Demise of British empire not white man's ascendancy

The history of the demise of the British empire is well documented, but the ability of the white Englishman to maintain his hold on the education and cultural growth of his ex-colonial subjects has no place in the history books. The genius of the white man is that he saw the advantages of the Catholic Church's method of evangelizing by setting up missionary schools whose students eventually entered the fold of the church.
The British colonial rulers laid down the rules for graduating by making the Cambridge university responsible for granting the school leaving certificates that opened the doors to a university education in Britain. Although they had relinquished their political clout, they still held a decisive role over the minds and future of the young. It was only in the sixties that West African ex-colonies began to throw off the educational yoke by creating the West African examinations council.
The same method prevailed when the colonies began to create their own universities. They could not grant degrees except through academic ties to a British university. Even the appointment of staff was done through a inter-university office in London.
So, when I decided to try to find an academic appointment the dice was loaded against me.
I will never forget my first interview in this office in London. The most voluble interviewer seemede to think that reading the Peloponnesian wars of Thucydides was more important than my expertise in Greek tragedy. Of course, his object was to give the appointment to one of his white young students. Today, I would know how to answer him, but then I was just a green young man.