What was education like in ancient Egypt? Was it available to the public, or was it just for the upper classes? Where there any pharaoh's in particular, who tried to establish or improve on education?
The ancient Egyptians used two writing systems, hieroglyphics for religious literature and hieratic for everything else (administration, governmental edicts, mathematics, etc.). We know that schools attached to important temples and government departments definitely existed, and were presumably staffed by priests and scribes. Boys of elite families would be sent to school to learn hieratic along with other subjects such as arithmetic. Those who trained as scribes or priests would additionally be taught hieroglyphics. I cannot comment on your third question unfortunately. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable on the subject will chime in.
Source: Warren R. Dawson, Education in Ancient Egypt, Science Progress in the Twentieth Century (1919-1933), Vol. 20, No. 77 (JULY 1925), pp. 109-119