COLONIAL SOCIAL SERVICES

 Colonial social services refer to the services that were provided in Africa by colonialists purposely to
accelerate colonial exploitation and improve their welfare. Such services includes;
A. Health services
B. Education
C. Infrastructures
D. Water and housing services.

AIMS OF COLONIAL SOCIAL SERVICES

i. To facilitate the ambitions and motives of the imperialists in Africa.
ii. To enable extensive exploitation of Africa's wealth.
iii. It also aimed at supporting those few Europeans who lived in Africa.
iv. It also aimed at preparing few Africans who would assist the colonial administration.

FACTORS THAT DETERMINED THE DISTRIBUTION/ PATTERN OF COLONIAL SOCIAL SERVICES.

i. Settlement of the settlers; led to the establishment of some social services so as to meet the white settler’s
interest. Example, school and medical facilities were introduced in such area.
ii. Productive areas; encouraged the establishment of transport network such as railways roads, in order to
facilitate the transportation of raw – materials to the coast. Example in Tanganyika all railways roads were
running down to the coast.
iii. Areas where missionaries had dominated things like schools, medical centers were established to help
them and to convert the indigenous people having been attracted them.
iv. Areas with migrant laborers, which preserved as labor zone, in these areas, infrastructures like railways,
were established in order to transport laborers to the areas of plantations example rail line from Kigoma to
Tanga was built so as to carry workers in sisal plantations.
v. Existence of peasant agriculture like in Buganda and Kagera, This made possibility of establishing social
services like schools so as to encourage the peasants to carry out with agricultural activities because with
agricultural sectors they were able to get money that would be used to pay school fees for their children.
A. COLONIAL EDUCATION
• Education refers to as an endless civilization whereby knowledge, values, skills, experiences of the society
are transmitted from one person to another or from one generation to another either formally or
informally.
• There are two main types/forms of education, namely formal education and informal education.

I) FORMAL EDUCATION:
 Is the type of education, which follows specific programs and maintains a clear division between
professional teachers and the students.
 It is offered in special designated institutions like schools, colleges and Universities.
 It follows specific programs, syllabus and curriculum. It is further guided by the rules and regulations of the
state/government.
II) INFORMAL EDUCATION:
 Informa Education refers to a set of values that youths acquire (get) from the elders through direct
observations.
 
Informal education does not follow specific programs; it has no syllabus, curriculum as opposed to the
formal education. Informal education was predominantly practiced by every society in pre-colonial African
societies.
 This was the most predominant type of education that existed almost in every society, it greatly based on
the nature of the environment and the needs of the society.
 Examples of the schools built by the colonialists included Bo School in Sierra Leone, Achimota in Gold coast,
King’s College in Uganda, Alliance and Maseno schools in Kenya. In Tanganyika there were Tabora boys, St
Fransis (Pugu), St marian(kilakala) and Tanga school.
 There were very few Universities and colleges; Ecole Normale Willium Ponty in Dkar, Makerere college and
Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone.
AIMS/OBJECTIVES OF COLONIAL EDUCATION
i. Colonial education aimed at paving the way for the colonization of Africa.
ii. It also aimed at destructing African culture and introducing the western culture.
iii. It further aimed at preparing few Africans for white-collar jobs.
iv. It also aimed at preparing puppet leaders who could be used in neo-colonialism.
v. Colonial education aimed at creating classes amongst Africans so as to bring about disunity this delayed
Africa’ independence.
vi. It aimed at fulfilling the aims and ambitions of the imperialistic nations.

FEATURES OF COLONIAL EDUCATION

i. It was pyramidal in structure; There were many students at the lower levels but the number diminished as
they went to higher classes.
ii. It was more theoretical than practical ; This was because; it aimed to produce job seekers instead of job
makers. Minimum skills were provided, as the colonizers did not mean to develop technologically but to
produce raw – materials for export and a market for European manufactured goods.
iii. It was discriminative in sex; Only boys were favoured to get education. The colonial system assumed that
women did not deserve to acquire the same amount of literacy as the men.
iv. It was discipline oriented. Because it aimed at producing royal and obedient students to the colonial
government. Those who received the education were supposed to obey without questioning, this aimed at
avoiding many questions to the existing colonialism.
v. The syllabus and examination were foreign oriented; This is because whatever was taught was based in
Europe, nothing much concerned about Africa, students were taught mountains in Europe without ever
studying about the Africa ones. These were also a series of examinations set in Abroad; nobody could go to
another stage without passing the examination.
vi. It was racial oriented. i.e. based on color. This was because, Europeans got higher level, followed by Asians
who got middle level, and Africans were the last who were in poor schools. There were separate school for
each race and the syllabus differed accordingly, Europeans received better education whereas African got
poor education.
vii. It was religion- oriented. This was because, in the missionary schools non-Christians could not attend the
missionary school, for instance Muslims and those who had not been converted to Christianity missed
education.
viii. It was class-discriminative; It only favored the sons and few daughters of chiefs for future administration in
this way many of the people from ordinary families had no chances to secure education.
 ix. It was un-even distributed; This mean that, areas where production was high education was improved,
where as in labor receives these were no schools, thus regions that produced cash crops for instance in
Tanganyika regions like, Tanga, Moshi got many schools.
x. It was taught in foreign language and prohibited the African pupils from not using local languages, for
instance English, French and German became dominant, in the colonial schools. This in turn brought
inferiority complex in African pupils and brainwash.
THE STRUCTURE, CONTENT AND METHODOLOGY OF COLONIAL EDUCATION.
The structure of the colonial education consisted of levels, which were in form of a pyramid as follows;
 Primary education It started from standard 1 to 4. At this level the curriculum consisted of reading, writing
and arithmetic (3Rs). Agriculture, animal husbandry and religious studies were emphasized
 In secondary or middle level (school) It started from standard 5 up to 8. Students were taught carpentry,
printing ,painting , arithmetic and English. Example of these schools were Mengo day school in Uganda and
Tabora boys in Tanganyika.
 Colleges (post primary) level; English courses were intensive. It aimed at preparing grade “A” teachers and
clerks. Example, Makerere college in 1921, which offered vocational training in medicine, agriculture,
mechanics, carpentry and teaching professionals, others were, Ukiruguru in Morogoro in 1939, Achimota in
Ghana in 1924, Yaba higher college in Lagos in 1934. Students were also taught discipline example
punctuality, cleanliness, competitiveness and obedience.
 Higher education (University level) this was provided by universities, in this way few people who managed
to get university education had to be taken abroad. 
STRENGTH OF COLONIAL EDUCATION
i. Africans benefited from it; Athough colonial education never intended to benefit Africans, it ended up
benefiting them. It produced revolutionary elites who led their fellow Africans in struggle for
independence. Example of those elites were; Mwl J K Nyerere(Tanganyika), Kwame Nkuruma(Ghana), Dr
Kamuzu Banda(Malawi), Jomo Kenyatta(Kenya), Milton Obote(Uganda).
ii. Some African languages began to be written For example Swahili language in Tanzania.
iii. Increase of production due to the trainings given to the farmers.
WEAKNESSES OF COLONIAL EDUCATION
i. The education which was given to Africans was too inferior from that which was given to the whites. It
was always geared to serve towards serving the colonial state rather than Africans.
ii. Only Few Africans received this education especially the sons of chiefs while majority remained illiterate.
iii. It was based on race, sex and religion. This was because there were schools for the Africans and other
races. Muslims could not join the missionary schools.
iv. There was regional imbalance in the provision of this education. Areas which did not produce raw
materials needed by the colonialist were given the last priority. For instance in Tanganyika, the regions like
Kigoma, lindi and Rukwa were less considered compared to Mbeya, Kilimanjaro and Kagera.
v. The Syllabus was based on the foreign environment. Therefore, the education provided was irrelevant to
the needs of Afrcan societies.
IMPACTS OF THE COLONIAL EDUCATION
NEGATIVE IMPACTS
i. It created classes of educated (elites) and uneducated. The elites considered themselves civilized and had
a tendency of despising others. This resulted to disunity among Africans.
ii. It produced people for white collar jobs or office clerkships. It put little emphasis on technological
knowledge and creativity. This gave birth to poor technological advancement.
iii. It promoted African’s underdevelopment; colonial education abandoned African education that was
practical and based on African environment as a result Africans were given education with no application in
their life, thus economic well-being in Africa declined.
iv. The colonial education introduced foreign culture like education and religion, which began to distort the
African values, and traditions and African local beliefs were despised, Africans were seen as pagans and
uncivilized people.
POSITIVE IMPACTS
i. Western education introduced better hygiene practices among Africans. This improved the conditions of
the living among the people.
ii. It has contributed to the general progress of African communities.
iii. It has contributed to the development of African nationalism in a sense that, colonial education produced
African elites who became political aware and started to challenge the colonialists. For example, J.K.
Nyerere, Kwame Nkrumah and many other.
iv. Africans also acquired artisanship skills including carpentry, brick-making and other skills which have
greatly contributed to the welfare of people.

Question
1. Compare and contrast between pre-colonial African education and colonial education
DIFFERENCES
Pre-colonial African education Colonial education
A. Existed in Africa before the intrusion of A. Brought in Africa during colonialism 19 th C
colonialism
B. Offered to all members of the society B. It was offered to the sons of chiefs only, i.e.
it was discriminatory on one’s status
C. African oriented C. Western oriented
D. It was more practical as it emphasized D. It was more theoretical it emphasized on
“learning by doing” three R’s i.e. 3R’s only (Reading, Writing and
Arithmetic)
E. It prepared youths to be productive E. It emphasized on brain-washing and
members of the society prepared a few class of Africans who could
become loyal to the colonial governments
officials
F. It was relevant to African culture since it F. It was irrelevant to African culture since it
emphasized on development and promotion was western oriented.
of African cultural aspects
G. Offered in African vernaculars G. Offered in Western languages like English,
French, etc.
H. It had no specific programs, syllabus, H. It had specific programs, structure, syllabus
curriculum and curriculum
I. It wasn’t pyramidal in shape I. It was pyramidal in shape-many Africans
were at the lowest level while Asians at the
middle and only a few Europeans who
ascended to the apex of the pyramid.
 J. No exams J. Examinations were used the means of
reducing the number of students who would
ascend to the top of the pyramid
K. It was based on the society’s culture K. It was based on religious (Lutheran, Catholic
and Muslim schools. E.g. Pugu sec. school –
R.C
Tabora boys – R.C
Kigurunyembe – R.C
Seminary schools
L. Produced Africans to be able to undertake L. It produced people for white collar jobs or
all forms of tasks especially physical and office clerkships
practical tasks
M. It aimed at utilizing African resources for M. Aimed at exploiting African resources both
community development natural and human resources
N. It did not N. Aimed at creating puppet leaders and elites
who were to be loyal to the imperialists

SIMILARITIES:
A. Both aimed at imparting skills, knowledge and valves to the members of the society
B. Both were practice in Africa.
C. Both forms of education were accompanied by ceremonies upon completion of the specified
programs/teachings/level. In Africa-Traditional ceremonies /Graduation.

COLONIAL HEALTH SERVICE

 This was the provision of medical services to the white men and colonial subjects.
 The diseases existed in Africa even prior to the colonial period. These included malaria, yaws, leprosy,
dysentery, yellow fever, small pox and sleeping sickness. It was therefore necessary to establish medical
services to avoid the spread of diseases to the Europeans.
 There was construction of government and missionary hospitals and dispensaries in the African colonies.
The health services were mostly provided in armed forces stations, in production areas and Urban centers
for example
 In Tanganyika, in 1895 the German established “German Government Hospital” which later
was changed to “Ocean Road hospital”.
 In Uganda, Church Missionary Society Hospital was established at Mengo in 1901.
 In Kenya, King George IV Hospital was established in Nairobi.
 In Nigeria, Sacred Heart Hospitals were established in Abeokuta

OBJECTIVES OF THE COLONIAL HEALTH SERVICES

i. European administrators and other personnel wanted to be protected from tropical diseases such as
malaria which had already killed a number of people.
ii. Europeans needed Africans population to be healthy for efficient economic exploitation
iii. To train medical personnel to handle Western medicine.
iv. Aimed at destroying the African medication services.

FEATURES OF COLONIAL HEALTH SERVICES

 i. Many hospitals or dispensaries were built in urban areas, plantations areas and in areas, which had settler’s
farms i.e. Tanga, Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Bukoba
ii. Had racial discrimination i.e. the whites received the best health services followed by Asians and Africans at
the bottom.
iii. The hospitals/ dispensaries only provided western medication.
iv. Highly medical personnel were the whites example the British, French, Portuguese and Belgians. Africans
served as dressing, sweepers and other lower rank jobs.
v. They based in religion; for instance catholic hospitals, Lutheran hospitals

THE IMPACT OF COLONIAL HEALTH SERVICES.

i. It Expanded the market of the western medical industries in Africa, because Africans consumed various
medicine from Europe.
ii. They maintained the labor power for peasantry settler and mining sector of colonial economy.
iii. Provided employment to their people in Africa.
iv. African herbs were almost replaced by the western medicines.
v. It created classes during the colonial period i.e. the white civil servants, settlers and managers got high
quality health services while the African received poor health services.

WATER AND HOUSING SERVICES

 During colonialism, the Europeans gave priority to their comfort in terms of the provision of water and
housing services. Africans interests were neglected with exception of certain groups such as those who
served in the colonial military, mines and plantations.

DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS OF WATER AND HOUSING SERVICES

 Water and housing services were mainly found in urban areas like Dar es salaam, Nairobi, Kampala and
Kigali.
 Residential areas for the white and police stations were also provided with these services.
 Plantations and mines were also considered to ensure production of raw materials.

OBJECTIVES OF WATER AND HOUSING SERVICES

i. To facilitate the economic interest of the capitalists
ii. To encourage the European settlement in the colonies

CHARACTERISTICS OF WATER AND HOUSING SERVICES

i. It was unevenly distributed; Provision of water and housing services depended on the importance of that
area. Producing areas were favoured
ii. It based on racial discrimination; The Europeans were given the best quality as opposed to the Africans who
received poor housing and water services.

IMPACTS OF THE PROVISION OF WATER AND HOUSING SERVICES

i. Uneven distribution of these services between urban and rural areas. The colonialist concentrated in towns
for the welfare of the settles and other administrators. The rural areas were neglected in both sectors.
ii. It brought classes; The minority of Europeans and Asians were provided with water and housing services.
Majority of the Africans had no clean water and houses.
 iii. It led to smooth exploitation of African natural wealth like rivers and land; The African water bodies were
used for colonial interests. They were used for advantage of few people.
iv. It led to profit maximization by the capitalists; They imported many equipment to construct water
infrastructure and buildings and from there they gained much profits.

QN. Discuss the role of colonial social services in the consolidation of colonialism in Africa
i. Education trained few Africans especially sons of chiefs who eventually could serve in the colonial state
especially in administrative matters like tax collection, clerks, police or messengers.
ii. Education introduced western values and civilizations to the Africans as opposed to the African ways of
Africa in this case it later created a sense of individualism to Africans, royalty, and obedient to the colonial
masters.
iii. Colonial health services were essential in treating migrant laborers who worked in different plantations and
mines peasants who involved in cash crop plantations thus more production.
iv. Education taught different agricultural production techniques to Africans. For example in Buganda Sir
Apollo Kagira who was a British collaborator helped the British to introduce a new agricultural techniques
especially in cotton production for Buganda.
v. Religious services were used as a tool to purify people by making them become obedient and royal to the
colonial government, hence no much resistance would be waged by Africans against the colonialists.
vi. Housing and water supply facilitated efficiency in production; These services were provided to highly class
people whose duty was to supervise production as well as to camp the laborers
vii. The colonial transport systems facilitated the transportation of raw materials from the interior to the ports
and import goods from Europe to the interior parts, they also transported migrant laborers to plantations
and mines, troops, and administrators also were transported to their respective areas.