students. These regulations also foresaw an extension of studies in third-level or "special" schools; laid down programs for girls better adapted to their needs; and affirmed that, according to the particular region, preference should be given to one of the four major Congolese languages (Kikongo, Lingala, Swahili, and Tshiluba) as the language of instruction, with French teaching confined to the upper primary grades and beyond. World War II intervened, though, before the revised regulations could be put into effect.10

By the early 1940's, however, the following changes had accurred: (1) addition of a sixth primary year called the "sixth preparatory" in some subsidized schools; (2) establishment of some middle (or lower secondary) schools, apparently drawing their students from among those who had completed 6 years of primary education. Beyond this lower secondary level, at what might be regarded as upper secondary level, there were a few vocational programs to train agricultural and medical assistants.

Achievements and Policy

As the 40-year period came to a close the Christian missions still operated almost all the schools. In the mid-forties only a few thousand Congolese were enrolled in official schools administered by Roman Catholic orders. Probably only a small number were enrolled in the schools training health personnel operated directly by the Government. Approximately 765,000 were reported as attending independent schools. Well under half of all Congolese were in subsidized schools following government programs. Only the "national" mission schools were receiving subsidies.

With very few exceptions, all education for the Congolese was confined to elementary schooling, given in the vernacular, and postprimary vocational training. With all education offered in missiondirected schools, the religious element must have been considerable. Perhaps a strong practical bias existed at all levels. The objective, probably not always achieved in practice, was to relate all schooling for the Congolese to the life which they were expected to lead and to the jobs which they were expected to hold and to keep the teaching of French and academic subjects to a minimum.

The great majority of pupils never got beyond the 2-year lower primary rural schools, a very large number of which were character

10 J. van Hove. L'Oeuvre d'Education au Congo Belge et au Ruanda-Urundi (Extrait de l'Encyclopédie du Congo Belge). Bruxelles: Editions Bieleveld, 1953.

p. 754.

ized in 1945 by the Educational Secretary of the Congo Protestant Council" as "still below the lowest recognized standard." In 1944, subsidized upper primary schools enrolled fewer than 70,000, well under 30 percent of the total number of children in the subsidized lower primary schools. Fewer than 4,000 children had moved into the subsidized schools' post primary programs and over half of that number were in the teacher-training programs. The proliferation of 2-year lower primary rural schools had apparently continued, and training at the third-level vocational schools seems to have been controlled very carefully in terms of economic and governmental requirements.

No schools for Congolese offered a full general secondary education. In order to get an academic education at the secondary and higher levels they had to enter Roman Catholic seminaries and train for the priesthood. Apparently the only Congolese who went abroad were a few sent to Rome and to certain places in Belgium to continue their religious training.

Two main educational objectives of the Government were either stated officially or were reflected by the system: First, gradually to change somewhat (through widespread local elementary education, both religious and practical) the habits and attitudes of a considerable proportion of the people, who would probably throughout their lives remain where they were, in a rural and tribal society. Second, simultaneously to draw out from the traditional way of life a selected few, encourage them to adopt a Christian, monogamous way of life, and prepare them to play their role, in the lower ranks, in the country's economic and social development-as clerks or skilled laborers in government or in private enterprise; or as agricultural, medical, or teaching personnel for the Government or the missions.

A singular effort was made to stabilize the wage-earning population at the centers of employment-the mines and urban localities. There the Congolese enjoyed a standard of living (measured in terms of health facilities, housing, and schools for their children) which attracted attention in the colonial world. Thus, through education and other measures, a relatively privileged detribalized minority group emerged. They worked as clerks, medical assistants, or other subprofessional personnel, spoke French, and lived fairly well.

Some observers have written that the Belgians hoped this so-called middle class (known as the evolués) would not only contribute to the country's economic development but also, because of their economic stake, become a bulwark of support for the colonial regime. Ironically, it was this group which formed the nationalist vanguard, whose

11 Mr. G. W. Carpenter. Quoted in J. S. Harris. Op. cit., p. 422.

post-World War II demands played a crucial part in changing the Congo's political and social order.

No evidence appeared during the period from 1908 through World War II of any intention to create a true Congolese elite. The Belgians carefully avoided providing the Congolese with secular academic education at the secondary and higher levels either at home or abroad-the kind of education which elsewhere in Africa not only prepared Africans for middle- and high-level positions but helped build political thought and activity and intertribal and interregional association. If the term "nonassimilationist" can be applied meaningfully to the educational policy of any of the colonial powers in Africa, it can so be applied to that of Belgium from 1908 through World War II.

A

NEW PERIOD in the political and social history of the Congo opened after World War II. Events elsewhere in Africa and their resultant international pressures, a growing dissatisfaction among the evolués (the "middle class," who were the products of the post primary schools), and new views concerning administration for the Congo which came from Belgium all combined to set the country on a new course. It was a period of rapid change. Education became a central issue both to the evolués and to the newly elected governments in Belgium, and was as much affected by the change as any aspect of Congolese life.

Church-State Relationships

New School Aid Requirements

The old framework of church-state relationships in education broke down. In 1946, a new requirement for aid to mission schools went into effect: All the teaching staff must know French and must complete a teacher-training program in Belgium. "Foreign," that is, Protestant, missions were thus able to qualify for government subsidies, and the Roman Catholic missions lost their almost complete monopoly of these subsidies. Education still remained, though, largely a church function, and the heaviest blow to the traditional system did not come until later.

First Official Schools for Congolese

Replacing the Roman Catholic government in Belgium, the 1954 Liberal-Socialist coalition government almost immediately clashed with the Church on the issue of education in the Congo. Appointed by the new Colonial Minister, a commission on educational policy in the colony severely criticized the church's educational methods there and proposed that lay schools be established and subsidies to the

post-World War II demands played a crucial part in changing the Congo's political and social order.

No evidence appeared during the period from 1908 through World War II of any intention to create a true Congolese elite. The Belgians carefully avoided providing the Congolese with secular academic education at the secondary and higher levels either at home or abroad-the kind of education which elsewhere in Africa not only prepared Africans for middle- and high-level positions but helped build political thought and activity and intertribal and interregional association. If the term "nonassimilationist" can be applied meaningfully to the educational policy of any of the colonial powers in Africa, it can so be applied to that of Belgium from 1908 through World War II.