'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎265r] (532/862)

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THE CONSTITUTION
of study are on paper very wide, but as the certificates are granted on
a limited number of subjects the tendency is for schools to concen
trate on the required subjects. For the Primary Certificate the sub
jects of examination are: Arabic, English (studied in the last two
years), Social Sciences (History, Geography, Civics), and Arithmetic
including Mensuration, Science, and Hygiene. The standard is low.
For the Intermediate Examination the subjects are: Arabic, Eng
lish, Social Sciences (as above), Mathematics (Arithmetic, Algebra,
Geometry), Natural History and Hygiene, Physics and Chemistry.
The standard, again, is low. The examination demands little more
than memory by rote.
For the Secondary Schools examination there is a division of sub
jects roughly into ‘literary’ and ‘scientific’. The official groups are:
(a) Languages (Arabic and English, Persian, &c.).
(b) Social Sciences (Ancient and Modern History, Geography).
(c) Mathematics (Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry).
(d) Natural Sciences: i. Biological (Zoology, Botany); ii. Physical
(Physics, Chemistry).
Candidates for this examination must take (i) Arabic; (2) English;
(3) two subjects each from two of the three groups b, c, d\ (4) one
subject in the group not elected under (3). There are, therefore,
seven subjects. Girls do not have to reach the same standard in all
subjects as boys (e.g. Mathematics). The standard in the past has
been extremely low, except perhaps in Arabic, but it is now improv
ing. The examination places the emphasis on memory work. There
are set textbooks in each subject and questions are confined to the
text-books. It is a fair estimate to state that the examination is at
least two years behind the standard of the English Leaving Examina
tion, but naturally a few students show very great capacity. In the
past the examination has been notorious for its corruption, but this
is no longer the case.
The religious minorities—Christians and Jews—are provided with
schools conducted by their own communities but within the govern
ment system and classified as government schools. Many Christian
and Jewish children, however, attend the general government schools
in which the majority of the pupils are Moslems. Under the law any
form of religious proselytism is forbidden. Religion is taught in all
the government schools, but pupils belonging to a religious minority
in the school are permitted to absent themselves from that instruc
tion. If the number of minority pupils exceeded 25 the Government
for a time provided religious instruction for them, but this practice