THE DEVELOPMENT OF COLONIAL EDUCATION IN BARINGO, KENYA 1907-1947

What is it about?

This examines the development of colonial education in Baringo, Kenya, through the eyes of the colonised, the Tugen. Speaking to the broader literature on the post-colonial interpretation of the colonial education, I frame colonial education in Baringo as a complex social arena in which the actors contested for their spaces and interests. I argue that although colonial education policies were framed by Whitehall and implemented by Christian Missionary Societies, the Tugen were not passive recipients. They actively shaped and directed the colonial education policy and practice by contesting and giving meaning to the education services offered to them. They achieved this by leveraging religious loyalty and the revenue collected by the Local Native Councils (LNC) to negotiate favourable education policies that addressed their needs within a rapidly evolving colonial structure.

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Why is it important?

This paper recovers the perspectives of the Tugen, which have been overshadowed by the strong currents of the imperial narrative, by highlighting the agency of the colonised in the development of education in Kenya.