From adaptation to ruralisation in Cameroon education policy, 1922-2002: Replacing six with half a dozen

Abstract

The British colonial policy of education in the Southern Cameroons was guided by the philosophy of adapting education to the mentality, aptitude and occupations of the local population. This policy was gradually abandoned in the 1950s when it was realized that it was serving the colonial exploitative agenda of keeping natives to a permanently rural existence instead of meeting the needs of an independent state. Surprisingly, despite the so much talked of ‘need for education to rid itself of the colonial stranglehold’, a few years after independence, the government of Cameroon opted for the policy of ruralisation of education. This paper, examines the basic motivation for returning to such a policy and the outcome.

Keywords: Adaptation, ruralisation, colonial, education policy.