Modjaben Dowuona was a Ghanaian educationist and public servant. He was the first Registrar of the University of Ghana, and also served as Ghana's Commissioner of Education ( Minister) from 1966 to 1969.
Early life and education
Dowuona was born at Osu on 11 January 1908. His father was Solomon Noi Dowuona and his mother was Theodora Naa-Lomotso Dowuona, all of the Osu Royal Family in
Accra
Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
. Dowuona was named "Annan" eight days after his birth. The name, according to Ga custom, is given to the fourth successive male son of a couple. His family was in
Calabar
Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and cre ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, before his first birthday when his grandfather wrote to the family asking for his name to be changed to "Modjaben" (what sort of blood). According to his grandfather, every fourth male born child had passed on during their infancy based on his research into the family's history. In his grandfather's opinion, an odd name could prevent the spirits from taking his life at his infancy.
Dowuona entered Thompson's Kindergarten School at Osu in 1909. There, he was baptised as Theophilus Albert Modjaben Dowuona. He later dropped the Christian names while at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, in an attempt to Africanise the name. Dowuona proceeded to St. John's School at
Nsawam
Nsawam is a town in south Ghana and is the capital of the Nsawam-Adoagyire Municipal District, a district in the Eastern Region of south Ghana. The main ethnic group is Akan, followed by Ga and then Ewe. In 1920, he enrolled at the Scottish Mission (Presbyterian) Middle School (now Osu Salem School, Scottish missionaries took over the supervision of Presbyterian schools in the
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
after the
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
). With a year to complete his primary education, Dowuona was moved to
CMS Grammar School, Freetown
The Sierra Leone Grammar School was founded on 25 March 1845 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, by the Church Mission Society (CMS), and at first was called the CMS Grammar School. It was the first secondary educational institution for West Africans with ...
,
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
where he had his secondary education. He graduated the school in December 1926 with his school certificate and exemptions from the University of London Matriculation and the Oxford University Responsions. In January 1929 he entered Achimota School, Achimota College to study for his Intermediate bachelor's degree, there he was the first to be awarded the Achimota Council scholarship to study at the University of Oxford. At Oxford ( St. Peter's College, which was then St. Peter's Hall), he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He graduated with his bachelor's degree in 1934 and pursued a one-year postgraduate certificate in Education which he obtained from the University of London Institute of Education in 1935. In 1948, he was awarded his master's degree from Oxford University as part of an extra mural program which was being run by the Gold Coast Government on an experimental basis.
Career
Dowuona taught in various schools between 1928 and 1946. From 1945 to 1948, he was the deputy warden and lecturer at Achimota College. He was appointed Registrar of the
University of Ghana
The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities.
The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...
in 1950, and consequently became the first Registrar of the university. He served in this capacity until 1961. He later joined the staff of
Ahmadu Bello University
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Al ...
as Registrar of the university until his political appointment in 1966. Dowuona served as Ghana's Commissioner for Education ( Minister for Education) from 1966 to 1969. At the inception of the Second Republic later in 1969, he was appointed the Chairman of the National Commission for higher education. He held this post until 1971. He died in November 1991.
Awards and honours
* Awarded an
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
in 1951.
* Received a Coronation Medal in 1953.
* Honorary doctorate degree (
LLD
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation#Plural forms, abbrev ...
) conferred on him by
Ahmadu Bello University
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Al ...