Page 313 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (III)_Neat

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Schools In War Time.—Mr. Adrian Vallancc was succeeded at the end of 1360 (1941) by Mr.
Wakelin, of the British Council. During the first half of this year there was a certain amount of
trouble among the foreign teachers who resented having to work, in some cases, under local head­
masters. At the beginning of the school year another class of 25 boys entered the Secondary School
and the post of warden of the Hostel was created. Among the boarders were five boys from Kuwait
who held Scholarships to the Bahrain Technical School from the Kuwait Oil Company. The results
of the changes made during the previous year began to be evident in the smooth running of the schools
and the ordered progress of the pupils.

In the following year though no new schools were built many additions were made to the exist­
ing schools, 1,360 boys attended school and the staff consisted of 60 teachers of whom 13 were foreigners.
The Hostel was moved into a large building and at the end of the term the Secondary School moved
to a house next door to the Hostel. The premises were rented from a local merchant on a long lease.
The new Hostel contained five large airy dormitories, dining room, games room and quarters for two
resident masters. The Secondary School had three class rooms on the first floor, a library, games
room and a lecture hall. In some of the other schools kindergarten classes were started and teachers
were taken daily in a school-bus to the village schools. The amount spent on boys' schools during
the year was Rs. 1,05,000, this sum did not include the Religious Schools or the Technical School.
All through the year difficulties were encountered in obtaining school materials, books, paper, etc., etc.

In 1362 (1943) another primary school was opened in Manama. It was built for the Education
Department on a large piece of ground opposite the Secondary School by the Minors Department
and it provided a good-sized playground. By the end of the term another 100 boys had entered this !
school but in spite of this expansion many boys who wished to come to School had to be turned away
owing to lack of staff and accommodation in the existing schools. The acceptance of more boys would
have meant overcrowded classes which was the cause of much inefficiency in the past. The
Rafaa School was promoted from the status of a village school to a Primary School and a
common syllabus was followed in all the five primary schools which included the teaching of Basic
English to boys in and above their second school year.

The difficulty in obtaining books and equipment became more severe and when some of the
foreign teachers left at the end of the term it was not possible to replace them as Syrians and Pales­
tinians demanded salaries compatible with the cost of living in their own countries which was very
much higher than in Bahrain. As the war continued the problem of maintaining the schools increased.
No building could be done owing to lack of materials, work was hampered by the shortage of paper,
books, slates and all the paraphernalia of teaching. Another even more serious obstacle to progress
was the rapid shrinkage in the number of older boys. They left the schools in increasingly large
numbers, often before completing their primary education, to fill well-paid posts which were open
to any boy with a modicum of education and a smattering of English. At the end of the 1363 (1944)
school year about 400 boys left school, most of them between 12 and 15, and almost all of them obtained
work in the country.

In Shawaal 1363 (October 1944) three of the best young local teachers were sent for a year’s '
course at a Teachers' Training College in Cairo and three boys from the Secondary School were sent
to the Saidieh Secondary School in Cairo, at the same time 12 fully-trained, experienced Egyptian
teachers were seconded by the Egyptian Ministry of Education for service in Bahrain. Throughout
this year the hostel and the schools were filled to capacity and among the boarders there were several
from other parts of the Gulf who came to Bahrain for their education. There was a noticeable improve­
ment in the health of the students but after a thorough inspection of the eyes of all the boys in the town
schools it was found that 78% of them suffered from Trachoma, in one stage or another. Trachoma
is one of the most serious and universal complaints in the country. During the school holidays Dr.
Snow, the State Medical Officer held a daily eye clinic at the hostel which was attended by many boys.

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