What we can learn from world’s oldest varsity

The University of Cambridge. [Courtesy]

In times of uncertainty, looking into the past can help us shape the future. Today, as leaders, doctors and policymakers work to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world is facing what seems like an uncertain future.

However, we not only have the tools to survive this, we also have a rich history, one which revolves around the quest for education, to guide us. That history is centred on the world’s longest continuously operating university. It teaches us how we can find validation by gathering together to create a common vision.

What comes to mind when we think of old universities? Cambridge (founded in 1209), Oxford (founded in 1096), the University of Bologna (founded in 1088)? Often overlooked, one of the oldest universities that is still in operation today is Al-Qarawiyyin (also written as Al-Karaouine or Al-Quaraouiyine), a university in Fez, Morocco founded by a woman – Fatima Al-Fihriya in 859 CE.

Fatima Al-Fihriya founded the al-Qarawiyyin mosque and the educational centre attached to it. It started as a modest madrasa and later became a renowned centre of learning and awarded degrees. In 1963, it officially became the University of Al-Qarawiyyin (a formality).

In order for learning to continue uninterrupted in the foreseeable future, stakeholders must come together and re-think how education is delivered.

In many countries, politics tends to intrude on decisions that would otherwise benefit the field of education. Fatima Al-Fihriya faced similar struggles in her time. In fact, her family was not actually from Fez. They were migrants from a city called Qarawiyyin in Tunisia.

“There was a great deal of unrest in North Africa back then in the 10th century with the riots of the Fatmid Empire,” explains Prof Eamonn Gearon, a professorial lecturer in African Studies at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.

A recent World Bank report dubbed “Realising the Future of Learning” agrees that following the Covid-19 pandemic, society’s approach to education must be re-evaluated.

It brings up the idea of academic reforms by focusing on learners, teachers, learning resources, schools and system management.

In a similar manner, Fatima’s school faced structural and logistical hurdles. Though in 859, it wasn’t uncommon for wealthy women to set up mosques or schools in the local village, Fatima did not have all the academic materials needed to make her school fully operational. To address this issue, she had academics gather texts and manuscripts from far and wide on secular subjects such as mathematics, astronomy, physics, poetry, music and literature.

Historical records indicate that when it came to setting up her university, Fatima Al-Fihriya was involved at the grassroots level. She managed all the details of the madrasa’s construction, fasting for two years until the project was complete.

Like Fatima Al-Fihriya and her family, who made it their mission to thrive in a time of crisis, we should look at the Covid-19 pandemic not just as a disaster, but as an opportunity to reset; a chance to re-evaluate the future of education.

Fatima Al-Fihriya’s school, for instance, was the centre of the community, and it was linked to the mosque, a place of worship where people would gather.

In similar fashion, Minister for Education George Magoha fronted the idea for community schools during the school shutdown.

The initiative especially targeted those learners who are unable to benefit from remote learning through radio, television and online programmes offered by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.

We can shape what education will look like post Covid-19. The first step in making this possible is for stakeholders to come together to create a vision and how it can be implemented.

Fatima Al-Fihriya and her sister Mariam were fortunate to have their passion for knowledge supported and encouraged by their family. In fact, Mariam also set up a separate learning institution in Fez.

Fatima’s Al-Qarawiyyin University appealed to some of the most brilliant minds of the Islamic world, attracting scholars from as far as Baghdad. Abdel Rahman Badawi, an Egyptian professor, lists Pope Sylvester II among this university’s notable alumni.

Today, her collected manuscripts have been restored, scanned, digitised and catalogued for the sake of future generations.

Fatima managed to thrive in a time of conflict. If civil unrest, war and uncertainty cannot shake the pillars of education in Al-Qarawiyyin, then why should Covid threaten education here?

Our biggest lesson from Fatima’s university is that we must make stability of the education system one of the fundamental cornerstones.

Mr Ali works for MwalimuPLUS, an EdTech startup. @loxodonta_ahmed