A kuttab ( kuttāb, plural: kataatiib, كَتاتِيبُ[ The kuttāb represents an old-fashioned method of education in Muslim majority countries, in which a sheikh teaches a group of students who sit in front of him on the ground. Until the 20th century, when modern schools developed, kuttabs were the prevalent means of mass education in much of the Muslim world.
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Name
Kuttab refers to only elementary schools in Arabic. This institution can also be called a maktab (مَكْتَب) or maktaba (مَكْتَبَة) in Arabic—with many transliterations. In common Modern Standard Arabic usage, maktab means "office" while maktabah means "library" or "(place of) study" and kuttāb is a plural word meaning "Books".
In Morocco, this institution can be referred to as a m'siid (مْسِيد). In Persian language, it is a or Maktabkhaneh مکتبخانه. In Turkish language the institution is called a mektep. Maktab is used in Dari language in Afghanistan as an equivalent term to school, including both Primary school and . In Bosnian language, it is called a mejtef or mekteb.
History
In the medieval Islamic world, an elementary school was known as a maktab, which dates back to at least the tenth century. Like (which referred to higher education), a maktab was often attached to a mosque.[ In the 16th century, the jurist Ibn Hajar al-Haytami discussed maktab schools.]
In the 11th century, the famous Persian Islamic philosopher and teacher, Avicenna (known as Avicenna in the West), in one of his books, wrote a chapter dealing with the maktab entitled "The Role of the Teacher in the Training and Upbringing of Children", as a guide to teachers working at maktab schools. He wrote that children can learn better if taught in classes instead of individual Tuition payments from private , and he gave a number of reasons for why this is the case, citing the value of competition and emulation among pupils as well as the usefulness of group and . Ibn Sina described the curriculum of a maktab school in some detail, describing the curricula for two stages of education in a maktab school.
Primary education
Ibn Sina wrote that children should be sent to a maktab school from the age of 6 and be taught primary education until they reach the age of 14. During which time, he wrote that they should be taught the Qur'an, Islamic metaphysics, Arabic language, literature, Islamic ethics, and manual skills (which could refer to a variety of practical skills).
Secondary education
Ibn Sina refers to the secondary education stage of maktab schooling as the period of specialization, when pupils should begin to acquire manual skills, regardless of their social status. He writes that children after the age of 14 should be given a choice to choose and specialize in subjects they have an interest in, whether it was reading, manual skills, literature, preaching, Islamic medicine, geometry, trade and commerce, craftsmanship, or any other subject or profession they would be interested in pursuing for a future career. He wrote that this was a transitional stage and that there needs to be flexibility regarding the age in which pupils graduate, as the student's emotional development and chosen subjects need to be taken into account.
Literacy
In medieval times, the Caliphate experienced a growth in literacy, having the highest literacy rate of the Middle Ages, comparable to classical Athens' literacy in antiquity.
Architecture
In many regions of the Islamic world, kuttabs were historically built as part of religious and charitable complexes sponsored by rulers or local elites. In Egypt – especially Cairo – kuttabs were often paired with sabils (kiosks dispensing water to the public). They usually consisted of a room built above the sabil. These "sabil-kuttabs" were a common feature of the architectural complexes in Mamluk architecture and subsequent Ottoman Egyptian architecture.
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Maktab Encyclopædia Britannica
