13 pages elucidation of the position of Islam on education by the Governor of CBN - Mallam Lamido Sanusi
Enjoy!

http://www.cenbank.org/out/2013/Speeches/Islam%20and%20the%20Culture%20of%20Education.pdf

Some quotes

The first revelation to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace commanded him thus: "Read in the Name of your Lord Who created" [Qur'an, Al 'Alaq: 1].

Allah says in the Qur'an: "Say are they equal: those who know and those who do not know?" [Al Zumar:9].

Knowledge is also regarded as the legacy bequeathed by all the Prophets of Allah, peace be upon them, as the Prophet was reported to be saying: "scholars are the heirs of the Prophets. The Prophets did not bequeath a heritage of gold and silver. They bequeathed a heritage of knowledge. Whoever acquires it, he has indeed taken a full portion (from the
Prophetic legacy)

Abu Ubaid reported in his famous book Kitaab al Amwaal
that after the battle of Badr which took place during the second year after Hijrah, the captives who fell in the hands of the Muslims were asked to teach writing to the children of the Ansar, the Madinan Muslims, as their ransom for freedom

The scholar class was not a closed group. There was an educational mobility that allowed free flow into the class irrespective of gender, age or social status. The wives of the Prophet, peace be on him, went down in history among famous scholars of the first generation. In subsequent times, books on the biographies of scholars always contained a section on women scholars.

Freed slaves became famous scholars especially in the second generation giving them a position of esteem and respect.
One of such freed slaves was ‘Ata bin Abi Rabah. He was a former black slave and became one of the most famous scholars of Makkah and the Hijaz during the second generation. When he visited the Ummayyad Khalif Abdul Malik bin Marwan during the Hajj season, the Khalif stood up to receive him and sat him down with himself on his elevated seat and asked him to present his request.

All cities in the history of the Muslim community boasted of schools. Baghdad that served as the capital of the Caliphate for the longest period in the history of Islam established two famous schools that were to grow into global universities. These were the 11th century Nizamiyah College established by the vizier Nizam al Mulk, and the 13th century Mustansiriyyah College which used to offer free tuition, medical care and room and board

Scott in his History of the Moorish Empire in Europe recounts the situation of schools in Muslim Spain where he says: “There existed knowledge and learning everywhere except in Catholic Europe. At a time when even kings could not read or write, a Moorish king had a private library of six hundred thousand books... the Moorish city of Cordoba had eight hundred public schools, and there was not a village with the limits of the empire where the blessings of education could not be enjoyed by the children of the most indigent peasant... and it was difficult to encounter even a Moorish peasant who could not read and write”.

Based on these translations, scholars in the Islamic world especially Baghdad developed scientific knowledge and took it to greater heights. They made important advances in mathematics, physics, alchemy, astronomy and medicine. Al Khawarizmi of Uzbekistan was among the scholars that stayed in the House of Hikmah. He developed the method of algorithms century used in mathematical calculations in the 9th. Ibn al Haytham (known in the West as Alhazen
d. 1087) wrote a book on optics that was regarded as a great stepping stone in the history of the scientific method and in the history of optics.

Education is the second biggest recipient of waqf revenues after the mosques in Islamic history. The practice was so wide spread that it was estimated that one third of land in Turkey is awqaf. (Monzer Kahf, Waqf and Sustaining Economic Development. See also an inventory of Ottoman Turkish Documents on Waqf property in:
http://www.imir-bg.org/imir/books/Inventory_Waqf_(orig)1.pdf)

The degeneration that beset the Islamic civilization especially in the field of education in modern times is attributable to Muslims as individuals and nations. It has nothing to do with the world-view of Islam, as Islam is by its nature and influence a religion that promotes the culture of education

Yep, muslims share the blame. Misplaced priorities. How can it be said that we don't study the ayat around us, when that is a command in the ayat of the book? Most do not even know the book and are not interested. We are supposed to be deep thinkers, the Quran requires it of us. The Quran praises the knowledge given to man, such that the angels didn't even know.

So why are we disconnected from the book? The one that tells us to explore the world. Quran education should be basic education for everychild, it shapes the way you think. It is my conviction that if we had a clue about this book, we will be a changed nation.

Allah talks about the children of Israel:

Some of them are uneducated, and know the Scripture only through wishful thinking. They rely on guesswork (Surah 2:78)

Ibn Abbas described this as jews who memorised parts of the book but have no idea what it says.

Who does this describe today?

They say that failing nations always talk about their glorious past.

May Allah restore knowledge to the ummah

tbaba1234: Yep, muslims share the blame. Misplaced priorities. How can it be said that we don't study the ayat around us, when that is a command in the ayat of the book? Most do not even know the book and are not interested. We are supposed to be deep thinkers, the Quran requires it of us. The Quran praises the knowledge given to man, such that the angels didn't even know.

So why are we disconnected from the book? The one that tells us to explore the world. Quran education should be basic education for everychild, it shapes the way you think. It is my conviction that if we had a clue about this book, we will be a changed nation.

Allah talks about the children of Israel:

Some of them are uneducated, and know the Scripture only through wishful thinking. They rely on guesswork (Surah 2:78)

Ibn Abbas described this as jews who memorised parts of the book but have no idea what it says.

Who does this describe today?

They say that failing nations always talk about their glorious past.

May Allah restore knowledge to the ummah

You are right sir.Many parents do spend huge amount of money on western education,but only to force their children to modrasat.Even youths are absorbed with mundane things,give only little or no time to knowledge about the Quran and hadiths.May Allah helps us all.....Peace