Page 310 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (III)_Neat

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and cultivators and when they were old enough to earn money or to work in the gardens or at sea
their father took them away from school. Few parents could afford, or had the inclination, to leave
their boys at school until they completed the course.

The problem of finding teachers for the village schools was not easy, no educated young men
would consent to live outside Manama or Muharraq and it was difficult to arrange transport to and
from distant scattered villages. The standard of education in the village schools was low and some
of the local teachers were only a little better educated than the Mullahs.

British Director of Education.—For some time it had been felt that the work of running
education in Bahrain required a full time official more experienced than the Syrian School Inspector,
who resigned in the beginning of 1358 (1939-40). In the beginning his work was satisfactory but
latterly, due to expansion, he was incapable of dealing with the increasing responsibilities of the
post. Soon after his departure the Government arranged for Mr. Adrian Vallance, of the Iraq Educa­
tion Department, to visit Bahrain in order to make a report on education, which was completed in
September 1939. The report gave a comprehensive picture of school conditions and valuable recom­
mendations for the improvement and expansion of education. It stressed the fact that the village
schools were far behind the town schools and that they received less attention, it attributed the slow
progress of education to premature leaving, crowded classes, irregular attendance, old fashioned me­
thods of teaching and the poor health of some of the boys. Since this report was written most of the
defects have been remedied though premature leaving increased greatly during the war owing to the
acute shortage of labour which resulted in all partially educated boys being able to obtain well paid
posts. At the end of 1358 Mr. Adrian Vallance was appointed Director of Education, through the
British Council which paid a proportion of his salary. From this time began the connection between
the Bahrain Government and the British Council which has resulted in the Government obtaining
much valuable help and advice on educational matters.

Secondary School.—The year 1359 (1940) saw many drastic changes in school administration,
reforms of major importance were carried out and though at the time they were often extremely
unpopular they resulted in real improvements in the schools. The age of admission was raised from
4» 5 or 6 to 7 or 8. Over-aged young men, quite often they were married, who monopolised the upper
classes, were weeded out, much to their and their parents’ indignation ; working hours, pay and con­
ditions of teachers were standardised and various unsuitable members of the staff were given their
discharge. A number of qualified teachers were engaged to work in the country schools as well as
in the towns and all buildings were brought into a state of repair. The system and methods of ex­
aminations were tightened up so that promotion really did depend on ability. The most important
development was the opening of a Secondary School in Manama to provide more advanced education
for a limited number of intelligent boys who entered it by competitive examinations from the primary
schools. There was great competition to enter the new school and many parents were indignant that
their boys were not allowed to enter merely because they were their fathers' sons. Privilege of position,
money and birth had in the past counted for much in the schools. The new school was intended to
provide a three years course with an annual entry of about 33 boys. It started with half a dozen
boarders, which was a new thing for Bahrain, and it catered for the provision of meals for boys living
outside Manama. From this beginning the Manama School Hostel developed.

There was close co-operation between the school authorities and the medical department-
Various measures were taken to improve the boys' health and one of the Indian doctors from the
Government Hospital was assigned to undertake the medical work in the schools. At the end of the
year there were 1,233 boys attending the schools.

During this year there was some discussion about a plan for forming a Gulf College in Bahrain,
the project was put forward by the British Council. Owing to the war and for certain other reasons
the proposal was not proceeded with.

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