The Dilemma Of Colonial Education

The Dilemma Of Colonial Education

French colonisation was not based only on economic exploitation. It was also driven by the idea of a ‘civilising mission’. Like the British in India, the French claimed that  they were bringing modern civilization to the Vietnamese. They took for granted that  Europe had developed the most advanced civilisation. So it became the duty of the  Europeans to introduce these  modern ideas to the  colony even if  this  meant destroying  local cultures,  religions and traditions,  because  these were seen as outdated  and  prevented modern development. Education was  seen as  one  way to civilise the  ‘native’.  But in order  to educate them,  the French had to resolve a dilemma. This dilemma was about the extent to which the Vietnamese needed to be educated. The French needed an educated local  labour force but they feared that education might create  problems.  Once  educated,  the Vietnamese may  begin to question colonial  domination.  Moreover,  French citizens  living  in Vietnam  (called colons) began fearing that they might lose their jobs to the educated Vietnamese. So they  opposed  policies  that would  give  the Vietnamese  full access  to French education.

TALKING MODEM:

(i) To consolidate their power the French systematically dismantled the traditional educational system and established French schools for the Vietnamese.

(ii) Some policy-makers emphasized the need to use the French language, they felt by learning the language the Vietnamese would be introduced to the culture and civilization of France and the educated people in Vietnam would respect French sentiments and ideals, seethe superiority of French culture, and work for the French. Others suggested that Vietnamese be taught in lower classes and French in the higher classes.

DRAWBACKS OF EDUCATION SYSTEM:

(i) Only a small fraction of the population could enroll in the schools, and only a few among those admitted ultimately passed the school leaving examination, because of a deliberate policy of failing students so that they could not qualify for the better-paid jobs.

(ii) School textbooks glorified the French and justified colonial rule. The Vietnamese were represented as primitive and backward, capable of manual labor but not of intellectual reflection; they could work in the fields but not rule themselves; they were 'skilled copyists' but not creative. School children were told that only French rule could ensure peace in Vietnam.

LOOKING MODERN:

The Tonkin Free School was started in 1907 to provide a Western style education. This education included classes in science, hygiene and French. It was not enough to learn science and Western ideas: to be modern the Vietnamese had to also look modern. The school encouraged the adoption of Western styles such as having a short haircut. For the Vietnamese this meant a major break with their own identity since they traditionally kept long hair.

RESISTANCE IN SCHOOLS:

Teachers and students did not blindly follow the  curriculum. Sometimes there was open  opposition,  at  other  times  there  was  silent resistance.  As the  numbers  of Vietnamese  teachers  increased  in the  lower  classes,  it became  difficult to control what was actually taught. While teaching, Vietnamese teachers quietly modified the  text and criticised what was stated. Elsewhere, students fought against the colonial government’s efforts to prevent the Vietnamese  from  qualifying for  white­collar  jobs. They  were inspired  by  patriotic feelings  and  the  conviction that it was  the  duty  of  the  educated to fight for the benefit of  society.  This  brought them  into conflict with the  French as  well as the traditional  elite, since both saw their positions threatened. By the 1920s,  students were  forming  various  political parties,  such as  the  Party  of  Young  Annan,  and publishing nationalist journals such as the Annanese Student. Schools thus became  an important place for political and cultural battles. 

The French sought to strengthen their  rule in Vietnam through the control of  education. They tried to change the values, norms and perceptions of the people, to make them believe in the superiority of French civilisation and the inferiority of the  Vietnamese. Vietnamese intellectuals, on the other hand, feared that Vietnam was losing not just control over its territory but its very identity: its own culture and customs were being devalued and the  people were developing a master-­slave mentality. The battle against French colonial education became part of the larger battle against colonialism and for independence.