French was imposed in schools under a utilitarian dialect-unification argument.

Evidence

Another republican influence was the decision to make Frenchlanguage instruction, along with practical skills and basic literacy, an integral part of the federal educational program. French authorities themselves repeatedly presented this choice as anything but assimilationist. French was taught, they argued, not because of its inherent superiority, not because they wanted all Africans-like their metropolitan counterparts-to speak French, but because there were simply too many African dialects to master. West Africa needed a common language as badly as it needed a common railroad system, and, by default, French was the only one available. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 285

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the official ‘adapted education’ justification for teaching French — utilitarian necessity rather than cultural superiority, though the author notes other arguments coexisted.