contribution of missionaries to education in ghana

The weakening of traditional societies was not simply a consequence of the efforts of missionaries but one of their main objectives, stemming from their belief in the civilizing mission. Supporters of the civilizing mission believed that European colonial enterprises were justified as the Europeans were imparting their superior Western culture and ideas to the ignorant heathens of Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UKEssays.com. Until almost the end of the colonial period education was still largely in the hands of the churches. English for life Their luggage and other necessities had to be carried on heads and took a long time before reaching the missionaries. "Big things have small beginnings"; so is The Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropon on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. Andrew Foster (educator) - Wikipedia In fact, the Christian missionaries encouraged Ghanaians to reject African names and choose Christian names instead. In such asituation, provisions and other things had to be sent into the country not in large quantities as would have been desired by the missionaries. 517 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<2E41B338ACB2B2110A00B08D5A5CFE7F>]/Index[503 20]/Info 502 0 R/Length 86/Prev 357984/Root 504 0 R/Size 523/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream The problems created by the white missionaries themselves arose largely from a misconception of what Africa represented. According to the Head of the Methodist Church in Ghana, Mmofraturo was established in Kumasi, 'when it dawned on the early Wesleyan Missionaries that when the girl child was educated, she could grow up to face the challenges of the fast-changing world. Christianity in northern Nigeria. From 1870 to 1914 the Basel Mission succeeded in extending its work from the Akwapim Ridge to Kwahu, Akim and Asante and across the Volta as far as Yendi the north in 1913. Waterville Pub. The original letters from abroad cover West Africa from 1899 to 1933. Hope Waddell started pioneering work, in 1846, in Calabar. Thus, because of the motive of proselytization, unqualified teachers, and inter-denominational rivalry, missions frequently provided poor education. In 1989-90, the government banned the activities of several religious organizations, including the Church. In the British colonies, as elsewhere, religious missions were instrumental in introducing European-style education. Hastings, Adrian. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. Many Ghanaian communities got divided along religious lines. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. They were followed in turn by the Methodists and the Roman Catholics. Later that year, in recognition of his service to the Ghanaian people, President John Dramani Mahama bestowed the honor of Officer of the Order of Volta upon him. His viewing and wake service took place on Sept. 26 at the chapel in the Divine Word Residence at Techny. began work in many parts of Africa. As long as the Africans could read the Bible, the missionaries were satisfied that they had had enough academic education. Contribution of the Methodist Church to education in Ghana For instance, the Basel Mission established the first teacher training college in Ghana. The governor had observed the bad moral life of the Europeans in the fort. This was around the same time that the first Portuguese sailors arrived on the coast of Ghana. So why did the European missionaries come to Ghana and other parts of Africa? Learn how your comment data is processed. They had to speak through few interpreters who did not have sufficient education to interpret correctly. As founder and director at CEGAST, he has successfully coached thousands of students in English, Literature, and related subjects for major international examinations. The foreign exchange earnings helped to develop Ghanas infrastructure. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican missions all made a major contribution to education in Ghana and Africa as a whole. station in 1858, it was not until 1889 that the missionaries entered Hausaland, which was predominantly Muslim. Instruction in the Colonial School and the Wesleyan Mission schools at Cape Coast Castle was in English despite the fact that Fanti was the language of the native people. Missionaries and the intellectual history of Africa: a historical survey. Itinerario 7, no. The story of the planting of Christianity in Nigeria would be incomplete without a mention of the Italian Roman Catholic priest, Father Berghero. The others include the French trading posts at Grand Bassam (Ivory Coast), Assinie and Libreville in Gabon. Some progressive Europeans, like the first principal of Achimota College, Rev. The coming of the Christian missionaries to Ghana had a positive impact on agriculture. Hundreds of believers were baptized, branches organized, and a mission established. Textbooks were heavily biased towards western ideas and values. wassce literature questions. But Annor (1989) writes that before Europeans came to colonize Africa, Africans had a way of producing artifacts. Another reason why the Europeans came to spread the Christian religion in Ghana was to pave their own way into eternal glory. Debrunner, Hans Werner. It is important to emphasize that the modern history of the Christian Mission in Africa started from the late Eighteenth Century, the Catholics had been there earlier in the first centuries of the Christian era especially during the first Portuguese adventures. Last, missionaries provided a very poor education, causing their students to be ill-equipped for social or material success, as they believed education to simply be a means for proselytization, were unqualified teachers, and allowed inter-denominational rivalries to interfere. With the exception of the first two volumes, marked "West Africa", these items are drawn from the volumes Series CWW. Cultural deprivation is what many of us suffer from []. Ghana sits on West Africas coastline along the Gulf of Guinea, bordered by the Ivory Coast and Togo to the west and east and Burkina Faso to the north. Then share it on your favourite social media platform for the benefit of others you care about. Besides, the missionaries had to travel longer distances to inland towns from their southern stations. 2006 - 2023 Microform Academic Publishers | Microform Academic Publishers is a division of Microform Imaging Limited (Company registered in England no. The traditions and values of the community, as well as the meaning of life, were taught to the child. Their records from World War One show their distance from the war and yet that it did affect their decisions. As we help existing churches become healthy through theological education, discipleship, pastoral training, and leadership development, we desire to see church-planting efforts within the local church soon follow. Secondary Schools in the Protectorate started later, following the establishment of Bo Government Secondary School in 1906. 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. During this period, difficulties encountered were different from the initial difficulties which will more related to sickness, deaths and the suspicion of indigenous people in accepting the Gospel. Although most people are Presbyterians, they can also go to spirit and other cults, mostly Christian and Pentecostal movements, to find cures for disease and lack of success in this world. Moreover, the Islamic religion was also being introduced to the southern section of the country by Muslim immigrants from the north of the colony. Hilliard, F.H., 1957. With the arrival of more missions into the country came an explosion in mission schools across southern Ghana. These trends occasionally brought kings into conflict with the missionaries and their converts. Copyright 2003 - 2023 - UKEssays is a trading name of Business Bliss Consultants FZE, a company registered in United Arab Emirates. Some observers have argued that the Europeans used the Christian bible to justify the practice of slavery and the slave trade. In fact in 1966, Father Burke led students to a victory in a national educational contest called the Ghana TV Cup. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, the Moravian Mission, the Mission of Bremen, the Methodists, and Roman Catholic missionaries all established themselves on the Gold Coast (Ghana) between 1820 and 1881, opening elementary schools for boys and girls . In this essay on the impact of Christian missionary activities on Ghanaian society, we shall examine the role of the missionaries in the development of Ghana and the rest of Africa. The first batch, who came out between 1804 and 1806, included pioneer missionaries like Renner and Nylander. The Roman Catholics established their first secondary school, St Augustines, at Cape Coast in 1936. Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Bremen, Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy (SOCIUM), Universitt Bremen. Furthermore, they were skilled farmers that could grow cash crops to be consumed back in the mother country, such as cocoa from Ghana (Foster 1965: 153). New missionary societies (the LMS, the CMS, the Holy Ghost Fathers, the White Fathers, etc.) Who is Mrs. Konrad in Second Class Citizen? As happened in other territories, the Christian missionaries did not confine their work to the spread of the gospel alone. They include Sierra Leone 1900-1933; Ghana 1903; Cape Verde 1904-1910; and St Vincent 1907-1912. Two other training colleges opened by the missionaries, in the early days, were the Wesley College in Kumasi (1922) and the Roman Catholic Training College at Amisano, near Elmina (1931) which in 1936 moved to the campus of the newly founded secondary school, St Augustines College at Cape Coast. They were at the forefront during the fight for self-rule in Ghana. In Ghana, missions strategically weighted costs and benefits when choosing where to establish their churches and schools. Soon after the Methodist experiment, the church Missionary Society set up their own school at Badagry. Establishment of Christian Churches In Sierra Leone. As negative as all these impacts of the missionaries undoubtedly were for the African pupils, the long-term consequences are arguably as serious. I also matched up locations that differed in proximity to the mission stations, but otherwise had similar preconditions for educational development. It is important for several reasons. In such situations, the message sometimes appealed to the local people depending on the efficiency of the interpreter. However, the early missionaries established medical centres, at first at their mission posts, and later far and wide, to attend to the sick. No plagiarism, guaranteed! Ghana Missionaries | Learn about Christian missions efforts in Ghana - ABWE Their greatest legacy in the field of education was the foundation which the Methodist laid for what is today the Gambia High school. Edward Berman notes that contemporary critics of the missionaries felt that missionaries were more interested in increasing enrolments in their respective churches than in pooling their resources for the benefit of African education (Berman 1974:533). For example, the missionaries preached against certain aspects of African culture they considered barbaric or satanic or both. James Fieldhouse, produced a Wolof Grammar in 1876. 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