- 86 -32 - Provincial Councils In 1913, the Provincial Councils had at their disposal an amount of £630,000, of which £533,000 was carried over from the previous year. This compares to £61,500 in 1912. The revenue from land taxes decreased by £150,000 compared to the previous year due to the Nile floods. However, other revenues increased by approximately £10,000. The amount spent by the Provincial Councils was £342,000, of which £60,000 was allocated to public utility works. The remaining £382,000 was for education, with a balance of £280,000 carried over to the current year.

The amount spent on education was distributed as follows: Administration: £21,000 (11%) Primary education and industrial schools: £182,000 (64%) Elementary and financial education: £69,000 (25%) Regarding administrative expenses, they appear to be higher than necessary. It is worth noting that the allocation for primary education increased from 56% in 1911 to 64% in 1912, and then to 64% in the past year.

Four years have passed since the law empowering Provincial Councils to manage education within their provinces came into effect. Therefore, it is appropriate to summarize what these councils have achieved in this regard. To date, these councils have taken over the management of 911 primary schools, compared to 487 in 1911 and 754 in 1912. These schools, or kuttabs, had 57,175 boys, compared to 53,233 in 1912 and 45,173 in 1911. However, there are currently 10,000 kuttabs scattered throughout the Egyptian territory. According to the latest census, there are 150,000 Egyptian boys between the ages of 10 and 14. This indicates that the Provincial Councils have so far only addressed a fraction of the issue of general public education.

Of the 911 kuttabs that the Provincial Councils are authorized to manage, 415 are managed and funded by the councils, which is a specific arrangement. However, the councils have largely failed to establish their own primary schools, instead attempting to reform existing private schools by providing support.