Maktab (education)

Maktab (in Arabic alphabet مكتب) is used primarily in Dari Persian in Afghanistan as an equivalent term to school, including both primary and secondary schools. Kuttab in Afghanistan refers to only elementary schools.

The famous Persian Islamic philosopher and teacher, Ibn Sina (known as Avicenna in the West) used the word maktab in the same sense. In the 11th century, in one of his books, he 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 from private tutors, 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 discussions and debates. Ibn Sina described the curriculum of a maktab school in some detail, describing the curricula for two stages of education in a maktab school.[1] Ibn Sina (Avicenna) 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.

The word maktab derives from the Arabic verb Kataba (in Arabic كتب meaning to write). Maktab in the Arab World is more a reference to an administrative office or a business office, or an office in a house or apartment primarily used for writing, library or part time work from home. It may also mean a specialized adminstration: eg. maktab istisharat (consultancy firm), maktab handasa (architectural office), maktab maalumat (information office) etc.