Before oil was determined, there was no formal education system in Qatar. Instead, some children in villages and towns memorized passages from the Quran and learned to read and write in a kuttab, an informal class taught in mosques or homes by literate men and women knowledgeable about Islam. Based on the custom of keeping women in a milieu shut off from the political, social, and economic opportunities afforded men, the development of education in Qatar focused mainly on the male population. From 1918 to 1938, for example, an Islamic school for adult males was run by Muhammad Abd al Aziz al Mana, an eminent scholar who had studied under Muhammad Abduh of Egypt and Al Alusi of Baghdad. According to a 1970 study, only 9 % of the population born between 1895 and 1910 were literate, as were 15 % of those born between 1910 and 1920 and 14 % of those born between 1920 and 1930.

The first institutions of higher education in Qatar were separate teacher-training colleges for men and women that opened in 1973. Before that, those wishing to pursue higher degrees either studied abroad (mainly in Egypt and Lebanon) or took correspondence courses. A decree establishing the University of Qatar was passed, and in 1977 faculties of humanities, social studies, Islamic studies, and science joined the education faculty of the teacher-training colleges. In the 1985-86 academic year, about 1,000 Qataris received government scholarships to pursue higher education abroad, mostly in other Arab countries and in the United States, Britain, and France.