'File 19/248 I (C 78) Education at Bahrain' [‎178r] (372/494)

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oontinuingtheir school studies in the very limited 'third stage*
schcol. Most of those who leave at about 14 years of age will'be
boys of 4° all-round ability, having passed successfully year
by year ■through a general school course. At that stage they will
be able to read and write Arabic and will have some knowledge of
Sngliah. They should have also a foundation of arithmetic and
general xrnowleclge« As time goes on tlie^e will be a. leirger number
of boys available at ^ "this sta ^e^ so that it will be possible to
select ior the rechnical School candidates with real aptitude fov
manual training.
Under the existing conditions of life and work MAINTSNANCS
in Bahrain it would not be possible for the State OF STODfflTS.
to discontinue its contribution towards the support
of students undergoing technical training. If re~
niuneration or its equivalent were withdrawn, a l^rge number of
otherwise eligible students would be una.ble to enter the Technical
Sciiool, and would drift into unskilled labour or raenial work in
the shops and offices of the market. The payment of students in
money, representing apprentices' wages^ is simple and convenient
from the point of view of the Administration^ but it has few other
advantages. The only satisfactory method of dealing with the
economic problem of industrial training for boys in Bahrain is to
have a boarding school with compulsory residence 6
The first great advantage of a boarding ADVANTAGES OP THE
school is that excellent discipline and BOARDING 3YSTKM.
punctuality can be maintained. Secondly $
without the boarding system technical education would be practical
ly confined to boys in Manama and its near neighbourhood«~ Thirdly,
the physical welfare and recreation of the boys would receive
proper attentiono It should be noted also that the cost of
maintaining a boarding house in Bahrain would hot be high*.
I venture to place these considerations SUCGSSS OF THS
before your Highness because I can speak from BOARDING SYSTEM
experience of the great success of the board- IN ^RAQ,
ing system in the 'Iraq Government Technical
School in Baghdad, where the problem of industrial training is in
many respects similar to that in Bahrain. The success and
reputation of the Baghdad Technical School is due mainly to the
regularity of the students* life and 'training in an environment
free from the evils of either poverty or luxury and from the
mischievous influences which ordinarily beset the lives of middle
and lower class i^rab boys*
Discipline is of the highest importance in DISCIPLINiiJe
technical, education^ The officials of the Bahrain
yil Company gave me many instances of their disciplinary problems
in connection with local employees^ Many of their men are un~
Punetual in their attendance and devoid of any sense of responsi
bility in the discharge of their duties• They are unaccustomed
to the acceptance or exercise of authority, and in many cases
^ould give up their posts rather than submit to the regularity of
industrial conditions* These troubles would rarely arise among
^n and youths who had received 'training under rigorous conditions
in a boarding school, where punctuality becomes second nature,
w here misconduct is readily checked, and where authority and
re sponsibility are distributed down, a scale from the head of the
establishment to the latest newcomer
Only by means of the boarding system STUDENTS OUTSIDE
Cou -ld technical education be extended to boys MANAMA.
ll m all parts of Bahrain,. It may be argued
^at Manama alone could provide more than sufficient boys for the
^clinical School, and that after all the vocational problem is
more