This led to a kind of “elementary Syrian patent,” obtainable, however, by passing an examination before a commission appointed by the Ministry of Public Education. Vocational instruction acquired particular importance in the agricultural school, which was necessitated by the country’s essentially agricultural nature and was organized into three levels: the first concerned peasants, to whom, in addition to history and arithmetic, practical instruction was also given in rational methods of cultivation; the second trained future technicians for agricultural and mechanical stations; the third, or higher level, was for future leaders of agricultural activities.
For higher education, there was the University of Damascus, founded in 1920 with the revival of the medical school already established by the Turkish government but elevated to faculty status. Alongside medicine, which included schools of dentistry and midwifery, the Faculty of Law was added. In addition to the University of Damascus, mention must also be made of the Higher School of Arabic, established by the French government to encourage and perfect the study of the Arabic language and ensure its preservation; the Institute of Journalism and the Art Institute, both in Damascus, which awarded diplomas for careers in journalism and music, respectively.
Numerous private institutes, colleges, and lyceums, run by religious orders, contributed greatly to education; Beirut (v.), with its college, founded in 1883 and directed by the Jesuits, which included faculties of medicine and pharmacy, law, engineering, theology, and philosophy. Also noteworthy is the Islamic-Shiʿite College, established in 1940 by the former King of Egypt, Fârûq, to train religious personnel—such as judges of the shariʿa courts, preachers, and religious instructors in schools—and to provide access to higher religious institutes in Egypt, particularly the University of al-Azhar. — See pl. XLVII.