Historical development and the present state of education in
Egypt
Until the nineteenth century education in Egypt was in the hands of the
religious institutions. The Muslim sheikhs had their Quran schools (kuttab,
plural katatib), in which children mainly memorized the Muslim holy book.
By writing the different verses on little boards they learnt the classical Arabic
language. The Coptic Church had its own schools in which, besides religion,
the children were also taught mathematics, so that the Copts who had at-
tended such schools were often employed in the public administration of the
country because of their particular skills in bookkeeping. Al-Azhar Mosque,
founded in the tenth century by the Fatimids, was, with its university, for cen-
turies the most important institution of higher education not only in Egypt,
but also in the whole Arab world. In the nineteenth century Mohammed Ali
introduced a modern European-style educational system, which was later ex-
tended by Ismail. During the British colonial period this system was further
developed. However, the British were primarily interested in the education of
a local class able to work in their administration of the country.