It was not until 1909 that the government opened a teacher training college and a technical school in Accra. Following agitation by the people in 1934, the government opened the old Yaba Higher College and Medical School, which awarded diplomas acceptable only locally. In 1880, two Roman Catholic priests of the Society of African Missions (S.M.A. Moreover, mission education formed a poor foundation for future educational conditions in the former colonies. These included the Basel Missionary Society, founded in Switzerland, and the Breman Mission formed in Germany. Request Permissions. They also prescribed many taboos which, in the light of modern medical science, had no relation whatever with the illness being treated. In conclusion, the educational enterprise of the Christian missionaries in the British and Italian colonies of Africa during the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries was primarily negative for the African pupils. 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. 2 (1983): 116-143. A member of the CMS, Henry Venn, boasted that the mission schools of Nigeria would produce an educated African elite that could form an intelligent and influential class of society and become the founders of a Kingdom which shall render incalculable benefits to Africa (Venn cited in Bassey 1991:37). Again, the Wesleyan missionaries established Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast in 1876. The country has diverse geography, people groups, and languageswith English as the common language, and more than 11 others with state recognition. The Methodist Church Ghana came into existence as a result of the missionary activities of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, inaugurated with the arrival of Joseph Rhodes Dunwell to the Gold Coast (Ghana) in 1835.Like the mother church, the Methodist Church in Ghana was established by people of Anglican background. The others include the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804, which was tasked with the responsibility of promoting the translation and printing of the Holy Bible. The Methodists founded Mfantsipim (1876) for boys and Wesley Girls High School (1884). The greatest problem faced by the early European Christian missionaries was, the tropical climate and health Hazards. Initially, a majority of the missionary journeys was done with English-Speaking Protestants and later, in the 1820s and 1830s, they were joined by continental Protestantism from Germany, Switzerland and France. Before we examine the contribution of Christian missionaries in Ghana, we need to identify the missionaries that came to Ghana. She succeeded in stopping the killing of twins in the areas where she served. West Africa and Christianity. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This chapter traces the origins and long-term development of African mass education in colonial sub-Saharan Africa. In regions where a denomination felt threatened by another denomination, the denominations were more likely to establish more schools in an attempt to gain more converts than their rival, while in regions such as northern Nigeria, where colonial policy prevented too much rivalry, schools were scarce (Bassey 1991:45). Moreover, speaking through interpreters is a defective means of communicating ones thoughts to ones audience. Efforts to change these norms were often aimed at women. From 1835 to the middle of the nineteenth century the Church was in opposition to traditional religion. The Journal of Negro Education, 2019 Following ordination, he was sent to Washington, D.C., and the Catholic University of America, where he earned a masters degree in English literature. Similar organizations were formed in several other European countries. (with Examples), Top 20 Topics in English for Academic Purposes, 7 Rules of Referencing and Citation in Academic Writing, 10 Importance of Referencing and Citation in Academic Writing, How to Get a Degree Without Going to High School, Joseph Rhodes Dunwell Methodist Missionary, 1835, Thomas Birch Freeman Methodist Missionary, 1838, Thomas Thompson Society for the Propagation of the Gospel/Anglican, 1752, Wesley Girls High School, Cape Coast Methodist missionaries, Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast Methodist, Adisadel College, Cape Coast Anglican Missionaries, Holy Child School, Cape Coast Roman Catholic, St Augustines College, Cape Coast Roman Catholic, Archbishop Potter Girls School, Takoradi, Aburi Girls Secondary School Presbyterian, St Monicas High School, Mampong Anglican. Through academic lessons and lessons on Western etiquette and hygiene, mission students were isolated from their traditional cultures, a traumatic experience that would continue to trouble many students for the rest of their lives. This instruction in 1948 developed into the University College in Ibadan. In traditionally monogamous societies, primary school completion increased by about eight percent, but only four percent in polygamous societies. Father Jean Marie Coquard, operating in and from Abeokuta for forty years, was renowned among the Egba as a priest and surgeon in the second half of the nineteenth century. They worked tirelessly to lay a foundation for formal education The European missionaries established elementary and second-cycle institutions in the country. Baker Pub Group, 1996. In Ghana the Presbyterians were pioneers in reducing Ga and Twi into writing. However, by the turn of the Nineteenth Century there was systematic efforts by churches of Christian Europe, namely: Anglicans, Methodists, and Baptists who were active in Sierra Leone and, with Presbyterians, in Nigeria, while Methodists also set up missions in Ghana, Gambia, and Dahomey. further studies Again, the missionaries persuaded Africans to abandon the practice of tribal marks. English comprehension 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. This decreased the zeal with which people began to accept the Gospel leading to nominal Christianity. In 1981, Father Burke was promoted to headmaster and rector of Pope John XXIII Secondary School and Minor Seminary in Koforidua. Now, with the burgeoning Cocoa industry, the expansion of commercial activity, the development of gold mines and the building of roads and railways disturbed the traditional lifestyle. Another difficulty that the early missionaries faced in the spread of Christianity was insufficient Christian literature at that time. %PDF-1.7
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The Rev. They therefore set about to achieve this through introduction of formal education among the Batswana people. Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. English grammar Although Lokoja had a small C.M.S. What would have happened if missionaries had not insisted on monogamy? The Basel missionaries arrived on the shores of the Gold Coast in 1828 and The quest for an all-inclusive development model of Ghana and other developing nations, therefore, calls for an insight into the role and responsibilities of religion toward education. And traditionally polygamous societies would have higher educational outcomes today. Among several others, the native Bishop Ajayi Crowther produced the first translation of the Bible in Yoruba. 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. Properly meant by Anglo-Saxon standards. Establishment of Christian Churches In The Gambia. As a member of the Church of England, it interests me to see echoes of Christian educational efforts by organizations such as Compassion Canada in the educational efforts of the missionary branch of the Anglican Church, the Church Missionary Society, or CMS. quiz They even considered traditional drumming and African clothing as practices that were not worthy in the sight of the Lord. Unlike the Portuguese, the French colonial officials encouraged the Christian missionaries in the promotion of formal education and social services, notably health. He is survived by two brothers, Walter and Kevin Burke. These Christian converts considered themselves to be holier than their traditional rulers and elders. One of their scholarships is a drawing for $2,500. Called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. For the West Africans, the acceptance of Christianity meant the total rejection of most of the cherished institutions upon which their society rested. In 1858 ten years after the founding of the first college, the Presbyterians opened a sister college at Aburi for the training of women teachers. Alignment is the degree of congruence between your teaching philosophy and your institution's mission. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropong on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. Prominent among the early Christian missionaries to come to the Gold Coast (Ghana) were the Roman Catholic, Methodist, Basel, Bremen and Anglican missions. 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.. The churches opened primary schools both in the capital and in the rural communities. Prior to advent of the Christian missionaries and indeed well into the pre-independence period, most sick people depended for cure upon concoction herbs and roots and barks of trees. Isichei, Elizabeth. 517 0 obj
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Their converts increased steadily in numbers until 1821 when a section broke away to form the first independent African, Christian church in West Africa, called the West Africa Methodist Church. He told me that that amount of money could pay for school fees for five students in secondary school in Ghana.. The restrictions intensified until in the second week of 1917, when all German missionaries were rounded up, brought to Accra and deportations began on December 16. To apply, students simply fill out a quick form. skills for his or her future role in the society (Hetherington, 1979; Davidoff, 1980; Aboagye, 1997). It is much easier to interact on an equal basis or even challenge the authority of another group when one is able to communicate in that groups language, instead of having to rely on an interpreter or non-verbal gestures, which undermine ones ability to show authority or express ones beliefs.