contribution of missionaries to education in ghana

They discovered that the holy book did not clearly prescribe monogamy, and contained several examples of renowned Christian polygamists. I wanted to buy a smartphone for him, but when he got to know the price of the cell phone, he humbly declined. 6: Christian Missionary Activities in West Africa They were at the forefront during the fight for self-rule in Ghana. Ghana sits on West Africas coastline along the Gulf of Guinea, bordered by the Ivory Coast and Togo to the west and east and Burkina Faso to the north. For instance, on 2nd October 1792, the Baptist Missionary Society was formed followed by the interdenominational London Missionary Society which was established in 1795. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'cegastacademy_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_15',609,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-cegastacademy_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0');The European missionaries began their activities in Ghana as far back as the early fifteenth century. These missions significantly influenced the systematic educational development in the Gold Coast. It is obvious that the main reason why the missionaries came to Ghana was to convert the indigenous people to the Christian faith. The agricultural schools the missions ran would have been even more advantageous to the colonial governments considering the discouragement of local industries that might have competed with the motherland. About us | Ghana Education Service - GES Their activities had both positive and negative effects on Ghanaian society. Soon after secondary schools were opened in other parts of southern Nigeria, including Bonny High School, which was taken over by government in 1904. Hope Waddell of the Church of Scotland had opened a school at Duke Town, Calabar. Kalu, Ogbu. However, the discovery of quinine and other curative medicines in the late 19th century made the history of the missionary work in West Africa a different thing altogether. Box 2 of the papers relating to the Society's activities in West Africa. opened was the Christian Institute, established in 1814 for the training of teachers, catechists and priests. The others include the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804, which was tasked with the responsibility of promoting the translation and printing of the Holy Bible. Before 1925, there were only three secondary schools and three teacher training colleges in Ghana. ASSESS THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHRISTIAN MISSION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF GHANA. The Christian religion teaches the doctrine of one supreme God and is opposed to the worship of any other forms of deity. Christianity in West Africa: The Nigerian Story. wassce literature questions. They were to spread the message of the Gospel, render social services to the people and to assist in the suppression of slavery and the slave trade. 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An attempt to respond to this question informs the underlying interest for this paper, namely, to explore the extent to which these institutions, especially . Johann Christaller produced a similar work in Twi. I have used my expertise to design and implement strategies for major projects including new programme development, global proposals, book launches, international talks, lectures, and executive . This research was funded by the European Research Council. Ghana Missionaries | Learn about Christian missions efforts in Ghana - ABWE This single problem made the missionary work very difficult. life skills As a mission school graduate noted, local history was almost totally ignored. In the Gambia, the Methodist missionary and first principal of what later became known as the Gambia High School, the Rev. This decreased the zeal with which people began to accept the Gospel leading to nominal Christianity. These missionary societies laid the foundations of the Roman Catholic Church in West Africa, which lasted through to the independence period when African clergy replaced the white pastors. The Wesleyan and Basel missionaries established schools in Cape Coast, Accra . The Journal of Negro Education (JNE), a scholarly refereed journal, was founded at Howard University in 1932. Frank Ogodo Ogbeche At the time of its inception, however, there was no publication that systematically or comprehensively addressed the enormous problems that characterized the education of Blacks in the United States and elsewhere. Renewed evangelisation started when the Basel (later known as Presbyterian) missionaries started work at Osu (Accra). For the West Africans, the acceptance of Christianity meant the total rejection of most of the cherished institutions upon which their society rested. Like the Methodists, the Roman Catholic missionaries spread the faith notably in the interior, which later became Protectorate. Furthermore, missionaries, believing in the civilizing mission, attempted to disintegrate traditional society through education by choosing academic subjects, such as the histories of the Western colonial powers, that illustrated the superiority of the Western culture, as well as by teaching about the superiority of the West in non-academic matters such as hygiene. Contribution of the Methodist Church to education in Ghana While the Evangelical Presbyterian missionaries were the First to develop literature in Ewe, the Roman Catholics were responsible for Nzima literature. But Annor (1989) writes that before Europeans came to colonize Africa, Africans had a way of producing artifacts. Grammar School for Boys in 1859, St Gregorys College opened by the Catholics in 1876, Methodist Boys High School 1878 and Methodist Girls High School 1879. The country has diverse geography, people groups, and languageswith English as the common language, and more than 11 others with state recognition. opened, in Freetown, the first boys secondary school in the country and another for girls in 1849, later renamed the Annie Walsh Memorial School. In 1981, Father Burke was promoted to headmaster and rector of Pope John XXIII Secondary School and Minor Seminary in Koforidua. Their economic activities went beyond the development of agriculture. Missionary Work in Ghana: The Genesis - African Research Longman Nigeria Plc., 1994, Boahen, A.A. et al Tropics in West Africa History. Literature Upon completing his degree, Father Burke received his first assignment abroad: Ghana, the first Black sub-Saharan country in Africa to gain independence from a colonial power. In Sierra Leone, the Church Missionary Society (CMS), offshoot of the Anglican Church, was the first to become firmly established chiefly among the freed captive and freed slave settlers from Britain, Nova Scotia and other parts of the New World. However, with time, they brought some crops, which they cultivated and which sustained them. The Missionary Role on The Gold Coast and In Ashanti: Reverend F.a Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000. New team members can be part of establishing a biblical foundation for the next generation of believers, the growth of nationally-led churches, and church planting in Ghana. Clarke, Peter Bernard. As a predominantly Roman Catholic country, France encouraged Roman Catholic missionaries right from the start of her colonial activities in West Africa. 11 Missionary College Scholarships You Can Apply For While colonial administration in colonies such as Kenya attempted to some degree to provide training for Kenyans to fill the high-level positions (Sheffield 1973:86), the attempts in many cases fell short, and when the European administration left, Kenya, for instance, had few sufficiently educated replacements (Sheffield 1973:88). ABWE is also at work in countries that restrict evangelism. adult education 522 0 obj <>stream The home page of Compassion Canada is that of a stereotypical Northern charity: showing pictures of suffering children alternating with those of post-intervention, happy children. These trends occasionally brought kings into conflict with the missionaries and their converts. Founded in 1875 by St. Arnold Janssen, we number more than 6,000 missionaries. It is possible to hear the tune of this missionary hymn. This was the work of the great missionary, Thomas Birch Freeman, who placed two missionaries, Mr and Mrs. de Graft, in charge of the school. As a member of the Church of England, it interests me to see echoes of Christian educational efforts by organizations such as Compassion Canada in the educational efforts of the missionary branch of the Anglican Church, the Church Missionary Society, or CMS. Thus, because of the motive of proselytization, unqualified teachers, and inter-denominational rivalry, missions frequently provided poor education. This comes at no extra cost to you. Baker Pub Group, 1996. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropong on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. The colonial Eritrean government ensured that native Eritreans received poor education by permitting them to only attend school up to the fourth grade (Miran 2002:127). The others include the French trading posts at Grand Bassam (Ivory Coast), Assinie and Libreville in Gabon. It is much easier to interact on an equal basis or even challenge the authority of another group when one is able to communicate in that groups language, instead of having to rely on an interpreter or non-verbal gestures, which undermine ones ability to show authority or express ones beliefs. Father Tetteh also took note of Father Burkes humility and devotion to his students. In short, it was a very successful mission in making us little black Anglo-Saxon Protestants. Operating from Whydah in what is today the Peoples Republic of Benin (formerly Dahomey), Father Berghero, in 1860, visited Abeokuta and Lagos where freed Catholic slaves from Brazil welcomed him warmly. Among the early Protestant evangelical societies founded in Great Britain were the Baptist Missionary Society, the Church Missionary Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the Wesleyan Missionary Society and what became known as the Presbyterian Missionary Society of the Church of Scotland. Their arrival in South Africa was aimed particularly at spreading the Word of God. The Christian Connector Scholarship. While the protestant evangelical movements were gaining ground in West Africa, similar movements were being promoted by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe. West African Senior School Certificate Examination. After a time the idea becomes ingrained -it is heathen and unchristian to be an African culturally (Awori cited in Berman 1974:536). In 1845 the C.M.S. A new era began with the settlements of Black Christians from Nova Scotia in Sierra Leone in 1787 and the missionary advance inland from Cape Town beginning with the arrival there of J. T. van der Kemp in 1799. This was a bitter pill for the Basel Mission to swallow after 19 years of devoted service in the mission field in the Gold Coast but they were not dismayed when they considered that in education and agriculture and artisan training and in the development of commerce, and medical services and concern for social welfare of the people, the name Basel by the time of expulsion of the mission from the country, had become a treasured word in the minds of the people. For instance, in Nigeria in 2006, approximately only 51.2% of primary school teachers of either gender were trained as teachers, and the enrolment rate in primary education for both genders in 2000 stood at about 62.7%, compared to 99.5% in Canada (UN Data 2010). Even if secondary education was provided, it was often reserved for the sons of local chiefs (Oliver 1952:212; Beck 1966: 120), an elite the colonial government could then call upon to help rule the colony, a common practice in colonial Africa. Missionaries continued to be the main providers of education even after colonial powers established control during the so-called Scramble for Africa which occurred between 1884-1914. In the field of education, however, the missionaries had to adjust their programmes to fit in with the policy of assimilation. For more than a year, Ghanaian Saints continued to practice their faith in their homes. He knew me as a boy [in Ghana] who washed his car and went with him when he said Mass at mission stations, yet [as an adult] he treated me as an equal, Father Tetteh said. The traditions and values of the community, as well as the meaning of life, were taught to the child. The people received the message with indifference. Nevertheless, the first higher institution in Ghana, now the Presbyterian Training College at Akuapem Akropon, was established in 1848, first as a centre for training catechists, and later to train teachers as well as ministers of the Presbyterian Church. First, I looked at how educational outcomes depended on the distance to historical missions. The effects of work done by Bishop Ajayi Crowther, assisted by the Igbo recaptive the Rev. Indeed, once the souls had been saved and since the students must have been considered clever enough, European languages were almost universally the languages of instruction in the later primary years and in secondary schools (Beck 1966: 120; Foster 1965: 159; Miran 2002:127). The South African War is not covered in this grouping of letters. These attempts were traumatic for the students and threatened the survival of unique cultures. Some progressive Europeans, like the first principal of Achimota College, Rev. To their minds, Africans were too backward and needed help to become more civilized. Important among these, all in Lagos, were the Baptist Academy in 1855, the C.M.S. Of the ten largest congregations for men, the Society of the Divine Word is the fastest growing over the past 50 years. Father Burke was preceded in death by his parents and his brother John. About the same time, the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) headed by the Rev. Christian missionaries were the first to introduce European-style education in sub-Saharan Africa. The missions agricultural schools were especially beneficial for colonial governments considering that governments believed that manual labour was a means to prevent discontent and unrest in the tribes (Hansen 1984:232). In 1880, two Roman Catholic priests of the Society of African Missions (S.M.A. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. Volunteers and donors to organizations such as Compassion Canada believe that they are being humanitarian when they build schools in Africa, volunteer as teachers or help in other ways to improve the quality of education in African nations, yet missionaries and colonial governments were similarly lauded as performing a great work of humanity (Beck 1966:117) and likewise believed that they were helping their African pupils. History books tended to exaggerate in achievements of Europeans, making no reference to Africans own great past. Among the Christian missionaries that came to the Gold Coast (Ghana) were the following. All the three secondary schools in Cape Coast were mission institutions. Missionaries travelled through dense evergreen forests, crossed rivers and climbed mountains to bring the Gospel to as many Ghanaians as they could. In Ghana, missions strategically weighted costs and benefits when choosing where to establish their churches and schools. We were expected to accept the European language as the superior one, and this was reinforced throughout my school career (Abu cited in Berman 1974:536). To put it differently, the motive was to gain acceptance in the sight of God so that after death they would be judged kindly by the heavenly father. Teaching in the vernacular had an additional use as it further strengthened colonial rule, of which missionaries were often agents, for as the Kikuyu people of Kenya were aware, [the] inability to communicate in English would be a crucial factor in the perpetuation of their subordinate status in the colony (Berman 1974:531). Andrew Jackson Foster (1925-1987) was an American pioneer of deaf education in several countries in Africa. Contributions of Missionaries Towards Education in India Education (2002), the latest committee to work on education reforms in Ghana, recommended a critical review and approach to making teacher education relevant to the devel-opment of the country. In spite of all this, with the advent of the First World War in 1914 in the Kwaku District there were 21 congregations with a total of over 2500 members. Furthermore, they were skilled farmers that could grow cash crops to be consumed back in the mother country, such as cocoa from Ghana (Foster 1965: 153). A.G. Frazer, did much to encourage the promotion of indigenous culture, but by and large the colonial authorities contributed to dwindling a good deal of our cultural heritage. They provided missionaries a way to spread Eurocentric norms and attract new converts. In 2011 at age 77, he retired from teaching and returned to the United States. Besides education, they cared for the sick. In the Western Region, the Catholic Sisters running a hospital at Eikwe specialized in maternity cases, and like Slessor in Nigeria succeeded in stamping out the practice of killing twins at birth. Within a short time the missionaries spread their activities inland. It offered the most direct path towards prestigious jobs in colonial administrations and European enterprises. One method of discouraging traditional practices was to give students a fully Western education. Other missionaries opened mission stations in the country. The contribution of the missionaries to the development of Setswana as The common response among traditionally polygamous people is well illustrated by a passage in Jomo Kenyattas famous book on the Gikuyu in colonial Kenya: This [the insistence on monogamy] caused a great confusion, for the African could not understand how he could drive away his wives and children, especially in a community where motherhood is looked upon as a religious duty; the children are regarded as part and parcel, not only of the father, but of the whole clan (mbari), and without them the mbari is lost. It was also terribly hard for a woman to be driven away, and to lose her status in the society where she is respected as a wife and a mother. the role of administrators, chiefs and the missions; first attempts at agricultural and industrial training; girls' education and teacher training before 1850; some chief factors in educational expansion 1850-1900; government official policy in educational expansion 1850-1900; agricultural, industrial and vernacular training 1850-1900 This Western education imparted to the Ameru by the Church of Scotland Missionaries, Consolata . It is important to emphasize that the modern history of the Christian Mission in Africa started from the late Eighteenth Century, the Catholics had been there earlier in the first centuries of the Christian era especially during the first Portuguese adventures. Lake Volta provides a vital venue for aviation evangelism in remote areas. Following agitation by the people in 1934, the government opened the old Yaba Higher College and Medical School, which awarded diplomas acceptable only locally. Help those suffering in Turkey and Syria. Establishment of Christian Churches In Ghana. They even considered traditional drumming and African clothing as practices that were not worthy in the sight of the Lord. House, 1967. Being ignorant of the significance of certain institutions and practices of the people of West Africa, and occasionally being misled by their over-zealous followings into wrongly interpreting the peoples heritage, the missionaries compelled pupils in their schools and docile adult converts to shun their own ancestral practices. A notable example was the Asafo Company, a purely military and social organisation of the peoples of Ghana, which was condemned by the early missionaries because of its presumed connection with fetish practices. Although there were many disagreements between European missionaries and African populations, antagonising polygamy is probably the best-documented norm conflict. However, as Jonathan Miran (2002) argues in his work on the roles of missionaries and the Italian state in Eritrean education, missionaries should not be held solely accountable for the poor standards of education. Within ten years the C.M.S had opened twelve more schools in what is today Cross Rivers State. Efforts to change these norms were often aimed at women. In the British colonies, as elsewhere, religious missions were instrumental in introducing European-style education. For example, they made our people view polygamy and puberty rites as pagan practices. Third, rivalry between the various Christian denominations also contributed to the poor standards of education. It was not until the nineteenth century, that the new religion was really established in West Africa. Young Vincent began his studies with the Society of the Divine Word at Divine Word Seminary at Miramar in Massachusetts in 1947. Role of Missionaries in Colonial African Education - UKEssays.com Our academic experts are ready and waiting to assist with any writing project you may have. Theres still so much to be learned from the history of education in Africa and its long-term consequences. Bamgboye & Company Press, 1976. All work is written to order. 503 0 obj <> endobj It started first among the Yoruba recaptives who had embraced the Christian faith while in Sierra Leone (freed from slave trading ships by the British Royal Naval Squadron), and who returned home between 1839 and 1845. cited in Miran 2002:128). By February 2, 1918, all Basel missionaries had been deported from the Gold Coast. It happens that some people convert at the end of their life in order to be buried in the prestigious Presbyterian cemetery.