'Government of Bahrain Annual Report for Year 1359 (February 1940 - February 1941)' [‎184v] (40/74)

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The use of the Qur'an as a means of teaching inlants to rratl has bri n lorbuUlin, and pr \
infants' reading-books have been introduced into all the schools, I'rupii i«>p> books art nt \\
for the teaching' of handwriting. The use of lead-pencils has been abolishid. Slatis (owing
paper shortage) are used by all the infants' classes, and ink by evn \ om «Ise.
Beating in the schools has been restricted and regularised, and is now adminisii it d
of bad conduct alone, never for lack t>f ability.
A number of well-qualified masters have been engaged, including ~ I riU st inians, , . \ i i.ti
and several of the better-educated Bahrainis. Nearly all the classes in ilu largt m hools,
were badly over-crowded, have been divided into two, and no class now tontains mon than 30
lx)vs. With better teaching, smaller classes, and modern methods, all the luadmasUrs art iindmg
thai the younger bovs are making rapitl progress, while the oldei t>nt s .tit pro^rt ssing ( ompara
tively slowly, owing to their almost complete lack ol previous towndation, 01 grtmndin^. 1 his
state of affairs was predicted in the Report on (Government Education in Bahrain, t>l Septem
ber, 1939, where it was stated that the full lesults ol the policy which it was pioposttl to introdiut
would not be seen until several years had elapsed.
The four village schools of Budayyi', Rufa', Sit rah, and Suk al-Khamis have been completely
transformed. A year ago they were simply small mulla schools, containing no books except copies
of the Qur'an, and teaching nothing except Religion, and, at two ot the schools, simple Addition
of Figures. To-day each of the four schools contains at least two competent teat lit is and ton-
sists of several separate classes, using proper books and learning Reading, W riting, and Arith
metic. The mullas have been retained for the teaching of Religion alone, which is now restricted
to one hour daily, for every boy. The numbers in all four schools have risen steadily. Bud.i\)i
School has been very considerably enlarged, and Rufa' School has added an extia classroom.
Suk al-Khamis and Sitrah are in urgent need of smilar extension, which it is hoped to cany
out in the near future. All the village schoolboys have learned to play iootball.
The small Girls' School at Rufa', which was started with a single girl, reached the number
of 33 pupils before the end of the year, and has now been put in the charge ot female teachers.
Daily phvsical drill is now given to all boys, in all the schools, and the large schools of
Manamah, Muharraq, and Hidd plav organised games, under the instruction of a qualified games-
master. Scouting has been allowed to die a natural death: it had never been carried out on
organised lines.
All the Government schools in the island have now been brought into a thorough state ol
repair. The work has taken a full year to complete.
Manamah College (The Kullivah) has been opened, and with its inauguration all the C lasses
above Class 6 at the other schools were closed down. The other schools are now Hrst and Second
Stage schools onlv, with the Kullivah the sole P inal Stage school. I he new Kulliyah is designed
to accommodate the pick, intellectually, of all the boys leaving the other schools at the age ot
or 14, and not passing on into the 1 echnical School. Its object is to provide higher education
and character-training for those of the Bahrain schoolboys who arc destined later on to become
Government servants and Government schoolmasters and to obtain employment with commercial
firms. The course is to be one of three years, and the normal annual entry will be about 33 boys,
making about a hundred when the school is full. The instruction is given in English, and the
ages of the boys now in the school range from 13 to 15. In spite of their lack of good grounding,
considerable progress has already been made with the education of these specially selected boys.
The school contains half-a-dozen boarders, which is a new thing for Bahrain. All the boys at the
Kullivah, except 3 who have state scholarships, pay fees for their education.
The Technical School continues to be a source of satisfaction. Prejudice against entering
it has now been completely broken down; the present small school is full to overflowing, and
there is a long list of applications which cannot be satisfied. Seven fee-paying boys have been sent
to the School from Kuwait, and there are enquiries from other parts of the Gulf. Two new and
well -qualified instructors have been appointed for the Mechanics Section, both Syrians with good
experience. The carpentry Section remains highly ellicient and has been turning out really well-
made furniture for the schools, the State Hospital, and for private customers. Towards the end
of the vear orders for furniture to the value of over Rs. 4,000 were received.