Publication: Education and Koranic Literacy in West Africa
Date
1999-08
ISSN
Published
1999-08
Author(s)
Easton, Peter
Abstract
The note examines the practical, and
literate skills that students acquire at different levels in
West African Koranic schools. It is a long-standing parallel
system of education, yet, relatively unknown to development
planers, thus seldom taken into explicit account in their
policies, and strategies. Islamic educational systems have
been present since the seventh century, and by the tenth
century, communities of Muslim merchants, and scholars were
established in many commercial centers region wide. The
system of Islamic learning across West Africa is
several-tiered, though less rigidly structured than its
Western counterpart. Nonetheless, and despite a uniformity
tendency toward underlying religious culture, and basic
orientation, the nature and quality of instruction in
Koranic schools, and the Islamic system as a whole, vary
tremendously from region to region. Given that understanding
of Arabic - modern or classic - beyond the Koranic texts is
rare, the highest levels of practical literacy are most
frequently found in areas where there is a developed system
for transcribing African language with Arabic characters.
The note concludes that basic Islamic instruction has
dimensions of practical application, i.e., it constitutes an
introduction to the technology of writing, and to a lesser
extent, to numeracy; it is a training, as well as local
leadership; and, has always been an avenue for social, and
economic advancement.
Citation
“Easton, Peter. 1999. Education and Koranic Literacy in West Africa. Indigenous Knowledge (IK) Notes; No. 11. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/e4906c1b-2300-5514-adf8-38e892da2a52 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”