by the conflicting involvements of the decision makers. the colonists. the missionaries and with clip. African involvements. One can so detect if the development of African instruction in colonial Kenya. it was an ageless battle between conflicting involvement groups. The first worthy engagement by the colonial authorities in educational development was in 1911. A section of instruction was set up with a Director. James R. Orr. at its helm. The Director was charged with the duty of the preparation of educational policy. its execution and disposal in general. The creative activity of this section followed a study on instruction in the East African Protectorate produced in 1909 by Prof. Nelson Frazer. a seasoned Briton on educational affairs in India. He had been appointed as Educational Advisor to the British colonial enclaves of East Africa by the colonial office in London. With such an official capacity. Frazer’s study was taken earnestly and its proposals followed. One of the permanent bequests of the Frazer Report was the recommendation that instruction in Kenya be developed along racial lines. African instruction rested at the underside of a hierarchy that saw Arab/Asian and European instruction take prominence in that go uping order. This bottom place meant that small could be achieved for autochthonal Kenyans in footings of educational development. Indeed. throughout the colonial period. African instruction was treated as an instruction for the 3rd category citizens. Frazer’s study besides encouraged the instruction of technical/industrial instruction in African school to the humiliation of Africans who saw this as a drama to maintain them out of mainstream societal. economic and political development. But for Frazer. such as instruction would assist the authorities acquire more Africans with appropriate proficient accomplishments and thereby replace the expensive Asiatic craftsmans. Above all. proficient instruction for many Africans was hoped to further economic development fir the settlement. It would so go self-sufficing. The colonial authoritiess thrust into educational development can besides be seen in the system of grants to mission schools that offered industrial instruction. Through the Department of Education. the authorities gave out grants on the footing of consequences. In other words. the more the campaigners and the better their consequences in industrial topics. the more certain a school would be of a authorities grant. Although for some clip this step was resisted by the missionaries. claiming that the authorities was pulling its legal power and that this instruction was dearly-won. by 1912 industrial preparation in basic accomplishments in smithing. woodworking. agribusiness and even typing had started in many schools. Although the 3rd manner in which the colonial authorities got involved in educational development failed disastrously in its experimental schools at Kitui in 1909 for boies of heads and headsmans. in 1913 the first official authorities African school was set up in Machakos. This was a cardinal technical/teacher developing school around which a system of small town schools developed. The latter served as feeder schools to the former. With the advancement of clip. into the last half of the 2nd decennary of the twentieth Century. the authorities found it imperative to represent an educational committee. This committee was to roll up and collate the assorted positions of the stakeholders on African instruction. Under the chairmanship of J. W. Barth. the Education committee of East Africa Protectorate of 1918 was required to. among other footings. inquire into and describe o the extent to which instruction should instantly be introduced among the native population throughout the associated state. The study of the 1919 on African instruction did non offer anything to be applauded by Africans. It was observed that African instruction continue to stress technical/industrial preparation. This instruction had besides to be religious/Christian but significantly. missionaries were to go on as the chief suppliers of African instruction. Settler sentiment was strongly opposed to the usage of English in African schools. On the whole. these recommendations by the Report holding been accepted by the colonial authorities clearly demonstrated where its acquisition was on the way that African instructions to follow. In general. we can detect. by the stopping point of 1920. the colonial authorities had become yet another match-maker in the game of African instruction. Through the Department of Education and later the result of the Education committee of 1918. the disposal had begun to put down policy guidelines on which future developments were to be aligned. Note that. this committee was the really first functionary organ that sought comprehensive information from people on the development of western instruction in colonial Kenya since 1895. Together with the Frazer Report of 1909. they formed the footing of instruction until 1949 when the Beecher Report was issued. African INITIATIVES IN EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN COLONIAL KENYA Indigenous Kenyans were actively involved in the development of their instruction during the colonial period. This engagement was inevitable given the racial distinction in educational development recommended by the Fraser Report of 1909. Although Africans began their ain enterprises in the development of instruction every bit early as 1910. big graduated table developments were noticeable from the 1930s onwards. African enterprises in the development of their instruction can be distinguished in two separate attacks. There was the African independent schools motion and the Local Native Councils school motion. Though. by Kenya’s independency. the independent schools had been closed down for political grounds. As portion of the African enterprises in the development of instruction. they had proved a noteworthy success. In many ways. African enterprises in educational development had compelled the colonial administrative to give African instruction significant attending. Independent School Movement The beginnings of the AIS motion began in 1910. This followed the breaking away by African Christians from missional control. John Owalo. an disciple of assorted missional groups in Nyanza and an experient CMS school instructor. formed the LUO NOMIYA MISSION in 1910. Later on. this mission built churches and schools free from European missional control. African independent schools motion was more marked in Central Kenya. This motion took root in the 1930s. An association KISA was formed in 1934 to run schools. A sliver group. KKEA. emerged shortly thenceforth and was more conservative and did non favour links with the colonial authorities. In kernel. the AIS motion in this part spread fast ensuing in the constitution of many schools. By 1939 these schools had a pupil population of 29. 964. In fact. by 1952 when the AIS were all closed down. their figure was about 200 with a learner population of over 40. 000. The prototype of the African independent school motion can be discerned in the constitution of Githunguri Teachers College in 1939. This shows that the motion had itself good entrenched that it was able to develop its ain instructors among other concerns. It is of import to observe that. the AIS motion was motivated mostly by African aspirations on what type of instruction they thought appropriate. Africans besides clamoured for freedom of pick and saving of their cultural value. European missional instruction was mostly spiritual and vocational. Yet Africans wanted academic instruction. European missionaries wanted Africans to fling their traditions and this was unacceptable truly. to traditional African seniors despite the fact that some had been converted to Christianity. Note besides that. the African Independent Schools did non needfully abandon the course of study bing in the other schools. From 1936 these schools accepted to follow authorities course of study. They merely tried to make full in spreads. In fact the Government allowed AIS instructors to develop at missions and authorities preparation establishments. Local Native Councils Schools African enterprises in educational development besides received a encouragement with the constitution of the Local Native Councils in 1924. These councils were empowered among other activities to vote financess for educational intents at simple and primary school degrees. A door had hence been opened. so it seemed. for Africans to direct the class of their development in instruction. The colonial disposal guided the LNCs in their enterprise to advance African educational chances. The LNCs were required to roll up up-to 200. 000/= to set up a school and hold a farther 26. 000/= for the institution’s one-year care. The LNCs were besides advised to mention to the intended establishments as Government African Schools ( GAS ) . The 1930s saw many of the LNCs set up their schools. Kakamega GAS enrolled its first students in 1932. Kagumo GAS followed in 1933 and Kisii GAS in 1935. Note that these schools were intended to offer primary C’ degree of instruction i. e. criterion IV to VI when they started. However. they had to take down their demands due to inaccessibility of campaigners. Although the Government desired that the course of study for these schools emphasize industrial/vocational instruction. Africans by and large supported literary and higher instruction for their kids. Indeed. given the power of the African voice. the 1935 African Primary School syllabus de-emphasized technical/vocational instruction. African’s earnestness in the development of these schools is clearly seen in the fact that the three K schools were full primary establishments by 1938 i. e. offered PS Exam at terminal of standard VI. In 1946 they had grown into junior secondary schools. Before 1963. Kakamega and Kisii were fixing pupils for the Higher School Certificate Examination i. e. the basic university entry demand at the clip. The function of the LNCs in the promotion of African instruction during the colonial era was really outstanding. Statisticss show that these schools rapidly outpaced the mission schools in scrutiny consequences. For illustration. in the 1939 PS Examination. Kakamega entirely had 8 base on ballss compared to 4 from all mission primary schools in North Nyanza. Kagumo had 15 base on ballss compared to 10 from all mission schools in the part. Many LNCs got encouraged and established their ain schools. By 1945 LNC schools were 66. These schools had better footings of service for instructors than most mission schools. Decision From these two illustrations of African enterprises in the development of instruction in colonial Kenya. we can suitably claim that Africans played an of import function in advancing instruction. Africans. in the context of political. societal and economic jussive moods of that period. cognize what type of instruction was necessary. Basically it is their attempt that compelled the colonial disposal to establish appropriate ordinances for the instruction sector. By the clip of independency. autochthonal Kenyans had vividly known the function of western instruction in their advancement. They had besides seen what consequences emerged from corporate attempt. Indeed through the AIS and LNC schools. the roots of the Harambee movement’ in the development of the state had found their deepness. TECHNICAL/VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN COLONIAL KENYA Introduction Technical or vocational instruction can be defined in assorted ways. UNESCO ( 1984 ) defines this instruction as one that involves. in add-on to general instruction. the survey of engineerings and related scientific disciplines and the acquisition of pattern. accomplishments and the cognition associating to businesss in assorted sectors of economic and societal life . Omulando and Shiundu ( 1992 ) specify proficient instruction as instruction in any topic which leads to production in industry. agribusiness. trade and commerce . Whatever definition. any mention to this type of instruction basically connotes direction in topics that are mostly practice/manual. outdoor. equipment-intensive. etc. In Kenya’s main-stream. instruction today includes topics such as – Art and Crafts. Home Science. Agriculture. Business Education and Industrial Education. In the categorization of the present 8-4-4 instruction system for the secondary school rhythm. these topics are in groups IV and V. In group IV are Home Science. Art. Agriculture. Electricity. Woodwork. Metal work. Building and Construction. Power Mechanics and Drawing and Design. Group V subjects include: Music. Gallic. German. Arabic. Accounting. Commerce. Typing and Economics. Beginnings From the oncoming of Western instruction in Kenya. proficient instruction was conceived and designed as the most suited instruction for the autochthonal people. A manual-based instruction for Africans was deemed appropriate due to a figure of grounds. Among these grounds were the undermentioned: 1. Africans were of a low human species with a degree of larning unusually different from and inferior to that of the mean European. In this instance. Africans were good suited to humble and boring businesss such as agriculture and unskilled labor provided that they could be taught to get the better of their natural indolence. 2. Technical instruction as seen by the European Settlers would travel along manner in acquiring a critical mass of autochthonal people with appropriate craftsmans accomplishments that would render the hiring of the expensive Asiatic craftsmans redundant. On the portion of Christian Missionaries. such an instruction for the Africans would take to their autonomy at the mission Centres. 3. Non-academic instruction for Africans was found most suited for it would do them inactive and thereby being non-rebellious. Literary instruction offered elsewhere in British settlements had resulted in unfortunate’ experiences for the settlers and this did non necessitate to be repeated. Development Concerted attempt by the colonial authorities to intrench proficient instruction in African schools was begun shortly after 1911. Experimental grants were offered to some mission schools for the instruction of technical/vocational topics. These grants-in-aid were given on the footing of pupil consequences. Through this attempt by 1912. industrial preparation in basic accomplishments such as smithing. woodworking. agribusiness and typewriting had begun to take form. The colonial authorities in 1913 set up her first African school at Machakos to offer both industrial and teacher preparation. The accent on technical/industrial instruction for autochthonal people in Kenya received a major encouragement from the Phelps-Stokes Commission of 1924. This was an instruction committee set Forth by the Colonial Office in London. Although mostly repeating the recommendations of the 1919 Education Commission of the East African Protectorate. the Phelps-Stokes Commission urged that instruction be adapted to the demands of the person and the community. It believed that industrial preparation must supply the footing of African instruction in Kenya. For a people who were chiefly land agriculturists and carnal keepers. agricultural instruction was considered an built-in constituent of industrial/ vocational/ proficient instruction. The colonial authorities found it prudent to set up more schools for Africans with an industrial/technical/vocational prejudice in this period. Some of the schools established included the Native Industrial Depot – Kabete ( 1924 ) . Jeanes School – Kabete ( 1925 ) . Coast Technical School – Waa ( 1921 ) . Government School – Kapsabet ( 1925 ) and Maasai School – Kajiado ( 1926 ) . Apart from the Jeanes School and Native Industrial Depot both at Kabete. the remainder of the schools offered industrial instruction suited to their location. For illustration. the Maasai school at Narok emphasized more of animate being farming and animate being tegument bring arounding. More-so. the Kabete educational establishments offered proficient instruction to people/learners who already had had exposure to proficient instruction elsewhere. These establishments offered developing on a national degree. The course of study of proficient instruction in colonial Kenya. for Africans. was really simplistic. This was mostly for grounds alluded to earlier. At the Jeanes school for case. male instructors were taught vocals. Swahili. Physical preparation and games. Religious and moral instruction. simple hygiene and sanitation. first-aid on breaks. cuts. Burnss. dysentery. pneumonia. pestilence and malaria. simple agribusiness including plowing. hardening of animate being teguments and fells. the silk industry. black-smithing and tin-smithing. In kernel. these classs were deemed basic for Africans’ nutriment. No proviso was made for thorough in-depth survey of the topics. Although stairss were put in topographic point to stress proficient instruction in African schools. by 1940 no applaudable large-scale advancement was in sight. In the instance of Agriculture instruction. for illustration. whereas a commission in 1928 is on record to hold recommended that agribusiness be made compulsory and examinable in all rural schools of all classs. nil was put to pattern in this respect by 1940. Alternatively of Agriculture. Nature survey took over as a school topic. This take-over meant that agricultural accomplishments were merely to be demonstrated in the school garden. Agriculture therefore became non-compulsory in African schools. The Beecher Report ( 1949 ) . otherwise referred to as the African Education Commission. decried/lambasted the minimum developments realized in proficient instruction. One of the failings noted was teachers’ deficiency of strong belief and cognition or preparation to ease the ingraining of the right attitude in pupils towards proficient instruction. Most important about the Report was its recommendation that. at primary school degree due to the stamp ages of the scholars. no formal agricultural instruction be taught. Alternatively. schools were to promote in scholars a right attitude towards agricultural labor and an grasp of the significance of land. In order for proficient instruction to boom. the Report recommended. inter alia. changeless supervising of the teachers’ attitude and encouragement of resolute partnership between schools and the relevant administrative sections. Although alumnuss of this instruction made an impact in their communities. on the whole. African did non have this type of instruction with unfastened weaponries. Political. educational and socio-economic grounds contributed to this cold response. Africans felt that it was a European gambit to learn them practical topics so that they could stay inferior and their subsidiaries. This instruction every bit seen as mediocre and it hampered African political promotion. It is of import to observe that. in Asiatic and European schools in the settlement no sort of proficient instruction offered in African schools was taught. This difference concretized the African intuition of the type of instruction given to them. Educationally. proficient instruction failed since the course of study lacked flexibleness. More frequently. the course of study made small proviso for regional fluctuations and thereby some programmes virtually failed. The co-operation sought between sections of Agriculture. Veterinary and Education was unequal and sometimes contradictory. For illustration. visits by Agricultural Military officers to schools barely materialized. School calendar was sometimes non in consonant rhyme with peak times of agricultural activity. Education officers on their portion sometimes lacked the necessary cognition and even for the specializers they had small or no involvement. Teachers frequently used excess work on the farm or in the workshop as a signifier of penalty. Some topics. peculiarly Agriculture and Carpentry were non examinable at primary school degree. This did non actuate scholars to demo earnestness. Furthermore. in instances where proficient topics failed to have at secondary school degree. scholars barely wanted to analyze them at the lower degree. Technical instruction besides failed due to what African viewed as proper instruction. Basically. Africans merely saw academic instruction as the prototype of their kids traveling to school. This meant that. cipher was enthusiastic about the success of proficient instruction. Schooling was merely meaningful if scholars gained literary academic instruction. Socio-economic jobs besides hampered the success of proficient instruction. It was non easy to get financess for purchase of farm and workshop equipment. go forth entirely geting farming land for schools. Since many schools did non receive authorities grants. they had to trust on local communities for their daily running. However. the envisaged aid was hard to come by peculiarly when the undertakings were for proficient instruction. Parents decried the inclusion of this instruction in the course of study and therefore could barely lend money to schools for their development. The colonial government’s policy on the turning of hard currency harvests besides served as an hindrance to the flourishing of vocational instruction. Africans were non allowed to turn hard currency harvests. Bing allowed to turn subsistence harvests entirely could non easy take to the much-needed economic authorization for Africans. In such a state of affairs. Africans saw no demand of giving agricultural educational any earnestness. The deficiency of demand for people with industrial instruction accomplishments in the labor market besides went along manner in restricting the success of proficient instruction. At this minute. white-collar occupations were more appealing. To procure such chances one needed to hold had academic instruction. This scenario rapidly reflected itself in learners’ picks of schools topics. Technical topics were seldom their precedence. From the foregoing. technical/vocational instruction had really minimum opportunities for success. As political independency drew nigher in the early sixtiess. more accent in instruction shifted towards academic instruction. Technical and vocation