J. D. Chesswas Explained

John Douglas Chesswas MBE (1919 – 28 February 2009) was a British author, linguist and policy advisor in Uganda. He was regarded as a pioneer in the development of the writing of the Luganda language, and held prominent positions in the Ugandan colonial government of the day. He also worked as a leading educational evaluation theorist for programmes in the developing world. Chesswas was awarded an MBE in the 1965 New Year Honours.

Chesswas was born in 1919.[1] He served in Indian Army Pioneer Corps during World War II and was promoted from a private soldier to 2nd lieutenant in January 1941.[2] He died in Wiltshire, England in February 2009.[3] [4]

Orthography of Luganda

Chesswas was the author of "The Essentials of Luganda" (1954); the third (1963) and fourth (1967) editions of which are commonly used as a textbook for courses in Luganda language.[5] [6] [7] [8]

Chesswas was employed by the Luganda Language Board as a teacher of Luganda when, in 1949, the Government for the Uganda Protectorate began to offer free courses in Luganda to any officer wishing to take up the study. Recognising the lack of teachers in the language, Chesswas took the opportunity to publish a textbook for stations where no teachers of the language were available. Chesswas cites Sir Apolo Kagwa's Engero z’Abaganda and Michael B. Nsimbi's Olulimi Olugand as his major sources, and acknowledges Nsimbi as his primary aid in developing the text.[9]

With Nsimbi, Chesswas went on to produce An explanation of the Standard Orthography of Luganda; first written for The Eagle Press in 1958,[10] and published as a book in 1963, with second, third and fourth (1985) editions.[11] [12]

Educational evaluation

Chesswas spent 19 years in the education service of Uganda, predominantly as Provincial Education Officer of Buganda, and then as Officer in Charge of the Educational Planning Unit within the Ministry of Education. He was subsequently appointed to UNESCO on the staff of the International Institute of Educational Planners, where, as a theorist in the field of educational evaluation, he authored a number of important books and articles, collaborating with other notable theorists such as Raymond Lyons, Jacques Hallak and John Vaizey.[13] [14]

List of works

Chesswas's works include:[15]

Notes and References

  1. https://books.google.com/books?id=OHouAAAAIAAJ&q=JD+Chesswas+1919 The Colonial Office List (1966), pg. 207
  2. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35061/supplement/667/data.pdf Supplement to the London Gazette, 3 February 1941
  3. https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/indexes_search.asp#Results GRO Index: CHESSWAS, JOHN DOUGLAS b. 1919, GRO Reference: DOR Q1/2009 in WILTSHIRE (7991B) Reg 1B006 Entry Number 501596686
  4. https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Wills?Surname=Chesswas&SurnameGrants=Chesswas&YearOfDeath=2009&YearOfDeathGrants=2009&IsGrantSearch=True&IsCalendarSearch=False#wills Probate: Chesswas, John Douglas, died 28 February 2009, Winchester
  5. [University of Cambridge]
  6. [University of Wisconsin–Madison]
  7. http://goto.glocalnet.net/eball/ngcncs.pdf Electronic Bibliography for African Languages and Linguistics, Jouni Filip Maho, 2007
  8. [Michigan State University]
  9. Chesswas, J. D. (1954); The Essentials of Luganda
  10. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1157530 Review of An Explanation of the Standard Orthography of Luganda
  11. [Michigan State University]
  12. Buganda.com: A Primer on Speaking and Writing Luganda
  13. Chesswas & Vaizey (1967), The Costing of Educational Plans
  14. Chesswas (1966), Educational Planning and Development in Uganda
  15. UNESCO: Documents and Publications: Chesswas, John

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