Colonial education affected the African societies in many ways. The following are some of the effects.
Stagnation of Technology. Lack of practical skills: Due to lack of practical, colonial formal education did not encourage the development of African local industries such as handcraft mining and other activities such as agriculture.
Encouraged criticism: The natives with a higher level of formal education considered themselves as a superior race than those with a lower level or the non-educated natives. This brought divisions among the natives.
Facilitated colonial production: The skilled or semi – skilled native labor resulted from colonial education benefited much the Europeans. The educated natives were turned to be administrators of their fellow natives in various colonial productions.
Despise of African culture: The natives with colonial education considered African cultural practices as outdated ways of life. They glorified Europeans ways of life.
Facilitated colonial exploitation: The formal educated natives became markets for European material cultural goods made in European e.g. Food, clothes and others. These materials were sold at higher prices to the natives.
Propagated gender discrimination: Basing on the fact that the emphasis was put on boys’ formal education than girls’ formal education, colonial education prepared a long term base upon which future discrimination of African women will be built. That is why; most of the African women are less educated than the African men today.
POSITIVE IMPACT OF COLONIAL EDUCATION ON AFRICA
Erosion of African outdated (bad) cultural practices and beliefs: The educated natives were against outdated cultures such as out casting disabled (diseased) people such as people with albinism, cripple etc. female circumcision etc. were They abandoned by educated natives.
Infrastructure: The educational infrastructure such as schools, colleges, university buildings left by colonialists were left to be properties of Africans after independence.
Employment: Colonial education also created employment chances for many natives e.g. Teachers, tutorial assistants, clerks, medical assistants etc. it also led to the urbanization of Africa.
Facilitated African nationalism: Most of the African political parties, social and welfare associations, religion and protest movements, African modern militaries were formed by the natives who acquired western formal education eg. Mwl J. K. Nyerere of Tanganyika, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Nandi Azikiwe of Nigeria, Kwame Nkurumah of Ghana, Jomo Kenyata of Kenya and so on.
