Page 319 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (III)_Neat

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in the Manama Palace, by permission of His Highness, and great numbers of people have attended
the show each year to see the handwork of the five Girls' schools. Two of the three days on which
the exhibition is open are reserved for ladies and this occasion is very often the one time during the
year when all the ladies of the Ruling Family and the wives of the leading Arabs and merchants meet
together.

In 1356 (i937‘38) the Government acquired a plot of land in Muharraq town and built on it
an up to date school with large, light, well ventilated class rooms, a walled playground and quarters
for teachers. In the same year a new headmistress, trained in the British Syrian Training College in
Beirut was appointed headmistress of the Muharraq school. For some years Mrs. Dalrymple Bel-
grave, the wife of the Adviser, had been dealing to a certain extent with the^management of the girls
schools. In 1357 (1938-39) she was officially appointed by the Ruler as Directress of Female Educa­
tion, without stipend. From this time various new lines were developed including domestic economy;
cooking lessons, which had to be abandoned during the war, in spite of their popularity, owing to
the rationing, and dressmaking. In 135S (1939-40) a school was opened at Hedd.

In 1360 (1941) another school was opened in Rafaa and there was an increase in the attendance
at the Manama and Muharraq schools. A certain number of the older girls who had passed out of
the schools from the top classes were able to return as teachers and two new school mistresses were
enlisted from Syria. Regular examinations were held at the end of each term and certificates were
issued to the pupils who passed out successfully. There was co-operation between the school and
the medical authorities in measures to improve the girls' health and the schools were visited regularly
by nurses from the Government Hospital. In many cases school girls were sent for treatment in the
women’s hospital and it was hoped that closer contact between Arab girls and the medical staff would
encourage girls to consider becoming nurses, but unfortunately this aim has not yet been achieved.
Only one Arab woman in Bahrain has been trained as a nurse so the only field for the employment of
educated women in Bahrain remains that of teaching in the Government schools.
By 1361 (1942) there were almost 800 girls attending schools and the Manama and Muharraq
schools were filled to capacity. The war made it difficult to obtain teachers from abroad as young,
single, Moslem women could not easily travel to Bahrain under war time conditions. The local
teachers were keen but young and rather inexperienced and the number of suitable girls passing
out of school was not sufficient to fill the vacant posts.

A kindergarten class which was started in Muharraq during the year proved very successful,
later similar classes were started in other schools. Improvement in the health of the girls was evident,
the State Medical Officer, Dr. Snow, examined the eyes of all the girls in the Manama and Muharraq
schools and this innovation, for once in a way, did not arouse the parents’ disapproval. It was found
that a large proportion of the girls suffered from Trachoma in one form or another and a course of
treatment was given to them during the term. In one school, Rafaa, over 90% of the girls were
Trachoma cases. One of the difficulties which the school and medical authorities had to contend
with was that after instilling the children with ideas of cleanliness and hygiene in many cases they
went back to dirty homes where it was impossible to carry out the rules which they had been taught;
in Rafaa especially the high cost of water contributed towards the ill health of the children.

The year 1362 (1943) was a difficult year. The Syrian teachers arrived late in the term owing to
transport difficulties, the headmistress of the Manama school resigned suddenly owing to ill health
and her sister, also a teacher, resigned in order to accompany the headmistress to Syria. During
most of the year there were only two foreign teachers on the whole staff but in spite of the lack of
foreign teachers the work went on successfully and the number of girls attending school passed the
1000 mark. In the following year there was some expansion in all the schools. New class-rooms were
added in existing buildings and barasti-rooms were put up in school compounds to accommodate new
classes, these palm branch huts were particularly suitable during the summer months as they were
often found to be cooler than the masonry buildings. A new school was opened in Manama in a big