Abstract:

In the Ottoman Empire, in addition to general madrassa (Quranic Schools), some madrassas were specialized in the words of Prophet Muhammet, medicine, ritual poems, and quranic readings. There was also a traditional system to educate students for the posts of Public administrators and vocations in army. Palace School (Enderun Mektebi) was the center of this system. After 17th and 18th centuries, these traditional systems did not meet the need of the Ottoman Empire, any more. Loosing battles and soils indicated that it had to be made some necessary modernization in the army. For that reason, some foreign specialists were called to the Ottoman Empire to make some reforms in the army. In the results, some western style army schools were opened. Additionally, Ottoman students were sent to France to study in different areas such as science, technical areas and social sciences. Also, there were some efforts to open some technical and vocational schools in the western meaning. In 1842, a German specialist came to the Ottoman Empire to open Military Veterinary School and the first agriculture school focusing on practical agriculture techniques was opened in 1847. After the first attempt to open the industrial school, to prepare technicians and specialists, a school called “Islahhane(the House of Correction)” was opened by Mithat Pasha. When he was governors of Niş and Tuna Provinces in 1861 and 1864, Mithat Pasha made some important executive activities preventing western countries’ non-natural interferences to the Ottoman Empire in the area of local governments, socio-economical, educational and cultural life without making any discrimination between religions and races of the Ottoman Citizens in the European Part of the Ottoman Empire. Opening Islahhane “The House of Corrections” was a sign of Mithat Pasha’s socio-economic and cultural policies determining the idea of Ottomanism.

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