Page 249 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (II)_Neat

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Tho appointment of a British Director of Education, which had been
advocated by many Arabs in the past, was almost universally popular and resulted
in a steudy increase in boys in all sohools bo that by the end of the year it became
increasingly difficult to accomodate the number of students.
Technical School. Progress of boys at tho Technical School continued to be
satisfactory. A number of boys, trained as carpenters, left after their two years
course and obtained employment locally, some being taken on by tho Public Works
Department. Boys in the Engineering class did practical work in the Government
Garage and the Power House. The Kuwait Oil Compxny asked permission to send
two paying pupils to the school and at the end of tho year arrangements were mado
for them to be admitted. One of the main difficulties in making the school as
successful as it should be is the low educational standard of the boys who enter it.
Although the school is part of the Education Department it continues to bo under
the supervision of Mr. W.B. Steele, the State Engineer. Next year it is proposed to
enlarge the school again and to increase the number of subjects which are being
taught there. Arrangements were made at the end of the year for Mr. G. E.
Hutchings, Director of the Baghdad Technical School, to visit Bahrain and advise
the Government about the expansion of the Technical School.
It has been a year of transition in the Education Department and the results
of tho changes will not begin to be apparent until the end of the next terra.
Female Education. At the end of the year there were three Girls Schools in
existence, Manama, Muharraq and Hedd, whose attendances respectively were 190,
150 and 85 pupils. The school at Hedd, which is the third largest town in Bahrain,
was opened towards the end of the year.
At the beginning of the school term Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa, Minister of
Education, appointed Mrs. Belgrave as voluntary inspector of Girls’ Schools. The
headmistress of the Manama school, who was the wife of the previous Inspector of
Education, left Bahrain when her husband returned to Syria. The other Syrian
teacher in the Manama school was appointed headmistress. The teaohing staff is
now as follows: Manama, one Syrian headmistress and seven local teachers, (one of
them was trained as a teacher in Beyrout); Muharraq, a Syrian headmistress, one
Syrian teacher and five local teachers (the headmistress and one of the local teachers
were trained in Syria); in Hedd, three local teachers.
The following subjects are taught in Manama and Muharraq : Quran, religion,
arithmetic, geography, history, poetry, Arabic reading, writing and grammar and
composition, hygiene, domestic science, embroidery, designing and kindergarten
handwork. English is taught only in the senior classes.
Dressmaking, inothercraft and cooking are taught in Moharraq where there
is a more qualified head mistress than in Manama. At Hedd only Quran, religion,
reading, writing, arithmetic and embroidery are taught.
The schools are visited by the female staff of the Medical Department. The
students are of all nationalities, including Indians, Jews, Persians and Goanese.
Education is free and books etc. are provided free, but the girls pay themselves for
some of their sewing material.
The chief object of the schools is not, as in the case of boys* schools, to train
girls to earn their own living, because at present, except in the Education and
Medical Departments, there is no employment for women. The aim of the schools
is to teach the girls better methods of managing their homes and bringing up their
children.
Minors Department.
This Department, whose duties somewhat resemble those of an unpaid Publio
Trustee, completed its second year. During the year 26 new estates were
administered on behalf of minors and the total funds dealt with by the Department
amounted to Bs. 83,000.