From mission school to Bantu education : a history of Adams College.

Abstract

In 1835 the first American Board missionaries arrived in South Africa and a mission station was built at Amanzimtoti. Adams College, then known as Amanzimtoti Institute was established in 1853 by the American Board with the expressed ingestion of opening up a school on the mission station originally founded by Dr Newton Adams. Adams College consisted of a number of institutions; a high school, a teacher training college and an industrial school. It was one of the first African schools to introduce co-education, to teach mathematics and science to Africans, to provide matriculation and post-matriculation courses, and to give responsible posts to Africans. This thesis examines the goals, beliefs and strategies of early missionaries and the founders of Adams College in the nineteenth century. It goes on to illustrate the.influence of segregation and incorporationist ideals of those involved in missionary education in the early 1900s. Mission schools such as Adams College aimed at promoting a type of education based on European curriculum and models. Edgar Brookes and Jack Grant, prominant principals at Adams College, were well-intentioned and aimed at offering the students opportunity for advancement. In 1956 Adams College was closed by the government, as a consequence of the Bantu Education Act. This study interprets the transition from missionary to Bantu Education in light of the difficulties faced by Mission schools in the late 1940s.