In the past it was very common for parents to choose to send their children to Koranic school instead of sending them to public school. In addition to the appeal of the religion the Koranic schools typically cost little or nothing whereas at the very least parents had to dress their children according to the school dress code in order to attend public school. Many parents could not and still cannot afford this expense. The disadvantage to Koranic school was that the children would not learn the official language of the country be it English in Nigeria or French in any of the countries of francophone Africa. They would learn to read and write enough Arabic to study the Koran but usually not enough to converse in it. And few people spoke or speak Arabic outside of a religious context. Now more and more people are doing whatever it takes to send as many of their children as possible to public school. They may also attend Koranic school but this is extracurricular. These wooden boards are what the children use to practice reading and writing their lessons in the Koran which is always in Arabic. Our website features beautiful examples of the genre. This one measures 13" wide x 23" tall. Look below to see a photo of a religious man writing on one.

photo # 316.1