In the last unit, we discussed the development or early childhood education in Western Europe. We specifically discussed how preschool education started with Plato's classification of education into the formal levels as we now know it. We also discussed how pre-school education stated in Britain through the activities of some individuals and groups. In this unit we are going to discuss how Western formal education was introduced into Nigeria. It is necessary for you to be familiar with the historical background of schooling in Nigeria. This will make our discussion of the development of pre-primary education in Nigeria clearer and more meaningful to you.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese traders were carrying on with their business activities which included the slave trade along the coast of Nigeria. They visited Lagos and Warri in the process. In fact, Lagos became an important trading post for the Portuguese. We must not forget that the traders were always followed by the missionaries. That is, the missionaries needed some form of protection from their fellow countrymen who were mainly here to do business, so through the help of the Portuguese traders, some of the Roman Catholic Missionaries who had settled on an Island, called Sao Tome came to Warri where they established schools.
However, the activities of the slave traders and raiders along the cost of West Africa during the time actually disturbed the work of the missionaries. As Fafunwa, (1991) has rightly put it, the influence of the Catholic missionaries was almost wiped out as a result of the slave trade. Therefore, we can say that, the first missionary effort at introducing western education into Nigeria was not successful because of the slave trade. However, what the Roman Catholic Missionaries could not successfully do in the 15th Century that is, to permanently plant western education in Nigeria, was done in the 19th century by another group of missionaries, this time from England. We shall discuss this fully in the next section.
OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit carefully you should be able to:- explain why the first attempt at introducing Western education in Nigeria failed.
- explain how western education was eventually introduced into Nigeria.
- identify factors that led to the expansion of primary education in Nigeria right from the missionary era to the post independence era.
The Missionary Efforts
The First Missionary Effort
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to visit some parts of the present day Nigeria in the 15th Century. They came mainly for business activities which took them to Lagos, Warri and Benin City. It was through the Portuguese traders that the first Christian missionaries of the Roman Catholic Church started the first school in Benin in 1515. They established a school in the palace of the Oba of Benin mainly for his sons and those of his chiefs who had already become Christians.Meanwhile, the Portuguese traders were carrying on with their business activities which included the slave trade along the coast of Nigeria. They visited Lagos and Warri in the process. In fact, Lagos became an important trading post for the Portuguese. We must not forget that the traders were always followed by the missionaries. That is, the missionaries needed some form of protection from their fellow countrymen who were mainly here to do business, so through the help of the Portuguese traders, some of the Roman Catholic Missionaries who had settled on an Island, called Sao Tome came to Warri where they established schools.
However, the activities of the slave traders and raiders along the cost of West Africa during the time actually disturbed the work of the missionaries. As Fafunwa, (1991) has rightly put it, the influence of the Catholic missionaries was almost wiped out as a result of the slave trade. Therefore, we can say that, the first missionary effort at introducing western education into Nigeria was not successful because of the slave trade. However, what the Roman Catholic Missionaries could not successfully do in the 15th Century that is, to permanently plant western education in Nigeria, was done in the 19th century by another group of missionaries, this time from England. We shall discuss this fully in the next section.
The Second Missionary Effort
You have just learnt that the first set of European traders in Nigeria were the Portuguese. It was through them that their fellow countrymen who were Roman Catholic Missionaries (RCM) also came to Nigeria. In other words, this first, contact of Nigerian with missionaries was with the Portuguese and not the English speaking people.The Second Coming of the Christian Missionaries was however led by the English-speaking missionaries. They came at a time when the slave trade had been abolished. In other words, there was no more slave trade when the English-speaking Missionaries came in the 19th Century. After the slave trade had been stopped, all the ships carrying slaves on the West African coast were arrested and the slaves set free, However, because of the difficulty of tracing their home towns, and to avoid other problems, the free slaves were settled in Freetown, Sierra Leone. There they received western education and many of them became Christians. Do you still remember Bishop Ajayi Crowther? He was one of the freed slaves who were settled in Free Town. So, like Ajayi Crowther, many other Nigerians who were also freed slaves, went to school in Sierra Leone and later became catechist, teachers and traders.
Some of the freed slaves who became traders came to Lagos and Badagry on business trips where they met some of their relations. You will still recall that Lagos and Badagry were the major ports where slaves from the hinter land were shipped to Europe and America. Among these freed Nigerians who returned from Sierra Leone some came to settle in Badagry in 1840. By 1841, they asked some of the missionaries in Sierra Leone to come down to Badagry. They wanted the missionaries to help and preach the Gospel to their fellow Africans who did not know Christ then.
The request of the ex-slaves for missionaries to be sent to them in Badagry was eventually granted. Revd. Thomas Birch Freeman and other missionaries came to Badagry in 1842 while Henry Townsend and some other Church Missionary Society (C.M.S) missionaries arrived at Abeokuta early in 1843. One of the missionaries who came to Badagry with Rev. Thomas Freeman remained there while Freeman left for other places. So, the first school in Badagry was established by the Missionary and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. de Graft in 1842.
The school in Badagry opened the door for other schools to be established in other parts of the country particularly in the south by the various missionary bodies. For example, the CMS established two schools in Abeokuta, in 1846. Other Missions such as the Church of Scotland, the Baptist, the Catholic, the Qua Ibo e.t.c. established schools in Calabar, Lagos and other places in the South between 1842 and 1892. The missionaries established schools mainly for the purpose of spreading Christianity. In fact, it could not have been easy for them to spread Christianity without the school. So, as soon as the missionaries arrived at a place, they would first establish a mission house which in most cases served as the school and the church. Each of the Missionary bodies such as the Methodist, C.M.S, RCM, Baptists, Presbyterians, Qua Ibo and others tried to outdo the others in their desire to win more converts.
The school served as the means for converting the people hence all the missions struggled to establish a school in each station. The school curriculum was prepared by each mission hence there was no uniform curriculum for all the schools. However, all of them taught Reading, Writing, Arithmetic and Religion as the core subjects.
As we mentioned earlier on, the early schools took off within the mission houses. However, as the number of pupils increased, separate classrooms were built within the church premises. This is why you will still find most of the oldest schools in each town or village within the church premises. The funding of the early schools in Nigeria was done by the various missions with support from their home missions and friends. This means the schools were free then. Why did they make the schools free? Well, this was the time when the missionaries were begging the parents to send their children to school. Therefore, it could have been impossible to get such children released by their parents if they were asked to pay. In fact, some missionary teachers even requested their mission to pay some little amount to the school children were living as home. The idea of Boarding school started with the early missionaries who for various reasons preferred children to live with them (Fafunwa 1991).
English language was the medium of instruction during the early stages of school education. This was so because the missionaries did not understand the local African languages. So, the ability to speak the white man's language by the children who attended the schools probably encouraged other reluctant parents to send their own children to the mission schools. Above all, some of the good children were sent to England for further training either in the various vocational courses or full pastoral work.
The Missionaries were in full control of education in Nigeria up till 1882. That is, colonial administration at that time was more concerned with other things than the education of Africans. This therefore gave the missionaries the full opportunity of using their schools to win more converts. It was rare in those days for a child to attend the mission school without becoming a member of that particular Christian denomination that owned the school. As time went on, the colonial administration started developing some interesting in what goes on in the mission schools. The reason for this we shall discuss in the next section of this unit.
Some of the freed slaves who became traders came to Lagos and Badagry on business trips where they met some of their relations. You will still recall that Lagos and Badagry were the major ports where slaves from the hinter land were shipped to Europe and America. Among these freed Nigerians who returned from Sierra Leone some came to settle in Badagry in 1840. By 1841, they asked some of the missionaries in Sierra Leone to come down to Badagry. They wanted the missionaries to help and preach the Gospel to their fellow Africans who did not know Christ then.
The request of the ex-slaves for missionaries to be sent to them in Badagry was eventually granted. Revd. Thomas Birch Freeman and other missionaries came to Badagry in 1842 while Henry Townsend and some other Church Missionary Society (C.M.S) missionaries arrived at Abeokuta early in 1843. One of the missionaries who came to Badagry with Rev. Thomas Freeman remained there while Freeman left for other places. So, the first school in Badagry was established by the Missionary and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. de Graft in 1842.
The school in Badagry opened the door for other schools to be established in other parts of the country particularly in the south by the various missionary bodies. For example, the CMS established two schools in Abeokuta, in 1846. Other Missions such as the Church of Scotland, the Baptist, the Catholic, the Qua Ibo e.t.c. established schools in Calabar, Lagos and other places in the South between 1842 and 1892. The missionaries established schools mainly for the purpose of spreading Christianity. In fact, it could not have been easy for them to spread Christianity without the school. So, as soon as the missionaries arrived at a place, they would first establish a mission house which in most cases served as the school and the church. Each of the Missionary bodies such as the Methodist, C.M.S, RCM, Baptists, Presbyterians, Qua Ibo and others tried to outdo the others in their desire to win more converts.
The school served as the means for converting the people hence all the missions struggled to establish a school in each station. The school curriculum was prepared by each mission hence there was no uniform curriculum for all the schools. However, all of them taught Reading, Writing, Arithmetic and Religion as the core subjects.
As we mentioned earlier on, the early schools took off within the mission houses. However, as the number of pupils increased, separate classrooms were built within the church premises. This is why you will still find most of the oldest schools in each town or village within the church premises. The funding of the early schools in Nigeria was done by the various missions with support from their home missions and friends. This means the schools were free then. Why did they make the schools free? Well, this was the time when the missionaries were begging the parents to send their children to school. Therefore, it could have been impossible to get such children released by their parents if they were asked to pay. In fact, some missionary teachers even requested their mission to pay some little amount to the school children were living as home. The idea of Boarding school started with the early missionaries who for various reasons preferred children to live with them (Fafunwa 1991).
English language was the medium of instruction during the early stages of school education. This was so because the missionaries did not understand the local African languages. So, the ability to speak the white man's language by the children who attended the schools probably encouraged other reluctant parents to send their own children to the mission schools. Above all, some of the good children were sent to England for further training either in the various vocational courses or full pastoral work.
The Missionaries were in full control of education in Nigeria up till 1882. That is, colonial administration at that time was more concerned with other things than the education of Africans. This therefore gave the missionaries the full opportunity of using their schools to win more converts. It was rare in those days for a child to attend the mission school without becoming a member of that particular Christian denomination that owned the school. As time went on, the colonial administration started developing some interesting in what goes on in the mission schools. The reason for this we shall discuss in the next section of this unit.
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