Transforming African Higher Education - Precolonial Foundations, Colonial Legacies, and Postcolonial Innovations

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda

The article analyzes African higher education policies and systems through political, economic, and socio-cultural lenses before European colonialism, then assesses harms introduced through colonial rule. Using a historical-analytical, decolonial methodology, it traces shifts across precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial periods and interrogates colonial epistemologies while elevating indigenous knowledge systems. Relying entirely on purposively selected secondary sources, it triangulates archival records and scholarly interpretations to compare colonial education policies across British, French, and Portuguese contexts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages30

Reading Time1 h 16 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Analytical Framework and Methodology

Precolonial African Higher Education Systems

Educational Considerations Volume 50 Number 3 Exploring African Education, Innovative Solutions, and Diverse Perspectives for a Global Competent Citizenry Article 7 July 2025 Transforming African Higher Education: Precolonial Foundations, Colonial Legacies, and Postcolonial Innovations Ransom Tanyu Ngenge University of the National Education Commission, Krakow, [ngengetanyu@africaopl.org](ngengetanyu@africaopl.org) Follow this and additional works at: [https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations](https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations) Part of the Africana Studies Commons, Education Policy Commons, Higher Education Commons, Indigenous Education Commons, and the Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Ngenge, Ransom Tanyu (2025) "Transforming African Higher Education: Precolonial Foundations, Colonial Legacies, and Postcolonial Innovations," Educational Considerations: Vol. 50: No. 3. [https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.2425](https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.2425) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Considerations by an authorized administrator of New Prairie Press. For more information, please [contact](contact cads@k-state.edu)[ cads@k-state.edu](contact cads@k-state.edu). Transforming African Higher Education: Precolonial Foundations, Colonial Legacies, and Postcolonial Innovations Ngenge Ransom Tanyu Introduction This article has three main objectives. First, it examines the political, economic, and socio cultural aspects of higher education policies and systems in Africa before European colonialism. Second, it looks at the possible harm that European colonialism did to African higher education policies and systems. Finally, the example of French Equatorial Africa shows how postcolonial African higher education systems still have policies and systems that were made to serve the interests of former European colonial powers. Analytical Framework and Methodology The article adopts a historical-analytical and decolonial methodological approach to examine the evolution of African higher education across the precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial periods. Anchored in critical historiography, the analytical framework interrogates colonial epistemologies and foregrounds indigenous African knowledge systems as valid intellectual traditions (Lulat, 2005; Mawere, 2015). The research is structured thematically to explore key dimensions of higher education, including institutional development, language of instruction, policy orientation, curriculum design, and epistemic foundations (Ngange, 2020; Kallaway, 2020). The article relied entirely on secondary sources, selected through purposive and thematic sampling. Primary source categories included historical legal instruments, colonial policy documents, constitutions, educational ordinances, missionary memos, and archival records. Academic literature was gathered from databases such as JSTOR, Springer, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cambridge University Press, accessed through institutional libraries at the University of the National Education Commission, Krakow, and the University of Pittsburgh. Search terms such as “indigenous African education,” “colonial higher education policy,” “decolonizing African curricula,” and “language in African education systems” guided the literature selection process. To enhance reliability and mitigate bias, a triangulation strategy was employed by drawing from multiple categories of sources—historical texts, scholarly interpretations, and institutional records—across different regions and periods. Scholarly writings (Lulat, 2005), historical and archaeological records (Bryan, 1930; eL-Gammal, 1993), and modern institution refere

FAQs

What are the article’s main objectives?

It examines higher-education policies and systems in Africa before European colonialism, analyzes potential harms caused by colonialism, and shows how postcolonial systems can still reflect the priorities of former colonial powers.

What methodological approach does the article use?

It applies a historical-analytical decolonial approach grounded in critical historiography, foregrounding indigenous African knowledge as valid intellectual traditions.

How does the article select and verify sources?

It relies solely on secondary sources chosen through purposive and thematic sampling, then uses triangulation across historical texts, scholarly interpretations, and institutional records to reduce bias and maintain historical consistency.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda