Roume’s government aimed education at commoners, not just chiefly sons

Evidence

The French insisted that those who were to become the new literate auxiliary class be drawn from all social milieux, not merely from the old ruling classes. This outlook contrasted with the policy of the past, when military administrators had concentrated their educational efforts almost exclusively on the sons of chiefs, in the belief that they would remain France’s natural collaborators in administering the federation. The new Government General, however, had no intention of preserving the chiefs’ power any more than necessary, because, as we shall see in the next chapter, it offended their republican values. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 288