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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Education in Eritrea during the European Colonial Period
Author:Teklehaimanot, Berhane
Year:1996
Periodical:Eritrean Studies Review
Volume:1
Issue:1
Period:Spring
Pages:1-22
Language:English
Geographic terms:Eritrea
Great Britain
Italy
Subjects:colonialism
educational policy
Education and Oral Traditions
History and Exploration
Abstract:The overall objective of education in Eritrea under Italian colonization (1889-1941) was to prepare a minority of Eritreans with the minimum amount of knowledge, so that colonial settlers and the colony's various public services could be served with a minimum expenditure of money and effort on native education. As a result, only a limited scope of education was given to a few Eritreans. Moreover, the education that was provided was designed to instil Italian cultural domination and the glorification of Italian fascism. The British, for their part, responded positively to an increased eagerness of Eritreans for more and better education. Both to develop an administrative machinery based on local expertise and to boost the colony's economy, they greatly expanded first the elementary schools and later the middle schools. During their eleven-year occupation (1941-1952), the British almost quadrupled the number of elementary school students (from 2,405 to 9,131) and established a viable middle school system with an enrolment of close to 900 students in 1950. Nonetheless, the high demand for modern education on the part of Eritreans in the face of limited educational facilities and resources had not been adequately met by the time the British left. The same situation exists in postindependence Eritrea and presents a formidable challenge to the country's educational policymakers. Bibliogr.
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