Internationalization in Education: The British Colonial Policies on Education in Nigeria 1882 - 1926

Abstract

British Colonial policies on education were formulated and implemented in Nigeria between 1882 and 1926, when it became apparent that the missionary education was not solving the education problems of the Nigerian natives.Going by the records, western missionary education started in Nigeria in 1842, with the arrival of Thomas Birch Freeman, of the Methodist missionary society and Mr. and Mrs. De Graft of the church missionary society.The initial objective of the missionary bodies to Nigeria was to carry out evangelical work i.e. preaching the gospel to the natives. Remarkable efforts were made by the various missionary bodies in building churches and schools which were all used for the purpose of evangelizing. The basic content of instruction in schools was reading and writing which were necessary for the understanding of the gospel.However, these missionary schools were devoid of standard and uniform curricula, as each missionary body established schools to suit their specific needs. The practice of the missionary bodies in establishing and managing schools continued for about four decades after which, the colonial government according to Ajayi (1965) became critical of the small denominational schools that were not able to produce the clerks who were needed for the growing administration and expanding commercial enterprise in Nigeria. This paper gives a historical appraisal of the formulation and implementation of British Colonial policies of education in Nigeria between 1882 and 1926. It also takes a look at the nature of such educational policies and critically evaluates the role played by the British colonial administration and the Christian missions.

Challenging Global Geographies of Power: Sending Children back to Nigeria from the United Kingdom for Education

“…Once Christian missionary schooling was introduced in Nigeria in the mid-nineteenth century, corporal punishment was used in both mission and state schools. The limited literature on the topic maintains that beatings and corporal punishment were less common in some parts of Sub-Saharan Africa prior to the colonial period (Emy 1972: 128–35; see Sulaiman 2012). Although beatings did take place, they were often inflicted by other family members or as part of initiation practices (La Fontaine 1986: 98).…”

Educational Practices on Ethnic-racial Relations and the English Language Teaching through Image and Literature in an EFL Classroom

“…As studies in the field of literature (Wenzel, 2006;Fasan, 2010;Farinde & Ogunsiji, 2012;Dalley, 2013), anthropology (Griswold, 1992;Sulaiman, 2012), cultural studies (Hall, 1997), among so many others have pointed out, many artistic and academic productions have composed over the years a portrait of how structural racism, arising from racial theories and slavery, operates so that Afro-Brazilian and indigenous populations are less socially favored. Since "images are part of daily life and carry social and cultural meanings, beliefs, values and power relations" (Lins de Almeida & Souza, 2017, p. 206), this article analyzes the application of reading and writing strategies that bridge image and literature (Schøllhammer, 2007) with EFL high school students at IFES.…”

Imperative of Teaching Critical Thinking in Higher Institutions in Nigeria

“…Subsequently, the British colonial administration began to show interest in education. First, its interest was to assist the missions in their efforts to run their schools, and second there was the need to train clerks, and technicians for the services of the imperial government (Sulaiman, 2012).…”

“…In this regard, the educational policy of the government which was not driven by the demands of the society, led to the belief that the British government did not have a clearly defined policy on education in Nigeria (Sulaiman, 2012). Thus, Nigerians grew up with the colonial education experience and the inherent values in it.…”