Introduction History of Education

Education was not considered necessary for anyone outside these religious and political elite classes. In some societies, there is evidence of education for the common people. However, this education was not truly aimed at acquiring knowledge. Rather, it was intended to meet practical societal needs. Its purpose was to ensure that people understood social traditions, so they could remain loyal to the established order and prevent societal disorder. It was primarily focused on teaching the masses how to live under the authority of the upper classes (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. 6, pp. 319-320). The third era begins after this, which can truly be considered the era of learning and teaching in the real sense. This era primarily started after the Islamic revolution. The essential condition required for the beginning of this new era was the elimination of discrimination between human beings, and this became possible only after the advent of Islam. Before Islam, humanity was divided into two classes: the upper class (elite) and the lower class (inferior), or the superior race and the inferior race. For instance, in China, the emperor was called the Son of Heaven. In India, it was believed that certain people belonged to the higher caste, born from the head of Brahma, while others were progressively considered inferior based on being born from his lower body parts. Similar divisions existed in other nations and regions. It was Islam that first abolished this division and discrimination among human beings. This fact is widely