English in Kenya has its basis in the colonial language policy following the scramble
for Africa by European powers which took place towards the end of the 19th century. The
boundaries of the continent were defined by Europeans in the Berlin Conference on
December 1884–January 1885. In 1886, a joint commission comprising of representatives
from powerful European nations like Britain, Germany and France met to deliberate on the
Zanzibar’s Sultan authority in the East African Coast. This led to the partitioning of African
nations culminating in the European colonization.
Kenya became part of the British East Africa Protectorate. There were several issues
that the British had to consider in order to facilitate their rule in the colonies. Among these
were language and educational policies. The colonial language policy in Kenya is important
putting into consideration that it impacted greatly on post-colonial language policy.
First Era
In the first epoch, there were several players involved in the formulation of language
policy. Among these were the Christian missionaries who thought that gospel would best be
spread in mother tongue and the colonial administrators who had an interest in controlled
teaching of English to Africans in order to obtain low cadre employees in their
administration. There were also the British settlers who feared the Europeanization of
Africans through English language lest they became too educated to accept the role of wage
labourers.
While the mother tongue, Kiswahili and English were used with ease at various levels
of education, the colonial administration grew apprehensive over the teaching of English to
Africans shortly before the 1920s. There was realization that English education interfered
with the goal of maintaining a subordinate class of workers, forcing it to review the education
policy. Kenyans who had taken in a lot of English book learning were reluctant to do menial
work, while preferring to take up white collar careers. Additionally, some colonialists were
jealous of allowing many Africans to learn their language. Many European settlers regarded
the teaching of the English language to natives as a potentially subversive force. Social
distance between master and subject had to be maintained partly through linguistic distance.
Following the review of the education policy, English was to be taught to the Africans
guardedly in order to ensure that the majority of them never acquired secondary and
university education. It should, however, be pointed out that denial of Africans to learn
English, on the contrary, provided a stimulus for them to study it. The colonized people had
already realized that English language was a sure ticket to white collar employment and
wealth, such that to deny them a chance to learn it was tantamount to condemning them to
perpetual menial jobs.
It is for this reason, for example, that the Kikuyu of Kenya started independent
schools to learn English without inhibition in the 1920s. There were times when the
administrators would favour the promotion of either African languages or English in view of
their interests at stake.
Second Era
After the Second World War, there was a shift in the British colonial language policy
which hurt local languages. When self rule was imminent in Kenya following the freedom
struggle, the British colonialists mounted a campaign to create some Westernized elite in the
country. They believed that such an elite group would protect their interests in independent
Kenya. This was obviously another step that buttressed English supremacy.
In 1950-1951, the Education Department Reports pointed out that it was inappropriate
to teach three languages at the primary school. The Reports included Beecher’s 1949, Binn’s
1952 and the Drogheda Commission of 1952. The documents recommended that English be
introduced in the lower primary to be taught alongside the mother tongue, and called for the
dropping of Kiswahili in the curriculum, except in areas where it was the mother tongue. The
implementation of this policy took effect in 1953-1955.
Further boost for English, at the expense of local languages occurred when the PratorHutasoit Commission endorsed that English be the only language of instruction in all school
grades, heralding the New Primary Approach, better known as the English Medium
Approach.
To implement the new curriculum, teachers were to be trained in English, while their
mother tongues were viewed as a premium in teaching the lower primary schools. Arguably,
this was another step in consolidating the rise of English in Kenya.
Third Era – Post Colonial Period
When Kenya attained self rule in 1963, English was declared the official language. It
was to be used in all important governmental sectors; education inclusive. This is no wonder
putting into consideration that this policy only re-emphasised what was already in place as a
result of the colonial language policy. Additionally, those who took the helm of leadership
after the colonialists were spawned by the colonial education system and in the
circumstances, there was a high likelihood that they would perpetuate neo-colonialism, rather
than help to bring change.
Such measures were mainly tailored to education. The Ministry of Education took
several steps in line with language policy. In 1964, the Kenya Education Commission
mounted a survey to establish the interests of the citizens with regard to language use. The
findings revealed that most people wanted a trilingual approach to education. The mother
tongue was preferred for verbal communication especially in rural areas, while English and
Kiswahili were preferred for education from lower primary to the university. Kiswahili was
especially favoured in education for purposes of national and regional unity. Furthermore,
Kiswahili was seen as the appropriate language for the Pan- Africanism dream. However,
unlike English, the language was not anchored in to the school curriculum, and for a long
time, it remained an optional subject.
In 1964 also, the Ominde Commission revealed that many Kenyans were in favour of
English as the medium of instruction from the beginning class in primary school to the
university. The Commission threw its weight behind English language arguing that it would
accelerate learning in all subjects by ensuring smooth transitions from “vernaculars,” and
owing to its fundamental resources. English was therefore introduced in beginners’ classes in
primary schools through the New Primary Approach (NPA), in which its learning was
heavily emphasized. The Task also emphasised the use of mother tongue and Kiswahili in the
education system; at different levels and localities.
In 1967, The Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) started producing books in various
mother tongues, Kiswahili inclusive; for use in primary schools. In the same year, Kiswahili
was pronounced the language of Adult Education alongside the mother tongue (Gorman
1974). However, in urban areas, Kiswahili was to be used singularly. Nonetheless, English
supremacy in the Kenya educational system was entrenched following the Gachathi
Commission in 1976, which recommended that the tongue becomes the language of
instruction from the fourth grade, in primary school, to the university. Though the
Commission also declared Kiswahili an important subject in primary and secondary classes,
the language received inferior status when compared with English in the school curriculum.
While English was allotted 8-10 periods out of the 40 hours per week, Kiswahili which was
allotted 3 hours.
In 1981, the Mackay Commission recommended 8 years of primary school, 4 years of
secondary school and 4 years of university education. It passed that English remains the
language of instruction, while Kiswahili was made a compulsory subject in both primary and
secondary education. This policy was also followed by the production of Kiswahili books to
meet the increased demands of both students and teachers. The Mackay Commission further
advised that the mother tongue be used in lower grades of primary schools, in areas where
this was possible.
Titany answered the question on May 11, 2022 at 11:11