contribution of missionaries to education in ghanacontribution of missionaries to education in ghana

Moreover, they introduced new crops into the Ghanaian economy. Their luggage and other necessities had to be carried on heads and took a long time before reaching the missionaries. Hastings, Adrian. Therefore, considering that the impact of mission education continues to have serious repercussions today, one must question whether the First World should continue to interfere in African education. Efforts to change these norms were often aimed at women. His viewing and wake service took place on Sept. 26 at the chapel in the Divine Word Residence at Techny. Initially, their activities focused on coastal areas. They provided missionaries a way to spread Eurocentric norms and attract new converts. Although the aim of the traders was to practice commerce Wed love to get to know you and discuss how God is calling you. churches were firmly established in several important towns, such as Abeokuta (1846), Lagos (1851), Ibadan (1853), and Oyo (1856). B. et al. The American Episcopal Evangelical (A.M.E.) Zion Church owes its foundation in Ghana to Bishop J. Bryan Small, who started work first at Keta in 1898. opened was the Christian Institute, established in 1814 for the training of teachers, catechists and priests. The European missionaries believed that European culture was superior to African culture. 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. Renewed evangelisation started when the Basel (later known as Presbyterian) missionaries started work at Osu (Accra). In December 1868 he went with his wife and child to Anum in the present-day Volta Region of Ghana. Daystar Press, 1978. Kalu, Ogbu. As they could not recruit British missionary volunteers initially, the Church Missionary Society sponsored the services of German missionaries, who were Lutherans, to come out to Sierra Leone. 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. In 1902 the Methodists opened a clinic at Igbo-Ora. grammatical name Africa Christian Press, 1996. For that matter, they rebelled against their chiefs and elders. Thomas Birch Freeman, son of a London-based West Indian father and an English mother. 4; img 109. The Scottish Missionary Society had been working in Calabar, Nigeria, also a British colony adjacent to the Gold Coast and it was from the Calabar Presbyterian Church in Nigeria that a missionary was sent to take charge of the Presbyterian work in the Gold Coast after the deportations. We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. The study traces the his tory of colonial education and the tremendous contributions of missionaries in the establishment of formal education in the region. African prose Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? Lewis, Donald M., ed. The coming of the Christian missionaries to Ghana had a positive impact on agriculture. senior high school government The governor had observed the bad moral life of the Europeans in the fort. The missionaries opened schools further inland, and by 1880, the Wesleyan Mission had eighty -three schools. In the field of education, however, the missionaries had to adjust their programmes to fit in with the policy of assimilation. Thus missionaries, by imparting education that promoted dependence on colonial rule, arguably contributed to the political instability that continues in the present day in many former African colonies, such as Kenya and Eritrea. The work of the missionaries also had little success initially. . Other Roman Catholic hospitals were built in all the nine regions of the country; including those at Asikuma and Foso (Central Region), Akyem Swedru (Eastern Region), Berekum (BrongAhafo), Maase (Asante Region) and Anfoega (Volta Region). In 1845 the C.M.S. self help Vol. In line with this, formal education in Ghana was started by the western traders and the missionaries by the 15th century through the 18th century respectively. endstream endobj startxref In an ironic twist, the more Africans became versed in the Bible, the more they began to challenge missionaries. 1. While the protestant evangelical movements were gaining ground in West Africa, similar movements were being promoted by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe. Their personal and family choices influenced the expansion speed of missionary education. Teacher training colleges in Ghana did not expand as fast as the secondary schools. For example, they preached against human sacrifice. Another difficulty that the early missionaries faced in the spread of Christianity was insufficient Christian literature at that time. In conclusion, the converts tended to look down upon many things in their ancestral culture. The missionary impact on education would have far-reaching consequences, as their creation of a weak basis of education would slow down the political and educational development of many former colonies in Africa. The school, which was established the year of independence in 1957, was a work in progress. First, alignment can help you communicate your . The activities of the early Christian missionaries negatively affected the development of African traditional political institutions. CONTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIANITY TO WEST AFRICA. In the British colonies, as elsewhere, religious missions were instrumental in introducing European-style education. Thus, as early as 1823, the Roman Catholic sisters started a clinic for the sick and for children in Banjul. Henry Townsend who went from Sierra Leone to Badagry in 1842 in his company was the Rev Ajayi Crowther. Establishment of Christian Churches In The Gambia. Mr. Henry Kwadwo Amoako is a Ghanaian Social Scientist, Researcher and Acclaimed Historian for over two decades. A history of Christianity in Ghana. This finding was supported by two types of analysis. The third, St Nicholas Grammar School (now Adisadel College), was founded by the Anglican Church in 1910. Lets now take a closer look at both the positive and negative impacts of the activities of the Christian missionaries in Ghana and the rest of Africa. The American Episcopal Evangelical (A.M.E.) Zion Church owes its foundation in Ghana to Bishop J. Bryan Small, who started work first at Keta in 1898. Finally, education affects many other aspects of peoples lives, including economic opportunities and political attitudes. Ekechi, Felix K. Colonialism and Christianity in West Africa: The Igbo Case, 19001915. The Journal of African History 12, no. Missionary, educator contributed to building independent Ghana. Their converts, for many years, were confined to the people of southern Nigerian extraction resident in the north, and to the-large non-Muslim population of the north. His work, however, did not extend much beyond Cape Coast and the neighbouring area. skills for his or her future role in the society (Hetherington, 1979; Davidoff, 1980; Aboagye, 1997). Unsurprisingly, the level of education increased as one moved closer to the missionaries. This post may contain affiliate links. Free resources to assist you with your university studies! Following agitation by the people in 1934, the government opened the old Yaba Higher College and Medical School, which awarded diplomas acceptable only locally. non-slave trade), Christianity, Civilization and Colonization. In due course leprosariums and orphanages were built to supplement their medical services. The practice of inflicting multiple wounds on the bodies of so-called spirit babies now belongs to history. Among the first missionaries was the Rev. In Ghana, for instance, they persuaded their converts to reject polygamy and human sacrifice. Hilliard, F.H., 1957. In my study, I explored how colonial era conflicts and disagreements over marriage norms lastingly affected educational development. The vast majority of the people of The Gambia are Moslems; but a sizeable percentage of the population, especially in and around the capital Banjul, are Christians. Theres still so much to be learned from the history of education in Africa and its long-term consequences. This single problem made the missionary work very difficult. Secondary Schools in the Protectorate started later, following the establishment of Bo Government Secondary School in 1906. Brief History. education was an important means for mission evangelization. New missionary societies (the LMS, the CMS, the Holy Ghost Fathers, the White Fathers, etc.) Other difficulties the early Christians faced were the problems of the many languages and dialects and their ignorance of the true meaning of the various cultures, beliefs, values and ways of life of the people whom they set out to convert to Christianity. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropong on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. This special relationship continued until 1960 when Fourah Bay became a college of the newly reconstituted University of Sierra Leone; the other constituent college located at Njala developed from a training college founded in 1920. Missionaries travelled through dense evergreen forests, crossed rivers and climbed mountains to bring the Gospel to as many Ghanaians as they could. We shall begin with the positive contribution of the Christian missionaries in Ghana. Box 6000, Techny, IL 60082-6000. Waterville Pub. In this respect the Christian religion therefore differed from the traditional religions of West Africa, which along with an acceptance of one Supreme Being worshipped a hierarchy of gods. A permanent station was established in Lagos in 1868, soon followed by others at Lokoja, Abeokuta and Ibadan. Its general scope extends to both Roman Catholic as well as Protestant missionaries in relation to education works. 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. Preventive medicine was hardly known; the result was that epidemics of different kinds were frequent. For example, they made our people view polygamy and puberty rites as pagan practices. With the arrival of more missions into the country came an explosion in mission schools across southern Ghana. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. One is led to ask, why this sudden development? Etherington, Norman. 503 0 obj <> endobj All rights reserved. This instruction in 1948 developed into the University College in Ibadan. However, accustomed to monogamy, few European missionaries were open to such arguments. %PDF-1.7 % The original Yaba College in Lagos has grown into a polytechnic. As churches of the Volta Region begin reproducing, ABWE wants to reach out to Ghanas unreached people groups in its eight other regions. Important among these, all in Lagos, were the Baptist Academy in 1855, the C.M.S. Barely ten years later, after the first missionaries arrived, the Methodists, for example, had started a station as far inland as MacCarthy Island. The Journal of Negro Education (JNE), a refereed scholarly periodical, was founded at Howard University in 1932 to fill the need for a scholarly journal that would identify and define the problems that characterized the education of Black people in the United States and elsewhere, provide a forum for analysis and solutions, and serve as a vehicle for sharing statistics and research on a national basis. It is interesting to note that while in many ways missionaries sought to isolate students from their cultures, missionaries often insisted in teaching in the native languages. Being ignorant of ones history causes one to lose part of ones identity and pride in that identity, and one is therefore more vulnerable to attacks denouncing ones culture as inferior, especially if at the same time one is being taught the noble history of another culture. Another reason why the Europeans came to spread the Christian religion in Ghana was to pave their own way into eternal glory. It would be wrong, however, to blame all these ills on the Christian missionaries alone. The Journal of Negro Education, 2019 I will earn a commission if you follow a link to purchase a product. Kalu, Ogbu. 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. Help those suffering in Turkey and Syria. 2023 Society of the Divine Word. Similar organizations were formed in several other European countries. Longman Nigeria Plc., 1994, Boahen, A.A. et al Tropics in West Africa History. The result is that today, many Africans are alienated from their authentic ways of life. He moved to Techny in 2016. The effort of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. wassce literature questions. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. Another important German missionary was Wilhelm Johannson, better known by the English version of his name, William Johnson, who is revered in the history of the CMS in West Africa. Development of Education in Sierra Leone. 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. About the same time, the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) headed by the Rev. Moreover, mission education formed a poor foundation for future educational conditions in the former colonies. In 1954, he became the first Deaf African American to earn a bachelor's degree from Gallaudet University, the American university for the Deaf, and the first to earn a master's degree from Eastern Michigan University.He earned a second master's degree from Seattle Pacific Christian . History of the church in Africa: a survey. The most momentous discovery in western Africa came in 1471, when Portuguese captains first reached the coast of modern Ghana between the mouths of the Ankobra and Volta rivers. 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). Burns & Oates, 1979. 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. And yet this was what earlier missionaries in pagan Europe had done when, for example, they had changed the Sabbath to suit the pagan Sun Day (hence Sunday), and had also adopted the dates of the pagan festivals to celebrate Christmas Day and the Easter festival. JNE sustains a commitment to a threefold mission: first, to stimulate the collection and facilitate the dissemination of facts about the education of Black people; second, to present discussions involving critical appraisals of the proposals and practices relating to the education of Black people; and third, to stimulate and sponsor investigations of issues incident to the education of Black people. better grades opened, in Freetown, the first boys secondary school in the country and another for girls in 1849, later renamed the Annie Walsh Memorial School. For instance, in Ghana, it was in 1858 that Rev. This research was funded by the European Research Council. Mission societies often expanded into territories before colonial powers did, and providing education only cost them a little more. Moreover, mission education formed a poor foundation for future educational conditions in the former colonies. In Ghana the Presbyterians were pioneers in reducing Ga and Twi into writing. 26. It also plays an important role in organization of inheritances within matrilineal houses and thus exerts influence from a legal point of view. This company promoted the import and export trade in Ghana. To their minds, Africans were too backward and needed help to become more civilized. The problems created by the white missionaries themselves arose largely from a misconception of what Africa represented. The others include the French trading posts at Grand Bassam (Ivory Coast), Assinie and Libreville in Gabon. As we help existing churches become healthy through theological education, discipleship, pastoral training, and leadership development, we desire to see church-planting efforts within the local church soon follow. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. The Rev. cited in Miran 2002:128). The History of Christianity in West Africa. 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. Christian missions also took a leading role in the campaign to end the slave trade and to suppress slavery. 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. For instance, in the Salisbury region of Rhodesia, it was reported in 1924 that no male teachers had educational qualifications (Bone 1969:28). Another valuable contribution of the Christian missionaries in West Africa was the development of literature in the local vernaculars, this included the translation of the Bible into some of the important local languages. House, 1967. Father Burke spent more than half of his lifealmost 50 yearsin Ghana on the West Coast of Africa, said Father Edward Tetteh SVD, pastor of Blessed Sacrament-Our Lady of Divine Shepherd in Trenton, N.J. During his many years in Ghana, since he worked mostly in educational institutions, he produced excellent professionals: teachers, priests, ministers, doctors, engineers, lawyers, pharmacists, journalists and many others who work in different parts of the world.. While living at the Divine Word Residence in Bordentown, N.J., he often visited parishes and schools to talk about missionary work. In 1827 it grew into Fourah Bay College. The original letters from abroad cover West Africa from 1899 to 1933. All work is written to order. Similar developments were carried out by the missionaries in other Nigerian languages, Efik, Kanuri, Igbo, etc. 2 Longman Group Ltd. London 1974, Ampadu B.K Notes on History of Ghana for Senior High Schools. As Ayandele points out (1966:285), the ideal of many of the missions was to make their converts live literally as the unlearned and ignorant apostles of old. This ideal, combined with the fact that many missionaries discovered that Africans with only basic education were best at spreading the Gospel, meant that missionaries were reluctant to provide higher primary or secondary education (Ayandele 1966:286). These commercial activities, therefore, made an important contribution to the economic development of Ghana. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1995. Instead of needing to import skilled workers such as carpenters, the mission schools provided colonial governments with workers capable of building and maintaining the colonys infrastructure and basic technology, a contribution that kept the colonies running smoothly. A large percentage of Ghanas 30 million people are nominally Christian (more than 70% as of the last census), and 28% consider themselves evangelical believers. The constant tensions between traditionalists and Christian converts often erupted into all-out conflicts. There were several reasons for this poor education, some intentional and some not. The missionaries seemed to have concentrated much of their effort on the production of export crops.
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