al-Siyāsah al-Brīṭānīyah fī Taḥjīm al-Lughah al-Sawāḥilīyah fī al-Niẓām al-Taʻlīmī al-Kīnī (1920-1963) - Naṣṣār, ʻAmmār ʻAbbūdī; ʻAzīz, ʻAlyāʼ Mujbil; Muʼtamar al-Istiqāmah al-Duwalī al-Thānī: al-ʻUmānīyūn wa-al-Sawāḥilīyah bayna al-Taʼthīr wa-al-Taʼaththur (2026) (Mumbāsā) (Mumbāsā : Jamʻīyat al-Istiqāmah al-Khayrīyah al-Islāmīyah al-ʻĀlamīyah, 2026)
British language policy for education in the colony of Kenya was among the instruments used to entrench British influence in the region, working through it to shape social and cultural structures. English was used as the official language of the country while Swahili and the other local African languages were marginalised, and this policy contributed to producing clear educational and social disparities, binding social advancement to mastery of the coloniser's language. This study analyses the foundations of the language policy of education in colonial Kenya and its long-term effects on the educational system and the linguistic situation. It traces the multiple parties that contributed to shaping that policy between 1920 and 1963 and examines the mechanisms by which the standing of Swahili within the school system was reduced.
Permanent citation identifier: MHF-MOMBASA2026-005.
Conference theme (in Arabic): المحور الأول: التأثير العُماني في السواحلية.
Text in Arabic; title also romanized (ALA-LC); abstract and keywords in English.
Keywords: Language policy; Colonial education; Kenya; Swahili; British Empire; Educational inequality