Challenges Facing Higher Education in East Africa

By Joseph Afulo

Fr. Joseph Oduor Afulo, SJ is a Jesuit priest. He was born on April 27, 1962 in Kasau, Siaya County in Kenya. After completing his primary education at Barkanyango Primary School, he proceeded to St. Peter’s Seminary, Mukumu for his secondary education and then pursued A-Level education at Cardinal Otunga High School. Fr. Afulo then proceeded to Kenyatta University where he obtained B.Ed. (Science) with Physics and Mathematics.
Fr. Afulo taught Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Kiswahili at Barkanyango Secondary School. After teaching Mathematics and Physics at Lwak Girls High School for some years, he joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Upon completing the Novitiate in Arusha he proceeded to Jñana Deepa Vidya Peeth, Pune-India for Philosophical studies where he obtained a Bachelor of Philosophy. He did regency at Loyola High School in Dar-es-Salaam where he taught Mathematics and was also in charge of sports and games. Fr. Afulo then proceeded to Hekima College, Nairobi for theological studies and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Theology through the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. He later obtained a Licentiate in Theology at Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, California and a Ph.D. in Education Policy and Leadership from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in USA.
Fr. Afulo has been the principal of Hekima University College in Nairobi, and he is currently the Vice Chancellor of Arrupe Jesuit University in Harare, Zimbabwe. He has taught graduate students in the School of Education of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. He has been the Formation Assistant (in charge of personnel planning and training) and Provincial Superior of the Eastern Africa Province of the Society of Jesus that covers Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan.

“This ambitious publication provides a comprehensive panorama of the evolution of higher education in East Africa, while at the same time weaving in an international reference framework that helps readers to understand the interplay of local influences and global forces in influencing the evolution of the East African higher education systems. The book shows us, in a comparative perspective, the many threads of their complex story, from the colonial era to the post-independence decades. It tells a tale of rapid quantitative expansion, institutional diversification with the growth of a sizeable private higher education sub-sector, careful efforts to put in place a strong quality assurance system, and investment in the development of a few leading research universities.” Prof. Salmi

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joseph Afulo
• Release date: Jun 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005979874

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Challenges Facing Higher Education in East Africa

Challenges Facing Higher Education in East Africa

Joseph Oduor Afulo, SJ

Copyright © 2022 Joseph Oduor Afulo, SJ

First edition 2022

Published by Joseph Oduor Afulo, SJ Publishing at Smashwords

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Brief Biography of the Author

Preface

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Foreword

Introduction

1 - Brief History of the Development of Higher Education in East Africa

2 - Quest for Relevant Higher Education

3 - Massification

4 - Expansion of Higher Education Institutions

5 - Financing Higher Education

Conclusion

Bibliography

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Brief Biography of the Author

Fr Joseph Oduor Afulo, SJ, is a Jesuit priest. He was born on 27 April 1962, in Kasau, Siaya County in Kenya. After completing his primary education at Barkanyango Primary School, he proceeded to St Peter’s Seminary, Mukumu, for his secondary education and then pursued his A-Level education at Cardinal Otunga High School in Kisii, Kenya. Fr Afulo then proceeded to Kenyatta University, where he obtained a B.Ed. (Science) degree with Physics and Mathematics.

Fr Afulo taught Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Kiswahili at Barkanyango Secondary School. After teaching Mathematics and Physics at Lwak Girls High School for some years, he joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Upon completing his novitiate formation in Arusha, he proceeded to Jñana Deepa Vidya Peeth, Pune-India, for Philosophical studies, where he obtained a Bachelor of Philosophy. He did regency at Loyola High School in Dar-Es-Salaam, where he taught Mathematics and was also in charge of sports and games. Fr. Afulo then proceeded to Hekima College, Nairobi, for theological studies and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Theology through the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. He later obtained a Licentiate in Theology at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, California, and a Ph.D. in Education Policy and Leadership from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the USA.

Fr Afulo has been the principal of Hekima University College in Nairobi, and he is currently the Vice Chancellor of Arrupe Jesuit University in Harare, Zimbabwe. He has taught graduate students in the School of Education of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. He has been the Formation Assistant (in charge of personnel planning and training) and Provincial Superior of the Eastern Africa Province of the Society of Jesus.

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Preface

Among the emerging economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have stood out as being among the first nations to acknowledge, right after independence, the importance of higher education for nation-building purposes. Even though the attempt to establish a regional university serving the three countries was short-lived, East African governments have systematically placed higher education capacity building at the centre of their development agenda. In this way they have demonstrated the recognition that universities and other types of higher education institutions play a crucial role in fostering the knowledge, insights, innovative abilities and creative thinking needed for designing and implementing effective economic-growth and poverty-alleviation strategies.

It is therefore not surprising to observe the impressive expansion of higher education in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda over the past decades. After operating as elitist systems until the late 1980s, these countries have gradually moved toward massification of education. This has not happened without tensions, as each country has faced the challenge of continuing to expand enrollment while preserving quality in a situation of deteriorating fiscal resources.

Against this background, the book written by the Vice Chancellor of the Arrupe Jesuit University in Zimbabwe, Fr Joseph Oduor Afulo, SJ, could not have arrived at a better juncture. This ambitious publication provides a comprehensive panorama of the evolution of higher education in East Africa, while at the same time weaving in an international reference framework that helps one to understand the interplay of local influences and global forces in influencing the evolution of the East African higher education systems. The book shows us, in a comparative perspective, the many threads of the complex story of these systems, from the colonial era to the post-independence decades. It tells a tale of rapid quantitative expansion, institutional diversification with the growth of a sizeable private higher education sub-sector, careful efforts to put in place a strong quality-assurance system, and investment in the development of a few leading research universities.

The book is made up of five chapters. The first chapter provides the historical background, analysing in much detail the conflicting views and contradictions regarding the development of higher education during the colonial period, and the biases reflected in shaping the first institutions of higher learning. It then provides many insights into the evolution of the systems in its thorough review of post-independence policies, showing how the higher education systems of the three countries have become substantially more diverse, and how government policies have evolved over the years, especially with respect to the role of the private sector.

The second chapter focuses on the meaning of higher education and the quest for relevance in the developing nations of East Africa. It raises many important questions about the relationship between universities and their environment, and the influence of foreign models in determining curriculum content and pedagogical approaches. It emphasises the need to provide a full education that not only prepares graduates for their professional life but also imparts positive values that are essential for making good citizens. It compares how the three countries have dealt with issues of relevance and quality assurance. The chapter discusses the role of external partners, such as the World Bank, in influencing national policies and defining the developmental role of higher education. It also documents the limits to academic freedom faced by faculty members at various points in the history of the three countries.

In Chapter 3, the author examines the massification strategy followed by each of the three East African nations. The chapter documents how successful policies focused on the expansion of primary and secondary education have fuelled the growing demand for higher education places. It explains the paradox faced by many Sub-Saharan countries that still have low enrollment rates at the higher education level but have nonetheless experienced a rapid rise in enrollment. Furthermore, in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, massification has not necessarily meant the elimination of disparities in access and success among social groups. In the first country, for example, household survey data show that the probability of attending university is 49 times higher for the sons and daughters from the 20% richest families than for young people coming from the 20% poorest group in Kenyan society.

The fourth chapter presents a review of the impact of national policies on the higher education institutions themselves. After analysing the restrictive-access policies in place during the colonial era, this chapter looks carefully at the evolution of higher education institutions’ attempts to respond to the national manpower development agenda and the growing numbers of high school graduates eager to pursue their studies at tertiary level. It also shows how national policies have translated into restrictions on institutional autonomy, as universities have attempted, often unsuccessfully, to resist the pressure of enrollment growth in a context of stagnant, and sometimes even decreasing budgetary resources.

Finally, Chapter 5 provides a detailed analysis of the financing dimensions of higher education expansion and operation in the three East African countries. It delves extensively into the influence of donor policies, especially those of the World Bank, on national policies in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. It explains the trade-offs faced by East African countries as they try to find sustainable financing strategies that can support the continuing quantitative expansion, make efforts to improve quality and relevance, and meet the need to offer equal opportunities to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

As the book was written before the pandemic, it could not examine the impact of Covid-19 on the three East African countries. Looking forward, it would be useful, perhaps in the second edition, to assess how each higher education system fared during the pandemic, how resilient they proved to be and what lessons could be learnt from their experiences. Many higher education systems have experienced significant disruptions in the past two years, including an exacerbation of disparities and an acceleration of innovative practices. Comparing the experiences of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda would certainly be enlightening in that regard, as the Inter-University Council for East Africa began to do during a conference in Nairobi in July 2021. This gathering was organised to discuss the future of higher education in the region in the light of the technological advances observed in many universities during the pandemic and the need to challenge traditional approaches.

I commend Father Afulo, the Vice-Chancellor of the Arrupe Jesuit University in Zimbabwe, for writing this outstanding book on the transformation of higher education in East Africa. I trust that the readers will find the publication as informative and stimulating as I did. I am convinced that the various chapters will make a worthwhile contribution to national debate on the contribution and future of higher education in each of the three countries and help advance the East African governments’ understanding of the importance of financial reform. Finally, this book provides comparative education researchers all over the world with an insightful exploration of the evolution of higher education in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

By Professor Jamil Salmi

Global Tertiary Education Expert

www.tertiaryeducation.org

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Acknowledgements

I first thought of working on this book when I went to Creighton University in July–December 2012 to understudy Fr Timothy R. Lannon, SJ, as president of the university. I was honoured to occupy Waite Chair, which was funded by Don Waite. One of my obligations was to present a paper in faculty seminar. This was the foundation of the topic Challenges facing Higher Education in East Africa and so the title of the book. I am deeply grateful to Fr Lannon for his friendship, mentorship, encouragement and care.

I am also grateful to the faculty and staff of Hekima University College, where I was principal twice and not only learnt the practice of governance in higher education but also had close encounters with administrators of higher education institutions in the region. I was able to share in their grief and pain, their joys and sorrows as each of them tried to their best to keep these institutions running in spite of the challenges, artificial barriers and obstacles. I am grateful to Professor George Albert Omore Magoha for his inspiration and leadership in higher education. I am also grateful to Professor Thomas Joachim Odhiambo Afullo for his constant encouragement to have the book published.

Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the Jesuits of Eastern Africa, especially in the communities of Loyola House and Hekima University College, for providing a conducive atmosphere for accomplishing such a work. I would like to thank Fr Kizito Kiyimba, SJ, the Provincial of Eastern Africa, for his encouragement and for providing resources for the dream of publishing this book to be realised. May this book be a source of inspiration to other Jesuits to reflect on our closer engagement in higher education in Eastern Africa Province. May it inspire the readers and higher education researchers to identify and reflect on the societal problems of our times. Lastly, I am grateful to Professor Jamil Salmi for agreeing to write the preface to this book.

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to my mother, Margaret Francisca Akello Afulo (November 1936–July 2021). Mama Margaret was a pillar of evangelisation, especially in the foundations of the Lwak, Nyangoma and Nyamonye parishes in Kisumu Archdiocese for a period spanning over 60 years of her life. She had great influence on her mother, Mathlida Agono. Having studied home craft that included cookery, life skills, home care and midwifery in Kisumu, Margaret spent most of her life instructing ordinary local women in these areas and helping those who delivered out of the hospital setting. She did all these tasks, demanding neither salary nor any remuneration. Mama Margaret took control of the family and ensured discipline among her 14 children without any bias or preference, as she was focused on developing

…upright, honest, hardworking, conscientious, well-educated children, who were well entrenched in the Catholic faith. Indeed, her approach, with the tacit support of … [her husband] … produced results, much to the amazement of the absurd doubters. Under Mama Margaret, farming and food security was taken seriously, and the family grew all sorts of crops such as maize, cassava, millet, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, groundnuts, and other delicious fruits. Mama Margaret was a trusted confidant and supporter of her husband Aloys in all aspects. She was given the task of keeping her husband’s salary until it was time for the children to go back to school. (Eulogy of Mama Margaret, July 2021).

Her children, and many people who knew her, can attest that Mama Margaret carried out her tasks with great zeal and enthusiasm. She was in charge of law and order in the family and was even-handed. She ensured that nobody went hungry in her house, was prompt and honest in correcting mistakes, and never entertained laziness of whatever sort nor bore any grudges. Mama Margaret was a strong personality; she was dedicated, courageous, hardworking and saw good in everyone. She was a respectable leader, caring and responsible, and she became successful in life, albeit with limited education. She was judicious, sympathetic, intuitive, forthright, exemplary, unique, a keen observer/supervisor, generous, straight forward, a counsellor and a strict disciplinarian. Mama Margaret was prayerful; she had the art of balancing love and law, and selflessness. She was known for her community service and for her foresightedness. She was spotlessly elegant, keenly alert and had passionate agility. She was consummate in planning and forecasting, orderly, and offered pre-emption and mitigation. She could not be corrupted with offers of large amounts of shopping for her in exchange for bad manners. Owing to her firmness and discipline, she managed to bring up her 14 children, offering them the best upbringing and educational opportunities without distributing any to relatives. Her no-nonsense nature gained her respect in the community and society at large. Both men and women feared her because she would not tolerate trivialities. Any challenging issue was resolved on the spot without any procrastination.

Mama Margaret went far ahead of her contemporaries and the activists of girl-child education and consciousness of the vulnerability of disadvantaged women. With the support of Aloys, her husband, their daughters were taken to boarding schools run by nuns after they had completed Standard Three while staying at home. All the daughters completed at least secondary school and obtained their professional qualifications while in the able hands of Mama Margaret. Yes, she was an educator with minimum education, a keen psychologist without professional training, and a balanced, just adjudicator without a legal background. Mama Margaret was an astute, intuitive, industrious, caring, discreet, prudent and charitable woman. Rest in peace, Mama Margaret!

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Foreword

The development of higher education in East Africa, which is Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, was not an easy process. It was driven or, rather, slowed down by the political and economic forces at each period. The colonial government established several commissions to look at ways of effecting education, especially higher education, in the colonies. Of significance is the Phelp-Stokes Commission, supported by the Phelp-Stokes Fund, which had initially proposed an education structure for the Black community of the Southern United States and proposed vocational or technical education for African Americans.

During the colonial days and the early years of independence in East Africa, there was a great need for qualified personnel to take up responsibilities in the new nations. Both the colonial government and the administrators of the new republics needed individuals to take responsibilities in facilitating the growth of the republics. They also needed an optimum number of salaried individuals that could provide a tax base as a source of income for the governance of the republics.

It is significant to note that in spite of the colonial government desiring to create higher education institutions in the colonies, and despite the support they received from the British Parliament, there was great resistance by the legislative councils (LEGCO) of the colonies, which were generally composed of the settlers. These settlers viewed access to higher education opportunities among the natives of the colonies as a way of empowerment, and consequently as a way of providing ammunition for self-destruction. They saw the danger that the enlightened natives could easily devise ways of speeding up their independence. Moreover, the enlightened natives could educate their kinsmen about remuneration and so deprive the settlers of cheap labour in their homes, farms and factories.

The second face of resistance was the administrators of the independent nations, who had a heavy hand in controlling the higher education institutions in the face of the Cold War. With riots in the American states in the 1960s, the new governments could not entrust the management of higher education institutions to private hands. They controlled the appointment of the top administrators of the universities, restricted the number of students who could have access to higher education per year, and controlled their employment by bonding them to join the government workforce for at least a period of time, an occasion during which they could be monitored directly and more closely by the government authorities.

Although the governments opened up for private proprietors to venture into investing in higher education, the poor condition of the world economy followed by the imposition of the Economic Structural Adjustment Programs (ESAPs) by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) did not make matters easy. These two institutions later on abandoned the ESAP as it was based on faulty economic theories.

Massification in higher education institutions and limited finances to support higher education development, including research and publication, became major challenges for the institutions, especially the public universities, in coping with the demands for quality, access and equity. Moreover, the quality of education was compromised and bridging courses were introduced for those who could afford them. Higher education became more commercial and included the unethical practices of leakage and compromised examinations.

Citizens began demanding quality, relevant and contextualised education. One challenge was providing qualified lecturers who would lead quality teaching and learning processes, accompany the students appropriately in their projects or thesis research, and engage more in research and publications. Another challenge was the universities’ quest to be ranked among the world-class universities even with the diversified definitions as to what a top university is and how this rank can be attained.

The governments of the East African countries have established several commissions for education; they have come up with legislation and policy papers to re-align the education sectors. They have also offered directives for correcting missteps that have happened in the education sector over the years. Even though significant progress has been made, these efforts have not borne the desired fruits. Education in these countries and how each stage of education affects or is connected to the succeeding level need very close scrutiny and clearer direction on the way forward. Good education can be ensured when planning is followed through with implementation and then evaluation. Each moment of evaluation generates a new plan that goes through the same cycle. The output of education needs to be addressed in a longitudinal manner, taking note of the missteps and correcting them accordingly.

This book aims to identify the challenges that higher education in East Africa has encountered thus far. It proposes salient ways of dealing with these challenges with knowledge gained by hindsight. Moreover, the book contends that if higher education is effectively and efficiently managed in terms of the provision of an appropriate environment for teaching and learning, adequate resources and qualified personnel, limiting wastage and attrition at all levels, the educational outcome will be of greater benefit to the populace and will significantly affect what is going on in the neighbourhood. Moreover, contextualised and relevant higher education will produce alumni who are innovative and enterprising to a level that they will be a source of employment and quality production.

Although it is a humble beginning, this book is the start of a journey that endeavours to identify means of improving higher education in the region. It has already been illustrated that higher education is significantly affected by the foundations in education; that is, what goes on in primary and secondary education affects the outcome of tertiary education. It therefore demands that the education enterprise outlook is holistic and comprehensive. Any partial consideration of education at any level will definitely affect the subsequent stages and the teaching and learning processes negatively.

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Introduction

This book examines the process of the growth of higher education in East Africa, namely Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, from the colonial period to the post-independence era. Good knowledge of these foundations will help higher education historians, administrators and planners recognise the forces that operate in our surroundings that significantly affect the options that we take. The book also examines how vested interests have influenced and facilitated the progress of establishing tertiary education institutions in the region.

In considering how the local influences and global forces and trends have affected the growth of higher education in the region, of importance are the British colonial policies and the tension that was manifested between these policies and the colonial administrators; the influence of the settlers on policies that were directed at improving the lifestyle of the natives; and the attitude of the legislative council of the colonies and its relations with the British Parliament. The book addresses how the World Wars and experiences of shortages of personnel and resources helped the colonial governments arrive at a determination of higher education and an immediate solution to the challenges. Although commissions are always trusted by governments to give direction on matters, the experience with the education commissions in the East African colonies shows that goodwill alone is not enough. The membership of the commissions needed to be cleared of prejudices and biases so that the results of the commission process might be objective and reliable.

There was great hunger for education in the colonies. Despite this, access, equity and the quality of education provided are questions that have remained to be answered adequately to this day. At independence, the three countries came up with education policies that were directed towards filling the personnel gaps and positions left vacant by the colonial government. The settlers, who considered themselves superior, did not entertain any potential competition from the natives simply because they were educated. Some missionaries followed the pattern of the settlers in their attitude towards the education of the natives while others advocated greater empowerment so that the locals could contribute to the construction and maintenance of facilities, as they had limited resources.

The citizens started calling for a type of education that addressed their local needs, that is contextualised and relevant education. Pressure for tertiary-level education continued increasing, so that basic numeracy and literacy ceased to be the end target of the education of the natives. The newly independent countries were bombarded with policies and directives from the World Bank, IMF and donor countries. Whereas these influences and information are intended to be beneficial to the receiving country, they often work to the detriment of the citizens. Even when institutions and donors such as these realise later that they were wrong in their judgement, no apology is ever made and matters are simply explained away.

The East African countries experienced massification and a drastic reduction of the finances needed to support progress in higher education. The massification in East African higher education is attributed to the countries making efforts to attain the goals of the Education for All (EFA) philosophy through the provision of free primary education. With many candidates prepared for the next level of education at a time, while the expansion of secondary education and lower-level tertiary education opportunities were easily addressed, access to higher education was more complicated. The participation of the private sector in the provision of higher education did not help address the situation significantly.

The foundation of university education in East Africa began with the establishment of Makerere College by independence. At this point the University of East Africa had three colleges offering degrees. These were Makerere University College in Kampala, Uganda; King’s College in Nairobi, Kenya; and Dar-Es-Salaam University College in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania. These colleges soon became universities. There were private tertiary education institutions especially managed by churches, but their academic programmes remained at certificate or diploma level for a very long time. In 1970, the three constituent colleges, through Acts of parliament of the particular countries, became autonomous universities with the president as the chancellor. Government high handedness in the governance of the universities was quite evident, which was especially strengthened with the riots in the United States (US) in 1960s.

The different governments started opening up for private universities in the 1980s. At the end of the Cold War, more private universities were opened. In spite of the increased opportunities for accessing higher education, the considerably increased number of students who were completing programmes at secondary schools and middle-level colleges meant that higher education institutions could not address the demands for higher education sufficiently. Even with many students going abroad for their studies, the quest and demands for access to higher education continued to rise.

Education provision is the responsibility of the government. In the annual fiscal allocations, quite a good proportion is allocated for education, from primary education up to tertiary education. Allocation per capita is much higher as the individuals pass to higher education. This is why the World Bank and IMF imposed ESAPs that demanded that more resources be dedicated to lower levels of education so that a bigger population could at least attain basic literacy and numeracy. When it came to higher education, these institutions pegged their support to developing countries on the student participating in paying for their education through cost-sharing as these students and their families greatly benefited from social mobility and better rates of return. They argued that greater rates of return for the community would be experienced through primary and secondary education, with the least rates of return from tertiary or university education. This understanding was later changed following several studies that contradicted the stance.

With limited resources at their disposal, universities started looking for other sources of funds. They engaged in matters not characteristically connected to the objectives of founding the university.

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1 - Brief History of the Development of Higher Education in East Africa

Higher education can be defined as optional, formal education in specialized fields undertaken after completing secondary education. Traditionally, the term referred to academic study taking place at universities, but today it also encompasses professional or advanced vocational training at university-like institutions, colleges or professional schools attached to universities (such as nursing schools or teachers’ colleges) … The primary function of HE (higher education) is the production, distribution, and consumption of knowledge, through teaching, research, and community engagement. The types of knowledge generated, the beneficiaries of that knowledge, and how that knowledge is used have changed over time. (Power, Millington, & Bengtsson, 2015, p. 15)

In the early years of British Colonialism, direct Government involvement in the provision of formal education was minimal, restricted by and large to providing subvention to educational institutions founded and run by missionaries (Lulat, 2003, p. 18). The curriculum for education that the missionaries offered was concentrated on basic literacy and numeracy. Later on, the missionaries focused on industrial and technical education, and, at some further level, they offered training opportunities in teaching, agriculture, veterinary and paramedical practices, with very limited attention paid to higher education. It is, however, important to recognise that there were no people who were specialists in these areas. Families had occupations such as goldsmiths, ironsmiths, carpenters, builders of granaries, and gravediggers. On the quality of the educational programmes, the address of Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay to the British Parliament on 2 February 1835 is quite appropriate. He is reputed to have said:

I have travelled across the length and breadth of Africa and I have not seen a person who is a beggar, who is a thief such a wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre that I do not think we would ever conquer this country unless we break every backbone of this nation which is her spiritual and cultural heritage and therefore I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Africans think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation.

The missionaries generally wanted people with specific training to facilitate their work, repair and maintain the mission plant, teach catechesis, repair roads, and take care of the health of the animals then kept for food and transportation. Distant schools and churches had to be maintained in proper condition, and they needed reliable individuals to carry out this task. William Dubois, an African American educator and activist, argued that industrial schools must be aware of placing undue emphasis on the practical character of their work, for all true learning of the head or hand is practical in the sense of being applicable to life (Ndibalema, 1998, p. 79).

The people who went through the education offered by the missionaries effectively participated in the work of the missions, applying their skills in teaching, plant maintenance, farm management and local development while some were notably integrated into the Colonial Government administration in the lower cadre positions (Phelps-Stokes, 1948, p. 41). They further emphasised the intention of showing that the African could make amazing achievements here when given an adequate opportunity (p. 20).

Madden Commission Report

However, when it finally engaged in education, the Colonial Government favoured a technical or vocational education curriculum as the graduates would not threaten any position held by government members. Later the Colonial Government came to support education offered by the missionaries through grant in aid. This bias towards vocational or technical education and its justification as being suitable and appropriate for the Blacks had its foundation in the prejudices of the Richard Madden Commission Report of 1843. Without any clear scientific evidence, Madden claimed that African children performed better than European children but that the intellectual ability of Africans gradually diminished as they advanced in age. The characterisation of the African, as it was presented, reinforced the prejudice of African people as having retarded intellectual development and consequently being unsuited for the types of advanced and intellectually rigorous education programmes that the whites were exposed to. The Report attributed the limitation in the Africans to their having been affected by the unfavourable tropical climate (Lulat, 2003, p. 18; see also Lulat, 2005), thus making the claimed manifested characteristic an environmental factor rather than a genetically induced deficiency.

The climatic influence theory of Madden was later reiterated by Dr Jones via negativa in the Phelps-Stokes Commission Report. Jones claimed that in the case of the Blacks development has been retarded in many cases, largely because of climatic and historical factors (Phelps-Stokes, 1948, p. 43). Elsewhere in the Madden Commission Report, even more strongly, he attributes backwardness to geographic, climatic and agrarian conditions of the African Continent (p. 119). His arguments basically showed that, given the benefit of the doubt, Dr. Jones was struggling to clearly define the Blacks and the reason why they seemed intellectually so different from the whites. He commented,

... the white man’s ignorance of these conditions has led him to unjust condemnation of the African---a condemnation which carried no conviction to the African … In all the white man’s dealings with the African, there has been a lack of understanding and ‘the prince that lacks understanding is our oppressor also.’ Much of the rising feeling in Africa against the European as an ‘oppressor’ is due to policies and measures which have been imposed upon the African through a lack of ‘understanding’. (p. 119)

The prejudice of Madden featured in an intense debate held in the British Parliament on 18 August 1843, when the Madden Commission Report was discussed, and resulted in a rejection of some aspects in the following words:

It was true that Dr. Madden, writing in ignorance on the subject, and under the influence of prejudice and misrepresentation, did cast imputations on the African trade, as favouring the slave-trade, … Dr. Madden’s statements were subject to a most scrutinising inquiry by the committee, and found to be utterly groundless, false, and unjust, and as such rejected unanimously by the committee … They all knew the sort of men which the Colonial Office usually selected for the government of our African settlements, taken from the quarter-deck and barrack-room, totally unacquainted with the people and the country. In the hands of such men such a clause might be most mischievous. (Commons Hansard, 1843)

Although the criticism of Madden and parts of the Commission Report generally hinged on facts, it also brought to the fore the problem of credibility, cynical interpretation of information received from the informants who participated in the interviews, and non-familiarity with the local context and culture. These issues, which were significantly influenced by doubtful collection, analysis and presentation of evidence, greatly biased the outcome presented in the Report. Despite the severe criticism of the persistent engagement in slavery in the region, the recommendations of the Madden Commission Report seemed to have a great influence on the attitude of the Colonial Government administration for several decades, which consequently pursued measures to neglect or seek to limit provision of education to the natives at elementary level, more severe at the secondary level and virtually total at the level of higher education (Ajayi, Goma, & Johnson, 1996, p. 28).

The British Parliament’s deliberation of the Madden Commission Report manifested the kind of multiple tensions that existed. The Colonial Government was not fully in control of what was happening in the colonies. The settlers had their interests to guard and so they influenced commissions whenever one was created. Deliberations in the Colonial Legislative Assembly provided one perspective while the missionaries also provided another viewpoint. All these groups manifested a level of tension that required clarifying and determining conclusively for the appropriate and relevant education programmes to be created in the colonies. These tensions were never resolved. The British Government and the Colonial authorities took the path of least resistance and consequently absorbed these discrepancies and inconsistencies into the educational planning for the colonies. They therefore imposed discrepancies and inconsistencies that affected the progress of education in the colonies for a long time. Some of these discrepancies persisted for several decades after independence.

Phelps-Stokes Commission Report

In the foreword to Goldthorpe’s (1965) book An African Elite, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, the first president of Tanzania, observes that it is very difficult to fight privilege without also appearing to fight against race (p. v). There was a struggle between the natives and the colonists, which included the colonial government and the settlers. More often, the settlers came from the countries of the colonial governments. They often felt superior to the natives and so their preference was to be given priority even though they were few in number. Unfortunately, they happened to be Europeans and so white, while the natives were of other colours. The struggle with the colonial government, which favoured the settlers, could therefore not help but take the racial dimension.

Involving the Phelps-Stokes Fund in working out educational policies for the African natives invariably brought the race conversation into the picture even when an observer really wanted to keep it free from prejudices and deep-seated biases. The principal purpose of the Phelps-Stokes Fund in the US was to improve the status of the Blacks, especially in the fundamental matter of educational opportunities (Phelps-Stokes, 1948, p. 55) with clearer understanding of the specific educational conditions and needs and a requirement for adapting sound educational policies for the continent. According to an earlier study, Representatives of various missionary societies in the United States carrying on work in Africa have long felt the need of a thorough survey of conditions there with a view to making their efforts more effective on the educational side (Phelps-Stokes Commission, 1922, p. xii).

The original reason why the British Government had engaged the Phelps-Stokes Fund to study the educational situation of the Africans on the continent and provide appropriate recommendations was that the Phelps-Stokes Fund was already engaged in studying the African American situation and, having come up with some actionable proposals, they would convincingly represent how the Blacks were treated in the US. According to Challiss (1982), the Commission was to address an urgent need for an investigation that might provide a useful guide for the formation of Imperial educational policy (p. 111) in the British colonies in Africa.

The scope of the work of the Phelps-Stokes Commission was to … study the educational needs of Africa, especially those pertaining to the hygienic, economic, social, and religious condition of the Native people (Phelps-Stokes Commission, 1922, p. xvi). This scope in itself was too restricted, and it indicates the direction in which the study was to head. It was, in a sense, drawing conclusions before the work got started. The Commission also seemed to have reinforced the already preferred and practised racially differentiated education with practical vocational training designed to develop self-reliance and self-respect (Challiss, 1982, p. 110). This was really a replication of the education curriculum adopted for the Blacks in the South of the US through the Tuskegee educational programme that was promoted