EDUCATION IN DIFFERENT PERRIOD AND SOCITIES

Mesopotamia

Education in
Ancient Egypt

Education in
Ancient Persia

China

Education in
Ancient Greece

Education in
Rome

Education in the
Middle Ages

Even within recorded history, few children attended schools of any kind. Information on ancient times is sketchy. With
the agricultural revolution witting developed as systems were needed to manage the expanding harvests and other
production. As a result, children had to be taught to read and write, basic numeracy, and other skills. This process
began first in Mesopotamia. Parents who could afford it, sent their children there and paid a monthly fee. Most
parents coild not afford to do so and thus the great mass of children began work at an early age rather than attend
school.
Most children in Egypt did not go to school. Instead boys learned farming or other trades from their fathers. Girls
learned sewing, cooking and other skills from their mothers. Boys from wealthy families sometimes learned to be
scribes. They learned by copying and memorizing and discipline was strict. Teachers beat naughty boys. The boys
learned reading and writing and also mathematics . There is evidence that some women in Egypt could read and
write.
The boys in ancient Persia were the most benefited through education. The education in ancient Persia decreed the
boys. At the age of five their formal education began and they would be allowed to read and write and at the same
time be taught weaponry. At the age of seventeen they were inevitably marshaled off to war or the army to become
battle hardy. The education in ancient Persia was a well oiled machine but the flaw that remained was that girls were
a little neglected. Although some women have been known to have reached statesman level importance, but overall
there had been serious lacking in the education of women in ancient Persia.
Most boys in ancient China as in the West never attended school, but worked in the fields like their fathers. Boys from
affluent, but not necessarily rich families might attend a school. Schools were mostly in cities, but towns and even
larger villages might have a school of some sort. Schools varied, but boys commonly began to study about age 6
years. Primary schools were generally small, often set up in temples. Attendance was daily without weekend breaks.
The school day was long, commonly from early in the morning (about 6:00 am) to the afternoon (about 4:00 pm).
Boys in Buddhist monasteries also learned to read and write, that Buddhist people were starting. Here children also
learned how to read and write, but there were no lessons in painting or poetry. The focus on Confucian philosophy
was replaced with Buddhist theology
In ancient Greece girls learned skills like weaving from their mothers. Many girls also learned to read and write at
home. Boys were also taught at home when they were very young but they started school at the age of six. Boys
from a rich family were escorted to school by a slave. The boys learned reading, writing and arithmetic as well as
poetry and music. The Greeks also believed that physical education was very important so boys did dancing and
athletics. Discipline was severe in Ancient Greek schools and children were often beaten.
In rich Roman families children were educated at home by a tutor. Other boys and girls went to a primary school
called a ludus at the age of 7 to learn to read and write and do simple arithmetic. Boys went to secondary school
where they would learn geometry, history, literature and oratory (the art of public speaking). Teachers were often
Greek slaves. The teachers were very strict and they frequently beat the pupils. Children wrote on wax tablets with a
pointed bone stylus. (Adults wrote on a form of paper called papyrus, which was made from the papyrus plant)
In the Middle Ages many people were illiterate but not all. Upper class children were educated. Among the Medieval
poor the better-educated priests might teach some children to read and write - a little. In many towns there were
grammar schools where middle class boys were educated. (They got their name because they taught Latin
grammar). Boys worked long hours in the grammar schools and discipline was severe. Boys were beaten with rods or
birch twigs.

Europe

Ancient India
Hindu and
Buddhist
Influences

Importance of
Education and
Knowledge in
Ancient India

Dharma and
Karma
Esteemed Role of
Teacher (Guru)

Education as a
Right and Duty in
Islam

Islamic Influences
Madressa System

Other Forms of
Education

Imperialist
Approach

Western
Worldviews and
Influences

The medieval period in Europe was a time of ignorance, superstition and violence, but also one of great change,
when many of the foundations of the modern world were laid down. With all its contradictions, it is one of the most
fascinating periods of world history
There is anthropological evidence that advanced thinking and education has been part of Indian civilization for at
least 5000 years, if not longer. At Harrapa and Mohenjodaro (part of Sindh, currently in Pakistan), ruins date back to
3300 B.C., and indicate advanced tools, arts, streets, and sewage systems.
Hindu influences were predominant in India, education encouraged philosophical, spiritual, and secular learning and
intellectual development.
Hindu influences were predominant in India, education encouraged philosophical, spiritual, and secular learning and
intellectual development.
Dharma is important for societal stability and harmony a persons dharma is their roles and responsibilities towards
their family, their community, society. Karma is the idea that individuals make decisions and actions, and there are
consequences to those decisions and actions.
he teacher was responsible to guide the students intellectual development. Education was intended to enlighten
students: the teacher was known as a guru one who removes darkness (gu = darkness; ru = removal). In this
way, parents were responsible for a childs birth, but the teacher was responsible for the childs intellectual and
spiritual development.
In Islam, education is considered to be a universal right. Islamic monarchs such as Raziya Sultana, and Mughal
emperors such as Humayun, Akbar, and Jehangir, encouraged the establishment of many village schools,
colleges/universities, and libraries. Many Islamic rulers encouraged healthy dialogue and interaction between Hindu
and Islamic culturesIn fact, in Islam, education is not just considered to be a right, but a religious duty, across gender,
age, and social class (Ali & Farah, 2007). Prophet Muhammad has been cited as saying, Seek knowledge from the
cradle to the grave. Even today in Pakistan, parents and teachers alike generally place great emphasis on children
receiving at least basic education.
Under Islamic influences, the Madressa system was established in India (Ali & Farah, 2007). Islamic rulers provided
support in the form of land and endowments. The Madressa system was initially centered around the mosque, while
teaching both religious and worldly knowledge. As educational activities grew, separate spaces were established to
accommodate primary education, secondary and post-secondary education, and libraries. In addition, private
educational activities occurred in the homes of students and in the homes of scholars. Originally Islamic education
integrated both religious and worldly knowledge.
Another form of education in Islam falls under the Sufi practice. Sufis devote their lives in search of the truth, guided
by a deep love for the Creator. In the Sufi tradition, disciples grow attached to and learn deeply from their Sufi
teacher (Ali & Farah, 2007).
Alongside Islamic education systems, secular (government, non-government, and private) systems continued and
continue today to serve students. In addition, other approaches to learning, such as apprenticeship and private home
schooling, also educate children.
The British aimed to colonize not just the land but also the minds of the Indian population. Towards this end, the
British administration took on the task of converting the traditional, Oriental system of education into a modern,
Western one
In contrast to Eastern worldviews, Western worldviews tended to separate morality and philosophy from religion
(Gupta, 2007).
The objective of the British education system was to impress European attitudes upon Indian children, and prepare
them to work at lower and middle level positions in the colonial administration (Gupta, 2007).

British Influences
Stratification
through Education

Devalued Role of
Teachers

A Separate Nation

Partition of India

Education Policy
Education in
Present-Day
Pakistan

Education System

Teaching and
Learning

The education system established by the British administration, in its aim to create a class of people able to serve in
government positions, did not reach the masses and for the most part, ignored primary and tertiary levels of
education (Ali & Farah, 2007).
Different types of schools served different purposes under British rule (Ali & Farah, 2007).
Elite schools for British students and children from elite Indian families and Schools in urban areas for the general
public
This distinction remains in present-day Pakistan, where private elite schools teach in English and use the British
curriculum, while government schools for the masses generally teach in Urdu or local languages and use the national
Pakistani curriculum.
the British administrations management of education adversely impacted the role and status of teachers
particularly at public schools (Gupta, 2007). Public school teachers continue to be paid minimally, are at the lowest
ranks of government hierarchy. All of this contributed a devaluing of the role of the teacher the effects of which
remain in present-day India and Pakistan.
Over the centuries, India including present-day Pakistan has been shaped by a range of Hindu/Vedic, Buddhist,
Islamic, and British social, cultural, and political influences. In the 1900s, Pakistan split from India to form its own
nation, leading it to create its own identity and narrative, shaped by events as well as by ideologies and politics
The federal Ministry of Education in Pakistan is responsible for overall policy-making, advisory, and coordinating.
Provincial departments of education are responsible for provincial policy making, implementation of both federal and
provincial policies, and disbursement of budget. Government schools are managed at the district level, with
Executive District Officers of Education (EDOE) responsible for planning, budgets, and management of schools.
District Officers of Education (DOE) handle different portfolios such as primary education and teacher training.
Assistant District Officers (ADOs) and their teams are responsible for managing education at a more local level
including inspection and supervision.
National education policy in Pakistan tends to be influenced by both local priorities and the influences of international
donors and international development agencies
In Pakistan today, formal education is partitioned into four levels: primary schools from Grades 1 to 5, middle schools
from Grades 6 to 8, high schools for Grades 9 and 10, and college for two years to reach Intermediate level. After
Intermediate, students can do two or three more years in college to get a Bachelors degree or go on to professional
colleges. Bachelors degrees can be followed by Masters degrees and then PhD degrees.
Government schools:
Private schools:
Community-based schools:
Madressas:
As alluded to throughout this series of posts, the educational content and teaching methods currently used at schools
in Pakistan are shaped by interactions between various historical influences, as well as by current local and global
influences.

Reference:
1. http://sadafshallwani.net/2014/03/17/education-in-pakistan-part1/.
2. http://www.localhistories.org/education.html.
3. http://histclo.com/act/sch/chron/fasc-anc.html.

4.

http://www.timemaps.com/civilization/Medieval-Europe .