Peter Iwunna

The Impact of the Catholic Primary School Education in Igboland: the Impact of the Catholic Missionary Education Peter Iwunna

This text discusses the impact of the Catholic Mission?s primary school educational enterprise in Igboland. Using the Igbo as a case study, it argues that the Christian missionary education represented an extension of the British colonial domination of Nigeria. It is the position of this study that the involvement of the Christian missions in this sector sought to protect the numerous interests of the colonizing powers over those of their subjects in Nigeria, most especially in the areas of its economic, cultural, and political interests. As faithful servants and close allies of the British government then, The Catholic Mission, alongside the other Christian missions received logistic and financial support which boosted their educational activities, and sustained their continued spread into Igbo towns and villages, with the result that the literacy enablement among the people grew faster. For the British government, the concession of primary school education into the hands of the Christian missions in Igboland was highly valued for its cost saving benefits, and most importantly, the protection of their numerous imperial interests.