Page 162 - Records of Bahrain (5) (ii)_Neat

484 Records of Bahrain

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The third cruso of meflicioncy is Overcrowded Classes.
The cliuSC6 in most of tho schools are far too largo. It is impossible
iidujunlcly to tench 40 bo} 6 in a singlo clu66—especially when those boys nro
very young. Yet some of tho classes regularly contain moro than twioo that
number. At Muharrnq School, for example, there aro actually 140 iufants
on tho register of tho lowest class, and betweon 80 and 00 of thorn aro
regular attendants. How can tho instruction of a class of this sizo bo
anything but a faroo ?
Tho chief causo of overcrowdiug in tho classos is to bo found in tho
largo numbers of Aiful, or iufants, attonding tho schools. These babies,
many of thorn too young to bo at school at all, and sout thero simply for tho
couvcuionco of their parents, usually tako up tho two lowost classos, aud tho
wliolo of tho rest of tho pupils havo thus to bo crammod into tho remaining
four—I am speaking now of tho threo larger schools, Manamah, Muharraq,
imdllcdd. In soiuo of tho village sohools tho conditions aro worso : at
Silra, for example, whoro tho school consists of a singlo room, thoro aro
ngaiu 140 numes on tho rogistor!

'f Later in this Roport, aud as a rornedy for a difloront ovil, I am rocom-
mending your Highness completely to romovo tho Atfal from tho schools
of Manamah, Muharraq, aud Hedd, and to houso thorn in ontircly soparato
Infants' Schools. If this is done, tho ovorcrowding of tho classes in three
of the schools (Manamah. Muharraq, and Hodd) will bo solved, for after
tho rouioval of tho infants, who now occupy tho two bottom classos at each
school, it will bopossiblo to distribute tho rest of tho boys ovor six olasses
instead of four. As to tho other four schools, I am recommending lator in
this Report that they bo onlargcd.