XIX. and XX. Centuries Ottoman State Education Policy for the Muslim Subjects II

Countries’ economic, social and political power is directly proportional to their level of education. in other words development of a country depends on the level of education of people living in that country. when analyzed, we see that ottoman education policy, which started right and gave power to ottomans in every areas was fall into disuse in 16th century and this caused the process of stagnation and decline in general. during this stagnation and decline period ottomans did not treat people living in ottoman land equally. during seljuks’ rule eastern regions were more advanced and prosperous compared to western regions, but this situation was reversed under ottoman rule. after 17th century the majority of ottoman service and investment were spent western cities such as istanbul, bursa, edirne and manisa. we see the same situation exist for educational institutions. after 19th century most of the primary, middle, and high level educational institutions were brought into service in western cities. in this situation non-muslim ottoman citizens and foreigners living in ottoman state tried to educate their children with their own efforts and means. with the support they got from other countries and organizations they managed to establish more educational institution and offer better education than muslims. the sources and statistics in this subject show the ottoman state’s negligence on the subject during 19th and 20th centuries.