"التقرير السنوي لحكومة البحرين لسنة ١٣٦٢ (يناير ١٩٤٣ - ديسمبر ١٩٤٣)" [ظ‎‎٢‎٩‎٤] (٧٢/٣٨)

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increase from Rs. 150,000 to Rs. 210,000. The additional expenditure has been on staff salaries, books
and furniture.
In 1362 the average expenditure per boy was Rs. 106-/6 compared with Rs. 87-/8 in 1361.
Government Girls' Schools.
The work of the Girls' Schools was carried out during most of the year under considerable
difficulties. Because they were unable to obtain passages the Syrian teachers failed to arrive in
Bahrain until a month after the term had started. The local teachers worked well and did their best
although lacking qualifications and in many cases unexperienced in holding senior posts. In addition
to this the difficulties in the Manama School were increased by the resignations of the headmistress
and her sister about three months after the term had started, the former resigned owing to ill-health,
having serious eye trouble, and the second mistress resigned in order to travel with her sister. After
the two senior teachers left the local teaching staff carried on the work under the direct supervision
of Mrs. Belgrave.
There was no change in the curriculum of the schools during the year. Owing to lack of staff
various new developments which had been planned were not embarked upon and cookery lessons
were suspended owing to the impossibility of obtaining supplies of food. The number of girls
attending the schools increased and three new class rooms were built in Manama. About one
hundred applicants for admission to the schools were not accepted owing to lack of suitable staff and
accommodation.
Out of ten girls who graduated by taking their leaving certificates five were taken on as junior
teachers.
Mrs. Sawaf, Headmistress of the Muharraq School, was appointed Schools Superintendent for
Hedd and Rafa.
A mild form of physical exercises was practised daily in the Manama and Muharraq Schools.
The health of the girls appeared to be better than in the previous year especially in Muharraq, this is
probably accounted for by the fact that a large proportion of the Muharraq students are from the
Ruling Family or from families of merchants. One of the Government lady doctors or nurses
visited the Schools weekly during the year.
The annual exhibition of the needlework of the combined schools was held again at the Palace,
Manama, by kind permission of His Highness. The standard of work was high and there was much
competition to buy those articles which were for sale. The exhibition was attended by men on the
first day and ladies on the second day, the crowd was so great on the second day that some people
were unable to get inside the rooms.
Manama and Muharraq Schools presented plays during the term, the proceeds from the sale
of tickets together with a contribution from a private boys' school amounted to over Rs. 2,000 and
were expended on clothing for poor students.
Monthly cinema performances for the girls' schools were provided during the year by the
Public Relations Department which also supplied the Schools with a number of interesting periodicals
and pictures.
The total number of girls at school at the end of the year was 822 and the number of teachers
in the four Schools was 37 of which only two were foreigners.
Among the new girls who entered the Manama School at the beginning of the year there was
an unusually large proportion of Shia Bahama. The Bahama community in the past has held back
from sending girls to the Girls' Schools though they have always sent their boys to the Government
Schools. Pupils in the Manama School included Arabs, Bahrana, Sunni and Shia Persians, Indians
and Jews, in Rafa and Hedd all the children are Arabs and in Muharraq they are Arabs and Holis,
Sunni Arabs of Persian origin. It is a sign of the changed attitude of a section of the community
towards female education that a number of daughters of religious leaders are now attending the schools
which, when they first started, were vigorously opposed by the students' fathers.