Monthly Archives: April 2020

Education in South Africa: 1990 to Present

The white education system in South Africa was restructured, in anticipation of democracy, by the apartheid government. From the beginning of 1991, white schools were required to select one of four “Models”: A, B, C, or D. “Model C” was a semi-private structure, with decreased funding from the state, and greatly increased autonomy for schools. […]

Education in Ghana: Part 2

The 1820s was a period of conflict between the British and the dominant Asante (Ashanti) kingdom to the hinterland. Between 1815 and 1820, all the major European establishments sent emissaries to the Asante capital of Kumase to negotiate increased commercial relations. However, disagreements between Asante officials and the British led to the war of 1823-1824, […]

Education in Ghana: Part 3

Mostly, the mission schools in Ghana provided rudimentary teaching at the primary level. In fact, it was still traditional for students seeking higher education to travel to either Europe or the Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone. It is also significant to note that, because effective colonial authority could not be secured in the Asante […]

Education in Ghana: Final Part

Ghana obtained its independence in 1957. The new government of Nkrumah described education as the key to the future and announced a high level university providing an “African point of view”, backed by a free universal basic education. In 1958, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah established an Educational Trust which contributed to the building of secondary schools […]

Education in Africa: The Genesis

The origins of African education may be found in Egypt in Northern Africa. One of the first convenient mediums for retaining information, papyrus, was used to develop systems for learning and developing new ideas. In fact, one of the first forms of higher education in Africa were the School of Holy Scriptures built in Ethiopia […]

Education in Africa: The Impact of Colonialism

  The onset of the colonial period in the 19th century marked the beginning of the end for traditional African education. European forces, missionaries, and colonists all came ready and willing to change existing traditions to meet their own needs and ambitions. Colonial powers such as Spain, Portugal, Belgium and France colonized the continent without […]

Education in Africa: Effects of Foreign Education

Every society has a history that will shape the present and future circumstances of its people and development. Most people from Africa, Asia and South America, live in the aftermath of colonialism, while others, for example the Indigenous Peoples of North America, Australia, New Zealand, Latin and Central America still live in colonial bondage. The […]

Education in Nigeria: Final Part

The government of Nigerian has majority control of university education. The country has a total number of 129 universities registered by NUC among which federal and state government own 40 and 39 respectively while 50 universities are privately owned. In order to increase the number of universities in Nigeria from 129 to 138 the Federal […]

Education in Nigeria: Part 2

State-owned secondary schools in Nigeria are funded by each state government and are not comparable to the Federal government colleges. Although education is supposed to be free in the majority of the state owned institutions, students are required to purchase books, uniforms and pay for miscellaneous things costing them an average of thirty thousand naira […]

Education in Nigeria: Introduction

Education in Nigeria is overseen by the Ministry of Education. Local authorities take responsibility for implementing policy for state-controlled public education and state schools at a regional level. The education system is divided into Kindergarten, primary education, secondary education and tertiary education. Primary education begins at the age of 4 for the majority of Nigerians. […]

History of Education in Angola

African access to educational opportunities was highly limited for most of the colonial period in Angola. Many rural Angolan populations of the vast countryside retained their native culture and language and were not able to speak or understand Portuguese. In mainland Portugal, the homeland of the colonial authorities who ruled Angola from the 16th century […]

History of Education in Ethiopia: 1950 – 1990

In May 1961, Ethiopia hosted the United Nations-sponsored Conference of African States on the Development of Education. Among other things, the conference highlighted Ethiopia’s educational deficiencies. The Ethiopian education system, especially in primary and secondary education, was ranked the bottom among African nations. There were school and teacher shortages, a high dropout rate, and low […]

History of Education in Ethiopia: Part 2

Education in Ethiopia has been dominated by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for many centuries until secular education was adopted in the early 1900s. Priorto 1974, Ethiopia had an estimated illiteracy rate well above 90% and compared poorly with the rest of Africa in the provision of schools and universities. After 1974 revolution, emphasis was placed […]

History of Education in Ethiopia: 1900s

Until the early 1900s, formal education in Ethiopia was confined to a system of religious instruction organized and presented under the aegis of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Church schools prepared individuals for the clergy and for other religious duties and positions. In the process, these schools also provided religious education to the children of the […]

History of Education in South Africa: 1806 – 1900

The earliest European schools in South Africa were established in the Cape Colony in the late seventeenth century by Dutch Reformed Church elders committed to biblical instruction, which was necessary for church confirmation. Inrural areas, itinerant teachers (meesters) taught basic literacy and math skills. British mission schools proliferated after 1799, when the first members of […]

History of Education in South Africa: 1900 – 1990

Following the British victory in the South African War, the British High Commissioner for Southern Africa, Sir Alfred Milner, brought thousands of teachers from Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to instil the English language and British cultural values, especially in the two former Afrikaner republics. To counter the British influence, a group of Afrikaner […]

History of Some Popular Shrines in Ghana (In-depth) Part 2

Akonedi Shrine This is a shrine located at Larteh Kubeasi, very popular and believed to be one of the most powerful shrine among the Akuapims. Major spirits worshiped at the Akonnedi shrine in Larteh include: Akonnedi, Esi Ketewa, Adade Kofi, Asuo Gyebi and Tegare. Okomfoo Ejo is referenced as the first okomfoo (priest) of Akonnedi […]

History of Some Popular Shrines in Ghana (In-depth)

There are thousands of shrines and sacred spaces in Ghana, commemorating ancestors, gods, historical events, and everyday life. According to oral tradition these shrines which host deities helped our ancestors over hundreds of years to overcome their enemies. Because of this, attachment to these gods and ancestors is held in high esteem in Ghanaian traditional […]

History of Herbal Medicine in Ghana (In-depth)

According to Akan Oral tradition ancient traditional medicine in Ghana especially among Akan tribes started with Oracles and deities. Whenever there was a calamity, sickness or epidemic in a community, the elders of that place usually consulted deities for solution. Herbs and concoctions were usually made based on what the Oracle said. With time people […]

RADIO EYE (1994) – The First Private Radio Station in Ghana

In 1994, when residents in Accra woke up one morning to hear a radio station blaring out copious melodious music, but not from the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Ghanaians realised that private broadcasting had been actualised.! That was how Radio Eye really opened the eyes of Ghanaians to the fact that when in 1977, the Supreme […]