RESEARCH REVIEW NS VOL.7 NOS 1 & 2  1991

UNEQUAL  EDUCATIONAL  OPPORTUNITIES

Title:  A HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN NORTHERN

GHANA 1907 -1976

Author. R. Bagulo Bering
Publishers: Ghana Universities Press, Accra, 1990
Pages: XVm, 284, Tables and Maps
Price: Not indicated.

N.J.K. Bnikum

Of the books1 written on the development of formal Western education in Ghana,
Northern Region has only been mentioned in passing. Professor Bening's book to all intents
and purposes is the first detailed account of the development of education in Northern
Ghana, a book which would be of immense help to researchers on Northern Ghana.

"A History of Education in Northern Ghana" is divided into six parts of eleven

chapters, each dealing with the development of education within a certain time limit.

In Part I, the author traces the development of formal western education from the
School established by Amadu Sambo in 1908 to the establishment of the Krachi Roman
Catholic  (Trans-Volta)  Mission  Primary  School  seventeen  years  later.  The  problems
encountered by both the Colonial government and the Missionary bodies in establishing the
Schools are well treated.

Part II traces the evolution of Teacher Training College with the opening of the
Achimota College to the establishment of a Training College at Pusiga instead ofWa in view
of  the  impending plebiscite  to  determine  the future  of  the British  trust  territory  of
Togolandip.  128).

Parts III, IV and V which are the crust of the book deal with the emergence of British
Education  policy  in Tropical  Africa,  the emergence  of  nationalistic  activities  and the
eventual regaining of independence by Ghana. Here the author examines the failure of the
Colonial government to establish many schools in Northern Ghana (pp. 175 - 184). Only
a few talented children were to be encouraged to attain the level of Standard VII (what used
to be Middle Form Four), for to give these primitive  children a more advanced education
wdutcTbe a doubtful blessing and make them discontented with their lot.

In the final part titled Contemporary Scene, the author discusses issues such as the
state  of  University  education  in  Northern  Ghana  between  1949  and  1966  and  more
importantly the need for a University of the North.

Although divided into six parts, they have been neatly woven into each other. This
makes the book readily understandable; moreover, the author uses simple and straightfor-
ward language. Yet another strength which commends the book to the reader is that the
author adopts the periodic rather than the thematic approach and this enables the reader to
follow the sequence of events which contributed to the development of education in Northern
Ghana. Then again is the fact that the author uses Statistical data (26 tables) to illustrate
the disparity between the development of education in Northern Ghana and the rest of the

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country, a phenomenon which regrettably still persists/Professor Bening also relied on a
variety of sources such as those in the National Archives of Ghana in Tamale and Accra,
Navrongo Mission Records (NMR), the White Fathers' Mission Files andmost importantly
Colonial Office Records (unavailable in Ghana).

What is not very clear from the book is the overall impact of colonial education policy
on nationalist politics in Northern Ghana during the 1950's. Again, while the author touches
on the nature of the pressures mounted on the Convention People's Party government to
open more schools, he does not dilate on them. Lastly, the author did not delve much into
the overall influence western education has exerted on the culture of the people.

Notwithstanding  these  omissions,  the  book  is  highly  recommended  to  all  people
interested in Ghana's  educational  development.  If as the author  says education  should
develop the latent powers of the people and Jit them for the task of living uprightanduseful
economic productive  lives, then there is the need to know how this education started and
how we can improve upon it. It is a book to be read, nay, made a compulsory textbook for
all teachers in training because every chapter is prefaced with a discussion of what existed
in the rest of the country.

Footnotes

Forster, Philip J. (1965) Education and Social Change  in Ghana, Frank Cass Ltd.

Graham, C.K.  (1966) History of Education in Ghana  Frank Cass Ltd.

McWilliam, H.O.A. and
M.A. Kwamena-Poh  (1975) The Development of Education in Ghana, London,
Longmans.

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