The Missionary Factor in Ghana's Development, pp.11 &135 categorically asserted that economic and social changes were brought about by the total effect of the various projects initiated by the. Literature 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. Ghana Education Service seeks to create an enabling environment in all educational institutions and management positions that will facilitate effective teaching and learning and efficiency in the management for the attainment of the goals of the Service. One reason why the Christian missionaries came to Ghana and the rest of Africa was to convert the people to the Christian faith. They therefore set about to achieve this through introduction of formal education among the Batswana people. To apply, students simply fill out a quick form. 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. Through hard work and persuasion she succeeded in stopping the practice among the people of killing twins. 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. However, the early missionaries established medical centres, at first at their mission posts, and later far and wide, to attend to the sick. The reservation of high-level positions in the colonial administrations for Europeans and the corresponding mission education that provided education fit only for lower positions meant that the withdrawal of European rule could cause serious political instability in the newly independent colonies. In 1892, the Church Missionary Society opened the Iyi Enu Hospital in Onitsha which is today a leading hospital in Anambra state. And traditionally polygamous societies would have higher educational outcomes today. This company promoted the import and export trade in Ghana. Another difficulty that the early missionaries faced in the spread of Christianity was insufficient Christian literature at that time. Called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. The Basel missionaries, in particular, established experimental farms and plantations in places like Akropong. Finally, education affects many other aspects of peoples lives, including economic opportunities and political attitudes. Early missions conducted by Roman Catholics were short-lived. This made it difficult for the early missionaries to stay in the country for long. Series CLS. Teaching in the vernacular had an additional use as it further strengthened colonial rule, of which missionaries were often agents, for as the Kikuyu people of Kenya were aware, [the] inability to communicate in English would be a crucial factor in the perpetuation of their subordinate status in the colony (Berman 1974:531). He is survived by two brothers, Walter and Kevin Burke. the role of administrators, chiefs and the missions; first attempts at agricultural and industrial training; girls' education and teacher training before 1850; some chief factors in educational expansion 1850-1900; government official policy in educational expansion 1850-1900; agricultural, industrial and vernacular training 1850-1900 The History of Christianity in West Africa. In addition to teaching, he served as national spiritual director of the Ghana Sacred Heart Enthronement Centre and spiritual director of the Accra Diocesan Sacred Heart Centre. They also introduced vocational education in the country. Johannes Zimmermann wrote a grammar of the Ga language and translated the entire Bible and a Bible history into Ga. Then in 1874, the Rev. With the support of the Propagation of the Faith within the Vatican, whose Cardinal Secretary became Pope Gregory XVI, various Roman Catholic missionary societies were founded. They impressed it upon their converts not to have anything to do with these traditional practices. Rev. Unsurprisingly, the level of education increased as one moved closer to the missionaries. The story of the planting of Christianity in Nigeria would be incomplete without a mention of the Italian Roman Catholic priest, Father Berghero. Operational Christianity started 267 Years ago. Father Burke was preceded in death by his parents and his brother John. further studies Study for free with our range of university lectures! African poetry PDF OVERVIEW OF EDUCATION IN GHANA - WikiEducator Copyright 20102023, The Conversation Media Group Ltd, Bristol Archives/Universal Images Group/Getty Images, Committee Member - MNF Research Advisory Committee, PhD Scholarship - Uncle Isaac Brown Indigenous Scholarship. 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. These missionaries saw death in the course of their evangelizing work as a means to ascend to heavenly glory. The Christian Connector Scholarship. All rights reserved. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. As happened in other colonial territories, the government did not show great interest in the provision of education in Ghana until the missionaries had extended their services throughout the country and had set up primary schools and a few secondary schools and training colleges. Box 2 of the papers relating to the Society's activities in West Africa. Ayandele (1966:283), writing in the 1960s, says, By their [the missions] efforts the main languages of Nigeria have been preserved as a lasting legacy to the Ibo, Yoruba, Efik, Nupe and Hausa. However, this practice was in fact probably more due to stereotypes of African ignorance than an interest in being culturally respectful: missionaries may have believed that it would take too long to teach a superior European language to the unintelligent natives when the natives souls were in such desperate need of saving. Hilliard, F.H., 1957. It included the opening up of Africa to forces of change namely commerce (legitimate commerce, i.e. Porter, Andrew. As happened in Ghana, the development of training colleges in Nigeria was slower than secondary schools, though the C. M. S. had opened the first training college at Abeokuta as far back as 1849. The home page of Compassion Canada is that of a stereotypical Northern charity: showing pictures of suffering children alternating with those of post-intervention, happy children. Among other things the regulations required that all teachers should be registered, and a minimum salary was fixed. Amma Darko First, alignment can help you communicate your . Ghana in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1886-1951 In 1845 the C.M.S. past questions essay writing One of the missions most important contributions to the colonial regimes was their role in educating the native Africans. For more than a year, Ghanaian Saints continued to practice their faith in their homes. (As at December 2020). Clarke, Peter Bernard. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004. For instance, in the Salisbury region of Rhodesia, it was reported in 1924 that no male teachers had educational qualifications (Bone 1969:28). PDF Religion Education and Development in Ghana - EA Journals The three models of Secondary education in Ghana since colonial times are the Mfantsipim School founded by the Church (mission) in 1876, Achimota School in 1927 established by the British Colonial government The work of the Basel Missionary Society was taken over with the consent of the Basel Mission Home Board by the United Free Church of Scotland whose ecclesiastical organization was Presbyterian. Furthermore, missionaries, believing in the civilizing mission, attempted to disintegrate traditional society through education by choosing academic subjects, such as the histories of the Western colonial powers, that illustrated the superiority of the Western culture, as well as by teaching about the superiority of the West in non-academic matters such as hygiene. The contribution of the missionaries to the development of Setswana as The first school in Nigeria was started by the Methodist missionaries at Badagry in 1842. Initially,. For instance, in Ghana, it was in 1858 that Rev. For instance, in Nigeria, one of the first groups of missionaries to introduce organised medical services were the Roman Catholics. Roman Catholic and Anglican missionaries came to the Gold Coast from the 15th century. Hope Waddell of the Church of Scotland had opened a school at Duke Town, Calabar. Establishment of Christian Churches In Sierra Leone. The study examines the historical foundations of Western education in Meru and factors that influenced its development. Metadata. As Sir Henry Johnston, a key figure in the Scramble for Africa says, they [the mission stations] strengthen our hold over the country, they spread the use of the English language, they induct natives into the best kind of civilization, and in fact, each mission station is an essay in colonization (Johnston cited in Sheffield 1973:10). The first Europeans arrived at the West-African Coasts at the end of the fifteenth century. Success followed the efforts of the pioneer missionaries. It would be wrong, however, to blame all these ills on the Christian missionaries alone. The third, St Nicholas Grammar School (now Adisadel College), was founded by the Anglican Church in 1910. Ghana continued to call. Many Ghanaian communities got divided along religious lines. J. C. Taylor, in these parts of southern Nigeria can still be seen today. 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. In fact, the Christian missionaries encouraged Ghanaians to reject African names and choose Christian names instead. Their arrival in South Africa was aimed particularly at spreading the Word of God. Missionary, educator contributed to building independent Ghana Some progressive Europeans, like the first principal of Achimota College, Rev. The first batch, who came out between 1804 and 1806, included pioneer missionaries like Renner and Nylander. The original letters from abroad cover West Africa from 1899 to 1933. This was around the same time that the first Portuguese sailors arrived on the coast of Ghana. The Missionary Role on The Gold Coast and In Ashanti: Reverend F.a They were followed by other major missionary bodies, including the Methodists and the Roman Catholics. It was not until the nineteenth century, that the new religion was really established in West Africa. History of the church in Africa: a survey. Andreas Riis, assisted by a team of West Indian evangelists, laid the foundations of the Basel Missionary Church in the country. The mission schools trained Africans to be able to work as translators, messengers and office clerks for the colonial government. Meanwhile, the Scottish missionary, Mary Slessor, had established a reputation in the Cross River area as a nurse. 4; img 109. Cookies are small, safe and secure text files that sit on your computer which we use to give you a better experience on our site and help us improve the service that we provide to you. Johannes Zimmermann wrote a grammar of the Ga language, and in 1874 the Rev. For the West Africans, the acceptance of Christianity meant the total rejection of most of the cherished institutions upon which their society rested. Further, the missionaries introduced improved methods of farming together with modern farm implements. House, 1967. 1 (1971): 103-115. The Christian Connector is a great resource for Christians and aspiring ministry leaders and missionaries to apply for scholarships. 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. 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. As long as the Africans could read the Bible, the missionaries were satisfied that they had had enough academic education. Some of the missionaries came with them (549 years ago) but many died from the cruel tropical weather of forested West Africa. Origins, organization and effects in the development of West Africa, 3: Islam in West Africa. Thomas Thompson, arrived in Cape Coast in 1752. By the close of the nineteenth century the major Christian missionary churches had opened elementary schools in many part of southern Nigeria with an enrolment of about 74,000 by the First World War. Another negative impact of mission education was that it weakened traditional societies, which in many ways further served the colonial cause. An attempt to respond to this question informs the underlying interest for this paper, namely, to explore the extent to which these institutions, especially . Amidst much honest missionary activity in the country for two centuries, prosperity gospel teachers have also gained influence, and numerous indigenous cults have arisen with distinct appeal and just enough truth to create confusion and syncretism. EVANGELICAL MOVEMENTS AND MISSIONARY SOCIETIES IN THE ENGLISH COLONIES. endstream endobj startxref These contradictions are surprisingly absent from contemporary research. Establishment of Christian Churches In The Gambia. 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. Thus, as early as 1823, the Roman Catholic sisters started a clinic for the sick and for children in Banjul. It was difficult for the European missionaries to communicate freely with the local people. Let's look in-depth into these scholarships. Predominantly Muslim territory, the North received western education later than the South. What would have happened if missionaries had not insisted on monogamy? Foremost in the contribution of the early Christian missionaries to the development of Ghana is their efforts to bring Western education to Ghanaians. Moreover, speaking through interpreters is a defective means of communicating ones thoughts to ones audience. Given their priorities, it should thus come as little surprise that missions often provided poor education to the African pupils. Thus, despite what the images of suffering African children on websites such as that of Compassion Canada might lead one to believe, it is time for Africans to educate their own, without any interference. Then share it on your favourite social media platform for the benefit of others you care about. The effects of work done by Bishop Ajayi Crowther, assisted by the Igbo recaptive the Rev. In many instances, they made their converts rebel against traditional rulers and other spiritual leaders. Often drumming and the harmless songs and dances of the people were condemned. Thus, because of the motive of proselytization, unqualified teachers, and inter-denominational rivalry, missions frequently provided poor education. In addition to contributing to fluctuating educational standards across the colony, inter-denominational rivalry caused a disparity in access to education. Consequently, they couldnt do much to promote the cultivation of food crops like maize, cassava, cocoyam and plantain. What are the contribution of the missionaries? - Alqatirat The Methodists founded the Boys High School in 1874, and another high school for girls six years later. For instance, the Basel Mission established Basel Mission Trading Company (UTC) in 1859. We shall now turn our attention to the activities of the Christian missionaries in Ghana. Copyright 2003 - 2023 - UKEssays is a trading name of Business Bliss Consultants FZE, a company registered in United Arab Emirates. They were at the forefront during the fight for self-rule in Ghana. Containing 9,566 pages belonging to 77 documents housed in 6 volumes As outlined in the short history entitled. Again, the missionaries helped to pacify Africans while their rich natural resources were being plundered by the colonial government. First, missions saw education foremost as a means of conversion (Ayandele 1966: 286; Bassey 1991: 36; Berman 1974:527; Foster 1965:85; Sheffield 1973:11).