Browsing by Author "Mutua, Rosalind W"

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    The development of education administration in Kenya, 1846-1963
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 1971) Mutua, Rosalind W
    Until recently it was a common feature of Western Literature to present Colonial Dependencies in Africa as peoples without history or culture. Such a statement makes nonsense of history and culture. For where there are people events must occur. By the same taken where there are people a culture must emerge, for history and the day-to-day occurrences among a people are the basis of culture. Nevertheless, unless these events and occurrences are recorded in contemporary and widely accepted form they are in danger of being lost sight of or being ignored. To-day Kenya, in common with the rest of Black Africa in trying rediscover her history and her culture, to rejoin the mainstream of her cultural heritage from the diversion necessitated by the Colonial period. But this period has also become part of our heritage and has made a great impact on the African society. It is necessary therefore that this heritage should be studied and presented in its proper perspective as seen by the Africans. Any history of Africa has previously been written by Europeans both for a European readership and propaganda among the Africans. It has therefore tended to exaggerate the good that the Europeans did and the hardships that they had to overcome. It is necessary to correct this bias and the only way to do this is to study this heritage and re-interpret it from an African point of view. We must re-examine our present position in the light of the past and re-appraise the legacy bequeathed to us by the British Colonial Government. One aspect of this inheritance is a complex system of educational administration and, as Kenya is to-day building her educational system on the foundations laid by the British during their educational system on foundations laid by the British during their Colonial rule. It is of great value for the people engaged in the planning and administration of our present educational system to understand the foundations on which they are building. But, as far as the writer is aware, few attempts have been made to put the available material on this subject into a comprehensive volume which can be used by such planners and administrators as a guide in their work. Few people have any clear knowledge of the problems that face administrators and how they go about solving them. The little knowledge that exists is mainly based on hearsay and is therefore subject to misinterpretation and can often be misleading. It is therefore, the writer’s view that a study of the interaction of the major forces that affected educational administration during the Colonial period in Kenya will be a contribution to the written history of Kenya and will be of benefit to those who are interested in the historical background from which our present system of educational administration developed.