Page 167 - Records of Bahrain (5) (ii)_Neat

The progress of state education, 1939-1941 489

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The seventh cause of inoflicicncy is Tho Ultcr Noglect of tho Villago
Sellout.
Tlii.'schools at Hedd, Suq al-Khamis, Rufa’a, Sitra, tiud Budaya are
belwccii Ihciu responsible for the education of />82 boys. This, at any
rule, is flic? number of boys whoso naiuos appear on the registers compiled
at the beginning of tho school year.

When 1 arrived at tho school of Budaya, which has a registered total
of 80, J found only 8 very young boys present; and at Sitra, which has a
registered total of 140,1 found two infants of about six years of ago, and a
Biel: youth of about 1G, who wan obviously making uso of tho placo moroly
ns n club. At neither of these schools could 1 find any boohs, of aoy kind.
In each there was a blackboard, but thero was no chalk. Tho interior of
tho buildings and tho few tables or desks wero dilapidated and dirty. Both
schools were practically dead. The headmasters told iuo that no ono in
authority ever camo near them, and that thoy had found it impossible to
obtain any sort of equipment or supplies, although they had frequontly
asked for them. They struck me as being earnest but defeated men, reduced
to a stalo of helplessness and inaction by the callous neglect of thoso
whose duly it was to support and encourage them.
At ltufa’a things were better, but only because the headmaster and his
son, in spite of all tho dilliculties confronting them, had somehow beon ablo
to organ iso eomo semblance of a school. But thero wero only 19 boys
being taught, out of a registered total of 70, and I was surprised that tho
headmaster had been ablo to persuade so many to attend.

At Suq al-Khamis thero wore 27 sickly-looking boys, out of a registorod
total of 92; and at Ilcdd thero wero 89, out of 200, Tho story of tho houd-
ranslers in theso two schools was the same. They said that they never re­
ceived the slightest help or oncouragemcnt from anyono, from the beginningof
the school year to its end. They had found it impossible to oblaiu any of tho
well-qualilicd teachers—who wero always allotcd to Mauamah or Muharraq—
or the necessary equipmont and books for tho bare instruction of thoir
pupils. Neither the Inspector nor auy of tho Syrian teachers oyer oamo
near them.
Under 6uch circumstances as thc^o, surely tho highost praiso is
due to tho hoadmastors of Hedd, Suq al-Khamis, and Rufa'a for tho courage
and the souse of duty which olono cau have ouabled them to carry on. In
i?y opinion, thoy havo dono woll to havo boon ablo to porsuudo ovoa a small
number of boys to eomo to thoir 6ohools as rogulur attendants.

JL is impossible to condemn too sovcrcly an Inspoctorof Education who
could allow such a stato of allairs as I havo describod to oxist; nor cau his
Syrian subordinates bo outiroly absolved from blamo. Aftor all, thoso
men coiuo to Bahrain purporting to bo of auporior oducation, and to bo
capable of showing tho lo3s-oduoated Bahrainis how things should bo dono
One frequontly hoars tho Syrians describing thomsolvo3 as “ tho oducators
ol the .blast.” But ovon tho most olomonlary knowlcdgo of oduoation should
bo enough to show an Inspector of Education tho shamefulnoss of crammiug
tbo whole of his best teaching talontinto a couplo of “show schools”, at tho.
due t oxponso of all tho others under his caro, Also tho shamofulness of
Illir:|i;;;ing for tho youugost of tho tcaohors from his own country a salary
• wlneii w livo times larger than that whioh is paid to a Bakraiui toachor of