Mekteb-i Aşiret-i Humayun

Picture of the Imperial Tribal School from 1892 or 1893

Mekteb-i Aşiret-i Humayun (Imperial Tribal School) was an Istanbul school founded in 1892 by Abdulhamid II to promote the integration of tribes into the Ottoman empire through education.^[1]

The curriculum was heavily biased towards the teaching of religion,^[2] and it also had a strong emphasis on students learning the Turkish language.^[1]

After graduation, students were expected to continue education at Mekteb-i Sultani (Imperial High School) and then at Mekteb-i Mulkiye (School of Civil Administration), in order to be able to serve the empire in their native region.^[1]

Initially only the sons of the Arab sheikhs and notables were permitted to enroll, however later Kurds were permitted to enrol, and after petitioning by Albanian notables, in 1902 an imperial decree resulted in the enrollment of twenty students from the Albanian cities of Debree, Elbasan, and Yanya.^[1]

The school was closed in 1907.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} George Walter Gawrych (2006). The Crescent and the Eagle: Ottoman Rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874-1913. I.B.Tauris. p. p.95. ISBN 1845112873. 
2. ^ Joel S. Migdal (2004). Boundaries and Belonging: States and Societies in the Struggle to Shape Identities and Local Practices. Cambridge University Press. p. p.46. ISBN 0521835666.