The role of the church missionary society in the development of girls’ education in Western Kenya: the case of Butere girls high school, 1957 – 2007

Abstract

This study discussed the contribution of the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S) in the development of girls’ education in Western Kenya. This has been done by documenting the history of Butere Girls High School from 1957 to 2007. The study is based on an analysis of both primary and secondary data. It is a contribution to the study of history of education, specifically the study of Christian missions and development of education in this country. The study begins by discussing the origin of the C.M.S and its early evangelical and educational activities in Western Kenya. Although the C.M.S work in East Africa started off at the coast in 1844, its spread to Western Kenya was not directly from the coast but via Uganda. Since they used education mainly as a tool for evangelism, they focused on formal education through the school. Their first school to be established in the region was Maseno in 1906. It was described as a Christian base from which the gospel was to be carried far and wide into the surrounding country. From Maseno, the C.M.S moved to Butere in 1912. Establishment of education for girls in Western Kenya, just like in the rest of the country lagged behind that of boys. When Butere Girls (primary school) was started in 1916, the aim of the C.M.S was not to educate women for employment, but to prepare them for marriage. The purpose of Butere therefore was to train women who would be married to the village Christian elite. The period after 1945 however saw major changes in education in Kenya as influenced by among other things the effect of the Second World War and the Ten-Year development Plan. The elite of the early inter-war period began challenging missionaries to offer education which would enable social and economic advance. This demand for higher education for girls together with the implementation of the Beecher Report, among other factors saw the development of Butere Girls to a secondary school in 1957. After its establishment, Butere developed into a highly performing school and became valued by the community and the entire country. In 1957, it was ranked as the second best protestant girls’ high school in the country, after Alliance Girls. Event though, the school faced a number of challenges especially after 1980 mainly concerning infrastructure, management and discipline which stifled its development. As a result, it lost its prestigious position when its performance started dropping in the 1980s. Despite these challenges, the study shows that the school has had a lot of influence to the community especially in educational and socio economic fields. The study concludes that, the Church Missionary Society made a significant contribution in the development of girls’ education in Western Kenya. It demonstrates the importance of education for leadership and empowerment of women.