The remaining Copts and others stayed in the classrooms, engrossed in their religious lessons. This coincided with a pleasant surprise, and accordingly, I amended the duration of each "lesson" to be fifty minutes instead of an hour. The last hour, which was saved at the end of the day, was dedicated to teaching the principles of religion. Muslim students were obliged to attend this "lesson," and other denominations were tasked with arranging for their children's teachers. If they could not, students from non-Muslim backgrounds were permitted to return to their homes. However, the requests submitted for teaching Christian students the principles of religion were very few. Geography, which was taught in English in the third and fourth years, is now taught in Arabic. The "Things" subject, which was taught in English in the third and fourth years, has been abolished. Thus, English instruction is now limited to English language lessons only. However, the number of "lessons" for teaching it has increased, and it is hoped that the knowledge of English among graduates of primary schools will remain at the level it has reached so far. The higher primary schools are generally meeting the requirements for their organization and administration, but the teaching in them is weak. This is due to the large number of teachers who are not trained in their craft. It will take some years before the number of teachers from the schools increases and rectifies this deficiency.

The number of those who applied for the primary certificate has increased significantly. In 1907, 5,000 applied, compared to 1,907 in 1906. Of these students, 140 chose French, while the rest chose English. The number of students from government schools was 705, those who studied at home was 118, and from private schools was 8. The percentage of all those who passed exceeded the percentage of those who passed in 1906 by 1%. The pass rate increased from 15% in 1906 to 17% in 1907. Government school students constituted 70% of the candidates, and 70% of them passed. Of the successful candidates, 18% continued their studies in secondary schools. It is gratifying that secondary and private schools, along with those employed in government service, and 5% employed in other places, have not yet shown any significant impact.