The contribution of friends African mission schools to the growth and development of education in Kenya 1902-1973: the case of Vihiga district

Abstract

This study examines the contribution of Friends‘ African Mission schools to the growth and development of education in Vihiga district from 1902 to 1973. The institutions of interest were Kaimosi girls high school, and Chavakali high school. The main communities examined in relation to these schools are the Maragoli and Tiriki—both found in the immediate neighbourhood of the schools under study. Employing the concept of underdevelopment, the study shows how western education laid emphasis on a religious and industrial curriculum for Africans. Thus, though mainly interested in spreading the gospel, the Friends‘ African Missionaries were also concerned with improving the socio-economic conditions of African communities. Consequently, industrial education supplemented the elementary and religious education that pioneer Africans were exposed to at Kaimosi. The study, moreover, demonstrates that by generating a substantial African elite, the schools under the auspices of the Friends‘ Africa Mission (Kaimosi girls secondary school and Chavakali boys secondary school) largely account for the socio-economic and political transformation of western Kenya. The study utilized both primary and secondary sources of information. Oral data were collected from informants within Vihiga district whereas archival materials were sourced from the Kenya National Archives. Secondary sources supplemented the primary data.