Local Native Councils And The Development Of Western Education Among The Nandi Of Kenya, 1923 – 1963

Abstract

In the history of Kenya,the Local Native Council was an outfit created by the colonial government following the enactment of the LNC Ordinance in 1922 in Kenya. It was intended to assist bring development in African Native areas which included the development and management of social services such as education and health . It is against this backdrop that this study was set to analyse the role of the Local Native Council (LNC) in the development of Western education among the Nandi,an aspect which had previously not paid attention to through historical studies. This study was set to establish the origin,structure, membership and functions of LNC ,to ascertain its influence and role it played in the development of western education among the nandi of Kenya and to find out the relationship between the LNC and other stakeholders such as the Christian Missionaries, the colonial government and the Nandi community in the development of western education in Nandi. The study was carried out in Nandiland which is presently Nandi county. Structural functionalism theory was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the LNC in the discharge of its role in the development of western education among the Nandi. Historical materialism theory was used to analyse the influence of western education on the Nandi people.The study targeted elderly men and those though to be knowledgeable about the period and history of the LNCs and the ADC (African District Councils). Snowballing and purposive sampling techniques were employed to select informants who provided valuable information about the subject under study. Both primary and secondary sources were used to obtain data. Secondary data was collected from the published materials available in Libraries on the role of LNC and the development of western education among the Nandi. Primary data was achieved through oral interviews. Informants selected covered the whole Nandi county also referred as Nandiland. The researcher either recorded or wrote down the responses depending on the choice of the respondents.The responses were at the end of each working day transcribed to avoid any misitnepretations that could arise.Primary data was also collected from originally unpublished materials from the Libraries and the Kenya National Archives (KNA). The study utilised content validity to measure the accuracy of the research instruments. Published materials such as books, book chapters, journals and theses were made use of in this study. Data from both the primary and secondary data were analysed qualitatively based on the objectives of the study which concentrated on the work of the LNCs in education development in Nandi County. The study established that the LNC played a significant role in the development of literacy education in Kenya in collaboration with the colonial government, the missionaries, and the Nandi community during the colonial period. Further studies could be done in other parts of Kenya on the role of LNC and its impact of western education on the native communities and the role of the missionary societies in the development of western education in other areas.