Author(s) :

Rishab Ghosh.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

This narrative review examines how French colonial rule and earlier Islamic political and educational traditions influenced the development of contemporary education systems in Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. Through comparative synthesis of historical, educational, and postcolonial scholarship, it analyzes how colonial policies shaped educational institutions, curricula, linguistic practices, and post-independence educational trajectories across these countries. Key findings reveal consistent themes of resource extraction and cultural imposition by French authorities, marked by strategic educational neglect in colonies and systematic attempts to undermine Islamic educational institutions. Across the 5 cases, these policies produced enduring structural inequalities, particularly in rural access, gender equity, and literacy outcomes. Post-independence reforms did not fully displace colonial models but instead generated hybrid systems in which French, Arabic, secular, and religious forms of education coexist in uneven ways. Details on the impact of Islamic colonization and the enduring pre-French Ottoman influence are more sparse, representing an area of greater research need. Presentday disparities in educational outcomes, gender equity, and literacy rates across these nations underscore lasting colonial legacies. Further academic work engaging with indigenous educational traditions and further archival research into the intersection of Islamic and French colonial influence in Africa is needed. For policymakers, this work also highlights the necessity for educational reforms rooted in indigenous cultural values and improved resource allocation to bridge these historical inequities.