The Nature and Operation of Colonial Education in Benin Province and The Benin Women’s Response

Abstract

This paper examines the nature and operation of colonial education in Benin and how the Benin woman embraced this innovation. The colonial period has been interpreted by Africans as non-beneficial to Africans and portrayed colonial rule as being destructive of the admirable and prestigious status of the Benin woman in the pre-colonial period. The traditions and cultural constraints on women hindered female education in her early days in Benin. Parents saw female education in Benin as a waste of resources and also would encourage resentment and disrespect of parental authority. Education for the girl child during the pre-colonial period was designed to make them primarily an effective mothers and housewives. Hence, girls were brought up in a traditional family set-up to be passive, obedient, and always submissive to men. This paper insists that the inadequate provision of school and security for the girls due to the location of the school by the colonial administration was not the only factor responsible for her formal education, but the delay by her traditional society in accepting female education had a far-reaching effect on her educational status.  

Keywords: Benin Division, Native Administration, Colonial Education, Benin Woman, Church Missionary Society