Page 426 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (IV)_Neat

26

Higher Education.—At the end of the school year three more boys who passed out of the
Secondary School were given scholarships to the Beirut University, two of the scholarships
were provided by the Government and one by the Bahrain Petroleum Company. In addition
eight boys were sent to Beirut by their parents. Government and Company scholarships arc
given to promising boys who could not themselves afford to pay for higher education abroad.
A number of wealthy merchants, however, who have sons who would be suitable candidates
from an educational point of view, consider that the Government should undertake to pay for
their sons’ education.
About a dozen boys from Bahrain have been sent by their parents to schools in England.
The result of this experiment is not yet apparent but from the attitude of one or two of the boys
when they come to Bahrain for their holidays it appears probable that some of the sons will not
be content to follow their fathers’ footsteps in business or trade, which is what the fathers
expected of them. The Government does not give scholarships for education in the United
Kingdom though it frequently sends young men who arc employed in various departments
to take courses in England in the particular line of work which they are doing in Bahrain. This
arrangement has so far produced excellent results.
Secondary School.—The new Secondary School was completed at the end of 1370. It is a
line building standing in open ground at a little distance from the hostel. It contains large
airy classrooms and a well equipped laboratory and is in every way a great improvement on the
former building. At the end of the year it had 162 boys, distributed in four classes. Out of
22 boys who graduated at the end of the term 10 became school teachers, seven went on to
Beirut University and 5 joined their parents in business or went to work in Saudi Arabia.
School Hostel.—The death of Mr. S. Nair who had been Warden of the hostel for over ten
years, since it was started in the old building, was a very great loss to the Education Department.
Mr. Nair contributed greatly to the successful running of the hostel and he was a valuable
member of the Education Staff.
There were between 80 and 90 boarders in the hostel during the year attending Secondary
Technical and Primary Schools and the Teachers’ Training Class. The staff consisted of a
warden and three resident masters. After Mr. Nair’s death Mr. Yusuf Shirawi, B.Sc. (Beirut),
took over the duties of Warden as well as teaching chemistry at the Secondary School.

Town, Primary, Village and Infants Schools.—The four primary and three infants schools
worked well during the year. Though a new infants school was opened in Manama, in the
building which previously contained the Secondary School and 360 small boys were admitted,
yet there was still a demand for more schools for small children. Sooner or later two more
infant schools will have to be opened in the East and West districts of Manama.
Conditions in the village schools continued to improve. Boys from village schools who
became boarders at the hostel, in order to attend more advanced town schools, did well. Un­
fortunately, however, the tendency exists for young men from the villages who have been at
school in Manama not to wish to return to their villages. The improvement in roads has made
the villages more accessible and living conditions in the villages are now probably superior to
those in neighbouring Arab states but this does not make them attractive to young men with
some education. It is impossible to find local teachers who will live outside the towns, in places
where there are no cinemas, clubs or coffee shops.

Equipment.—School books, stationery and some school furniture were purchased from
abroad and these, with the addition of some locally made furniture, kept the schools well
supplied throughout the year. Four school text books on primary school arithmetic were
written by members of the teaching staff and were sent to the press during the summer vacation.
General.—Sporting events during the year included football, volley ball and basket ball
inter-school matches. In May -he schools had water sports at Adhari pool, an event which was
attended by His Highness and a large audience. The sports were extremely successful and wel.
organised by the sports masters. During the Spring holiday the boys from the hostel went to
the Hawar Islands, about 30 miles south of Bahrain near the Qatar coast, where they camped
for four days.
The total expenditure on boys schools, excluding the costs of building, was 17* lakhs.
According to this figure it costs Rs. 437/- to provide for one boy at school.