Tambach, Economic Change and Keiyo Struggle for the School, 1902-1939

Abstract

The establishment of African Government School, Tambach in 1927, epitomised Keiyo and Marakwet struggle for what they considered a valuable asset to their society. Missionary enterprise had neither converted the two communities to Christianity nor created a school for them, as was the case in other parts of Kenya. Responsibility fell on the Local Native Council (LNC), which had become operational in 1925. The LNC wanted a secular education geared towards literacy for the Keiyo and Marakwet as opposed to the government and missionary type of education which was technical oriented and evangelical. While missionaries viewed western education as a vehicle for spreading the gospel, the colonial state demanded that African education meet the needs of the Uasin Gishu settler labour market. Both, however, were desperately handicapped by lack of resources and each Keiyo adult and Marakwet had to contribute two shillings each in the form of taxes to construct Tambach School. The colonial government reluctantly facilitated the infrastructural and curriculum development as part of their control and domination strategy. This essay builds on „the struggle for school‟ paradigm elaborated by John Anderson that Africans in Kenya played a major role in the early development and control of schools in Kenya. But for a start, such a history cannot be complete without a brief narrative of colonial economic change and of Tambach enclave as a hill station that was scenic and exotic, situated at mountain range of the picturesque Elgeyo escarpment.