Page 161 - Records of Bahrain (5) (ii)_Neat

The progress of state education, J939-1941 483

r,

The second cause of iucllicicncy is Promuturo Leaving.
I’.oys uro quitting tho schools beforo fchoir education bus bcc.i completed,
iin(] (ho lure is usually ft well-paid post with tbo Oil Company. For Ibis
;4;i(o of affairs neither tbo Government nor tbo schools arc to blame : tbo
fault, if any, is with the short-sighted policy of those parouts who allow thoir
children to leave—but this brings us bade again to tbo quostion of poverty,
which is only too often tbo cuuso of short-sightedness in oducation.

The remedy for promaturo leaving is threo-fold. First, wo must ask
the Oil Company, and other employers, to co-operato with us, and to rofuso
to lube into their servico any schoolboy who cannot produce a government
certificate to tbo elloct that his education is sulliciont.
(This arrangement has, in fact, already boon made with tbo Oil Com­
pany, who agreed that a higher stuudard of education amongst thoir recruits
would bn to tbo advantago of all, and who showed the utmost willingness
lo help towards tho improvement of education in Bahrain, by falling in with
the suggested certificate schomo. Tho various certificates of education which
it is proposed that the Government should issue to schoolboys are discussed
later in this Report.)

Next, wo must improve education (in various ways which aro fully
discussed later) to such an extont that in futuro a Bahrain boy of 15 will have
attained tho sumo oduoutional standard as ho would havo attained, undor
tho old system, at 17 or 18. If we cun do this, oarly loaving will ccaso to
bo prcuiaturo loaving.
Finally, we must educato both parents and children in tho iinportauco
of completion of schooling, whatovor may be tho inducements towards cutt­
ing it short. This education of parouts and ohildron should bo carried out
by tbo schoolmasters themselves.
I suggest that your Highness should approvo of tho schomo for Govern­
ment certificates of education which is described in detail lator in this
Iteport, and should order tho Inspector to urruugo for talks by tho
sehoohuuators to both parouts and children on tho iinportauco of completion
of education.