The absence of studies on the educational history of Ceuta prompted the research carried out by Vicenta Marín Parra, Professor in the Department of Pedagogy of the University of Granada, who for the first time has analysed the way that different governments of the Spanish State acted in the field of education field during the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco (1912-1956). The Spanish Protectorate of Morocco was founded in 1912 by means of the peaceful occupation of Tetuan, turning the city of Ceuta into a stopover. From 1910 to 1920 the number of inhabitants increased from 13,000 to 35,219, and to 50,000 by the year 1930, due to the need of a labour force for public works, to build fish factories, to construct the railway from Ceuta to Tetuan, and also to augment the number of soldiers and public officers who had settled in Ceuta.
The researcher from the University of Granada states that the aim of her research was to update not only the history of Ceuta, but also the educational history of Spain, for which she completed the geographical map of all the initiatives and measures implemented in the field of education.
In her work, the author analyses the various educational actions taken during the monarchy of Alfonso XIII, the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, the different Republican governments, and the autocratic period of Franco’s dictatorship.
Professor Marín Parra explains that “this is the first historical study on education in the city of Ceuta”. She has examined the political and social circumstances of Ceuta from 1912 to 1956, since “it is the indispensable framework for the study of the educational development during this period.”
Efforts made during the Second Republic
It is worth mentioning the series of actions implemented during the Republican Period, since “they are reflected in the efforts made to create primary schools, to found the Spanish-Moroccan Institute, and to create technical, professional, and art schools.” The author underlines the way in which education was “managed both for building social cohesion within the Spanish colony, as well as for subjugating and acculturating the population, especially the Moroccans.
She has made an developmental study of the creation of primary schools, and also of the “distinguished way the Moroccan population was treated by means of creating Spanish-Arab schools”. She adds that the “second education”, established by the Spanish Government in Ceuta, was different from the system in the rest of the country, since it was composed of two sections for high-school studies –a Spanish one and an Arabic one– which was undertaken for training Moroccan students and creating jobs in Morocco.
Throughout her study, the author reviews the first 20 years of a normal school for primary teaching, created in 1935, and examines the education systems existing in Ceuta during this period. She analyses the creation of technical, professional, and art centres. All levels of education have been studied considering the material, human, and organizational conditions under which they were established.
Reference:
Vicenta Marín Parra. Department Pedagogy at the Faculty for Education and Arts of Ceuta/University of Granada.
Tlf.: 956 526 136 / 956 509 924. Móvil: 670317149. E-mail: vmarin@ugr.es
