Based on the available information so far, African contributions to secondary education between 1859 and 1925 cannot be overemphasized. Without the indigenous Africans education in general could have remained in its lowest ebb.
Judging from the inception of education which started with the missionaries, it was the help of Ajayi Crowther who fostered education in Yoruba land as well as Eastern Nigeria. It was at Bonny that Rev. Samuel Ajayi Crowther was told by the chief that they never needed religious education for their children for they had enough of that at home. Again it was the effort of Rev. Samuel Crowther that the C.M.S. concept of educating Africans came to a reality.
Mission education could not have been successful without the aid of Africans. The CMS was able to advance in its education through the aid of an ‘African eminent and zealous teacher of established character and great usefulness, Mr.Andrew Wilhelm, an emigrant from Hastings, Sierra Leone. More so, when men’s teacher training institution was transferred from Abeoutat, it was Mr.E. H. Henley and Mr. J. Okuseinde, both Africans that assisted Rev.A. Mann to man the institution in 1867.
Also, with the shortcoming of 1882 Education Ordinance and the urgent need for 1887 Ordinance which was master minded by Africans, the African nationalists protested against the attitude of the Europeans to Europeanize Africans by relegating African culture to the background. Such Nigerians as James Johnson, Edward Blyden, R. B. Blaize, J. B. Benjamin, Dr. Aggrey became the champions of cultural nationalism. Consequently, this led to the launching, in 1880 and 1882, of the ‘Lagos Times’ and “Lagos Observer” respectively which provided a forum for the nationalist critics of the education provided by the missions. During the period, the press attacked the 1882 Ordinance because it ignored the aspiration of the Africans to develop the local language as a vehicle of education. The “Lagos Time” in its editorial comment asked: Taiwo (1980:16):
Is the ulterior object of the Education Bill to promote the Conquest of West Africa by England morally through the English Language and secure that morally which African fevers perhaps prevent acquiring physically … We shall not sit tamely to witness the murder, death, and burial of those important distinguishing national and racial marks that God has given to us … Surely the way to elevate a people is not first to teach them to entertain the lowest ideas of themselves and make them servile imitators of others.
Perhaps the most outstanding Nigerian contributor to education (secondary) at this period was Henry Carr. In 1889 he was appointed the Chief Clerk and Sub-Inspector of schools. Two year later, he was promoted to Deputy Inspector of Schools, and in 1892 became Inspector of Schools for the Colony and Protectorate of Lagos. During this time, Carr first intensified government support for Education and concluded that ‘a really suitable system of education cannot be cheap and cannot be provided under the voluntary system.’ Among his achievements were: the establishment of first primary school for Muslim children to be catered for by the government. Secondly, he introduced the regulation of school attendance. Next, government recognized the payment of fees but were not to exceed some fixed amounts. Again, Carr’s administration set up an Education Department for its Southern Provinces which revised the criteria for the government the award of grants-in-aid to the missions to ensure controlled expansion and high standards.
Exercise 5:
Judging from the inception of education which started with the missionaries, it was the help of Ajayi Crowther who fostered education in Yoruba land as well as Eastern Nigeria. It was at Bonny that Rev. Samuel Ajayi Crowther was told by the chief that they never needed religious education for their children for they had enough of that at home. Again it was the effort of Rev. Samuel Crowther that the C.M.S. concept of educating Africans came to a reality.
Mission education could not have been successful without the aid of Africans. The CMS was able to advance in its education through the aid of an ‘African eminent and zealous teacher of established character and great usefulness, Mr.Andrew Wilhelm, an emigrant from Hastings, Sierra Leone. More so, when men’s teacher training institution was transferred from Abeoutat, it was Mr.E. H. Henley and Mr. J. Okuseinde, both Africans that assisted Rev.A. Mann to man the institution in 1867.
Also, with the shortcoming of 1882 Education Ordinance and the urgent need for 1887 Ordinance which was master minded by Africans, the African nationalists protested against the attitude of the Europeans to Europeanize Africans by relegating African culture to the background. Such Nigerians as James Johnson, Edward Blyden, R. B. Blaize, J. B. Benjamin, Dr. Aggrey became the champions of cultural nationalism. Consequently, this led to the launching, in 1880 and 1882, of the ‘Lagos Times’ and “Lagos Observer” respectively which provided a forum for the nationalist critics of the education provided by the missions. During the period, the press attacked the 1882 Ordinance because it ignored the aspiration of the Africans to develop the local language as a vehicle of education. The “Lagos Time” in its editorial comment asked: Taiwo (1980:16):
Is the ulterior object of the Education Bill to promote the Conquest of West Africa by England morally through the English Language and secure that morally which African fevers perhaps prevent acquiring physically … We shall not sit tamely to witness the murder, death, and burial of those important distinguishing national and racial marks that God has given to us … Surely the way to elevate a people is not first to teach them to entertain the lowest ideas of themselves and make them servile imitators of others.
Perhaps the most outstanding Nigerian contributor to education (secondary) at this period was Henry Carr. In 1889 he was appointed the Chief Clerk and Sub-Inspector of schools. Two year later, he was promoted to Deputy Inspector of Schools, and in 1892 became Inspector of Schools for the Colony and Protectorate of Lagos. During this time, Carr first intensified government support for Education and concluded that ‘a really suitable system of education cannot be cheap and cannot be provided under the voluntary system.’ Among his achievements were: the establishment of first primary school for Muslim children to be catered for by the government. Secondly, he introduced the regulation of school attendance. Next, government recognized the payment of fees but were not to exceed some fixed amounts. Again, Carr’s administration set up an Education Department for its Southern Provinces which revised the criteria for the government the award of grants-in-aid to the missions to ensure controlled expansion and high standards.
Exercise 5:
- Discuss some of the contributions of Africans or Nigerians in the early development of secondary education in Nigeria.
CONCLUSION
Like the case of elementary education, the establishment of secondary education, which started late was championed by the missionary organizations. The colonial government was more interested in political and economic growth. But it later started developing interest gradually in secondary education, especially after the Phelps-Stokes commissions indictment.SUMMARY
In this unit we have learnt that:- secondary education did not come early in the education history due to some factors, some of which are political and economical;
- the church missionary society led the establishment of secondary schools in 1859 for other missions to follow later;
- the early secondary schools had some problems, among which were moral, financial and personnel factors;
- the colonial government in Nigeria later made some contribution to the development of secondary education in the way of grants-in-aid to the missions, regulatory framework and establishment of few secondary schools;
- some Nigerians contributed immensely to the development of secondary education in the country.
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