Quality control in a colonial school setting: How it worked and for what purpose

Abstract

This paper recognizes that quality control was a significant concern in the colonial state. The understanding was that if goals of colonialism were to be accomplished then education, a major apparatus for promoting state objectives, had to be carefully monitored. As a consequence, in colonial Trinidad and Tobago schools were systematically visited and carefully evaluated at least once per year by Inspectors appointed by the State. A major objective of the visit was quality control, defined detection and exposure of defective work. This article uses historical records as contained in log books to examine what the quality controls in colonial elementary schools in Trinidad and Tobago revealed. How and why the controls identified related to State objectives for education and schooling in the colony are of primary concern. The exercise reveals that defects were indeed found in several areas of school work, and that malfunctioning was a threat to political, social and economic stability of the colonial state. An important remark is the similarity between quality controls found in colonial schools in Trinidad and Tobago and those found in schools in the modern state. The observation leads to some speculation as to how the two, though similar in many respects, differ