One verse of poetry, written on a blackboard, was sufficient for a young Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, a Supreme Council Member and the Ruler of Sharjah, to be promoted to the fifth grade, making him the youngest in his class. This significant event in Sheikh Sultan’s early education happened during the 1951-1952 academic year at the historic Al Qasimia School.
Al Qasimia School, now transformed into an educational museum in Sharjah, preserves this extraordinary story. Established in the early 1940s, it is the UAE’s first formal school, where Sheikh Sultan studied. The school offered Grades 1 through 5 and had a class for females.
In September 1951, young Sheikh Sultan entered the fourth grade. On an assessment day, headmaster Ahmed bin Muhammad Burhaima and English teacher Nasr Al Tai evaluated the students.
Young Sheikh Dr Sultan. Photo by Ruqayya AlQaydi
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Sheikh Sultan approached the blackboard and wrote an Arabic verse dictated by his teacher: “If a person does not stain his honor with pettiness, every garment he wears is beautiful.”
After the exam, Sheikh Sultan was promoted to Grade 5, becoming the youngest student in that class.
Sheikh Dr Sultan
A living museum of educational heritage
Today, visitors can explore Sharjah’s educational history and see how this school produced many distinguished students, many of whom later held senior administrative roles in the UAE government post-union in 1971.
Photo: Ruqayya AlQaydi
The school features exhibits about its establishment in the early 1940s, initially known as Al Qasimia Reform School. It was renamed in 1950-1951 to honor the Al Qasimi family.
Educational development in Sharjah from 1951 to 1956 included female education, expanding from Al Qasimia School with the support of books and curricula, along with educational workshops.
A school born from vision
The school, dating back to the early 1940s, was initially known as Al Eslah Al Qasimia. It was renamed Al Qasimia in 1950-1951, after the ruling family.
Facing financial difficulties, it temporarily closed but reopened in 1944 with support from Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi (ruled 1924-1951). It transformed from a private to a public institution, offering free education.
Al Qasimia School
Sheikh Sultan with other students in the classroom
From palm fronds to coral stone
In 1950-1951, Al Eslah Al Qasimia School moved from its palm frond structure to Ismail Al Buraimi’s coral stone building. Ismail, a known merchant, recorded births and sold traditional medicine in Sharjah.
Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi purchased the building to replace the leaking palm-frond school. It became a school with five classrooms and a library, with a palm frond screen for female student privacy.
Al Qasimia School. Photo: Ruqayya
Bridging traditional and modern education
Al Qasimia School, a semi-formal institution, included subjects like the Holy Qur’an, Hadith, reading, writing, grammar, calligraphy, math, geography, English basics, poetry, sports, and cultural activities.
These schools connected traditional and modern education by offering more subjects than traditional schools, which focused mainly on the Holy Qur’an and Islamic sciences.
The schools covered various educational stages, with qualified teachers who were scholars of Sharia and experienced instructors, enhancing education quality.
However, they lacked modern educational elements and relied on memorization.
