47 a cliance of passing the entrance examination to secondary schools. The postponed secondary education certificate examination was held in September, bnt the number of candiaates was small. In a spirit of conciliation, and so as to avoid the loss of a year to the students and pupils generally, the Council of Ministers decided on the nth August, 1919, to hold the promotion and diploma examinations of the higher colleges and a second session for the secondary examination in January 1920.

On the re-opening of the colleges and schools in October, unrest still prevailed, and strikes again broke out. On the 19th November, an order was issued under martial law reuuiring all students and pupils to attend in their classes from the 23rd November, under penalty of exclusion from the general examinations in January. On the date named most of the students and pupils returned to their colleges and schools in formal compliance with the proclamation. Work was carried on under considerable difficulties for a short time, but eai’ly in December organised efforts, accompanied by intimidation, were again made to bring all the schools out on strike. As a result practically all of the students of the higher colleges and many of the pupils of the secondary schools found themselves excluded from the January examinations.

On the 24th December the Council of Ministers issued an order requiring all students and pupils to return to work by certain fixed dates, and to continue in regular attendance, under penalty of exclusion from all examinations to be held during 1920. As a result of wiser counsels this order was generally complied with, and since that date attendance has been fairly regular. Inere have been sporadic strikes of short duration, but generally the situation in the schools has calmed down, and work has since proceeded fairly normally. This has made it possible, as a further conoiliatoiy measure, to grant certain concessions to the students of the higher colleges and special schools so as to liquidate the arrears in examinations and the consequent congestion in the colleges and schools by holding an extra examination for certain categories of students in March 1920.

The injury to education which has been inflicted by these disturbances is not to bo measured by loss of studies. Discipline in the school and parental control at home has been seriously undermined, and a state of juvenile anarchy has come into existence which must, unless it is remedied, imperil national stability and progress.

I am confident that the Egyptian Government will not be deterred from its educational programme, but will offer rapidly increasing opportunities of elementary education to the masses of the people, while not neglecting at the same time to extend and improve the facilities for the higher branches of study. There is ample room for reform in the educational system of Egypt, which is in particular excessively dominated by examinations both as an end in themselves and as providing a qualification for posts in the Government service. It is to be hoped that in the future the function of education as a training for life and citizenship will be kept clearly in view, and every encouragement given to the desire for knowledge and the cultivation of general intelligence. There is a keen demand for education throughout the country. I trust that the coming years will see a sustained effort on the part of the Ministry of Education, backed by a more liberal allocation of funds than it has hitherto been usual to provide, not only to meet the amount of the demand, but to instil true educational ideals into the minds of the people and of those who are responsible, under the central authority, for educating them.

Mr. Douglas Dunlop, who had served the Ministry of Education since 1889 and the last thirteen years had held the post of Adviser, retired in November 1919, and has been succeeded by Mr. R. S. Patterson.

The following tables show the attendance in February 1920 at the educational establishments of all grades {a) under the direct management of and (h) under inspection by the Ministry of Education :— House of Commons Parliamentary Papers Online. Copyright (c) 2006 ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.