Compulsory Gridanian Education

[Enkidoh]

Well, I think in the Ul'dahn case at least, it's more just a case of Ul'dahn wealth-based bigotry then. The player is immediately identified as an adventurer when they first set foot in Ul'dah, not as a refugee (probably due to the weapon on their hip easily identifying them as such and their clothes not being tattered rags). Also it just seems a lot of refugees just have given up hope of ever rising themselves above their miserable circumstances and so do not attempt to do so, resulting in the social problems that go along with that.

Incidentally, refugees wanting to settle in Gridania are even more strictly dealt with - they're made to stay in an outlying community for a few days while the Hearers consult the elementals about whether they should be allowed or not. Naturally, the result is often not what they like (which explains also the large amount of bandits and poachers in the Shroud - they're often refugees who have been refused settlement in Gridania and have resorted to less legal means to survive).

After all, there are loads of books and literature in Eorzea! And judging by market wards, books seem to have some value (including history books, etc). And most people seem to be literate - ordinary citizens in Limsa reading signs, the pirates in Sastasha leaving clues on parchment, Gerolt reading books about weapon's history... Heck, the people we get challenge logs from even keep journals!

You can't tell me they're all just born with the innate ability to read - it has to be taught and learned somewhere! It may not be evidence of a school (homeschooling, for example), but it is certainly an important enough skill (if even average citizens display literacy) to warrant there would be several places of learning somewhere.

Whilst we do have a lot of lore, there is so much more room to flesh out our cities in a myriad of different ways, which gets me so excited thinking about the possibilities!

Well, as a start, the description for the Midlander Hyur clan on the FF Wiki (that was the original description for the Midlanders on the old Lodestone) mentions that language is taught to them from a very early age, so yes there definitely has to be some kind of education going on:

Trained in letters from infancy, the Midlanders are generally more educated than many of the other races and clans.

Whether this means home schooling or a more formal educational system is anyone's guess though, but it's possible the Guilds do have some part to play in that (especially the crafting and gathering Guilds would have especially useful traits for those seeking more 'mundane' employment).