Page 267 - Records of Bahrain (5) (ii)_Neat

The progress of slate education, 1939-1941 587

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department. With the possible exception of the regulations

about tho use of Arab dress, to which I attach no vast signifi­
cance, the reforms instituted were all urgently required and
were a necessary preliminary to any advance. On page 3 Mr.-
i
Vallance refers to tho propaganda work that has been done in
the press, aid I might mention here my general impression, based
on an all-round improvement in the public attitude towards the
department, that the public in Bahrain is well satisfied with
the efforts that are being made. On page 4 and in the post­
script Mr. Vallance mentions the question of health measures

taken or to be taken in the schools. While I fear that Dr. I
l
Snow, who has only just arrived in Bahrain, may find some i
difficulty in carrying out his self-imposed programme of visits )
to the schools, nevertheless I look forward to a vast improve­
ment in the care of the health of the school children since
Dr. Snow has already impressed everyone in Bahrain by his
energy and obvious determination. The arrangement made with

the American Mission Hospital for the training of boys from the
Government Schools in hospital work is admirable; while the
rosult3 of the experiment at Ilcdd, Budcyah and Hafa‘a are of
profound interest and provide valuable data for the extension
!
of activities elsewhere. So far as the two other existing
village schools, Sitra and Guq al Khamis, arc concerned (cf.
page 9 of the report) my own view is that no further time
should be wasted in searching for trained Shia1 teachers and

that Sunnis should be appointed immediately. Shia’ susceptibi­
lities in these groups of villages will be sufficiently met by
the retention of Shia' religious teachers in their schools.
I have expressed these views both to the Adviser and to the
Director of Education and they are in agreement with me.
4. I come now to the inter-related oroblems of imDroving

the two large schools in Manama and Uuharraq, the creation of
a single Final Stage School and the opening of a teachers1
Training /-