The educational policy and activities of the Dutch reformed church mission in Zambia up to 1976.
This study attempts to investigate the educational policy and activities of the Dutch Reformed Church Mission in Zambia from 1899 to the time it handed over to the government its primary schools and the only secondary school, Katete, in 1976. The Afrikaners of South Africa have for long been associated with racial discrimination and oppression of the black people. It is interesting to ascertain why and how members of the same people, now in the name of the Dutch Reformed Church, pursued policies that were intended to enhance African advancement through education. Secondly, bibliographic inquiry does not reveal any previous comprehensive inquiry into the educational work of the Dutch Reformed Church in Zambia. It has been a neglected area of study and this makes the study not only significant but even more so urgent and imperative if we are to fairly assess the contribution the church has made to the educational development of the country. Chapter One centres on the geography and population of the Eastern Province; the cultural, social, economic and political position of the people in the area on the eve of the arrival of the church and the brief history of the origin of the Dutch Reformed Church and its activities in Central Africa. Chapter Two makes an inquiry into the education policy of the church. The origins of the policy are discussed in relation to the mother-body in the Orange Free State. A further investigation is made to ascertain the relevance and suitability of the policy to the local conditions. Chapters Three and Four attempt to make an assessment and comparison of the policy set and what actually went on in the field. And Chapter Five discusses the establishment of a secondary school at Katete. This, to a large extent, represented a change of policy for the church. The church had previously believed in providing only elementary education to the people. The study concludes with an evaluation of the educational work of the church and finds out if it managed to establish a local church which would be self-supporting, self-governing and which could expand from its own inner strength as was its ultimate aim.
Mission -- Zambia., Education -- Zambia., Dutch reformed church -- Missions.
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