Database: Education System
Education at a rudimentary level was accessible to most boys and girls in Abbasid cities. While elite members of society would be taught by private tutors at home, less fortunate children of 6 to 9 years of age would attend the kuttab (place of writing), a school usually located in a mosque. It was run by a male teacher whose wage was paid directly by the parents, or subsidized by pious endowments in the case of destitute or orphaned children. His job was to teach the children to read and write by copying verses of the Quran on any surface he could find (paper, clay tablets, even sand). Some elements of arithmetic and basic religious duties such as the rules of ablutions and prayer were also taught. But the most valued achievement of any kuttab student was to memorize and recite the 6,348 verses of the Quran, a feat that would merit the child an award and even an honorific procession through the city!
Most children did not pursue their studies after elementary school. But adult classes existed and could be attended by anyone willing to listen. They involved lectures on subjects like Quranic exegesis, law, theology, logic or medicine. To become a master, a student had to participate in classes until he was deemed knowledgeable enough and given an ijazah, a sort of diploma. These adult classes could take place in any large public space, especially in mosque courtyards. In the 11th century, the system developed further and became centered on the madrasas, schools for adults funded by endowments provided by patrons.
Some academic debate exists as to whether girls could attend public classes. Sharing class with boys and travelling to the kuttab could lead to "evils", such as harassment, aggression or simple conversation. It could also prevent girls from learning the domestic skills they were expected to acquire. The idea that they should be taught at home was therefore quite popular, even if exceptions did exist. Daughters of rich and scholarly families, for instance, would benefit from a thorough home education, and hundreds of women scholars' names are known. But this figure is dwarfed by the number of male scholars of the period.