British and French Colonial Influence on African Education: A comparative Study of Nigeria and Senegal

Abstract

This paper is a comparative study of the British and French colonial influences on African

education, particularly in Nigeria and Senegal. The era of British and French colonialism had come and gone, yet the influences linger on in African education, politics, culture and economy. While Nigeria was colonised by the British; Senegal was colonised by the French. While some of the colonial influences are good and desirable some are not so good. Although they had different approaches to their colonial rules, there were similarities and differences in the colonial influences of Britain and France. Therefore, it is important to study the similarities and differences in the British and French colonial influences on African education particularly in Nigeria and Senegal (the countries of interest in this study) so as to learn from the desirable influences. The research method used is the historical approach in comparative education. It was found that colonial influences still feature in the philosophy and objectives, structure, curriculum, administration and funding of education in Nigeria and Senegal. However, it was concluded that progressively, some aspects of education in Nigeria correspond with Nigerian culture, although in Senegal most aspects of education do not reflect Senegalese culture rather, they reflect French culture. Therefore it was recommended that Nigeria and Senegal should address realistic problems emanating from colonial influences on their education.