During the period of Ottoman rule in Serbia, from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century, there were only Turkish primary and secondary schools - madrassas. There were no schools for Serbian children and the literacy was spread by priests or in monasteries. Private schools existed only in the houses of rich, princely and trade families. It was enough for ordinary people to know how to use tally and calculate with fingers.

In liberated Serbia, it was only with the beginnings of economic development, trade and handicrafts, that  there appeared a need for education. In 1860, Zlatibor District had 22 inns and only one school, the same as in 1876 when the population was 4390.