Series 03: John Brady Nash letters, January 1914-December 1915 - Page 296
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[Page 296]
Lieut. Col. Nash
Mena House
The Pyramids
Egypt
17.4-15
The Editor
Daily Telegraph
Dear Sir:/
The brief statistics and appended matter are forwarded with the hope that you may think them to be of some interest.
From the issue of "The Minister for Public Instruction in Egypt: report to end of 1912-3"; the following statistics are taken:–
"Population of Egypt over eleven millions. Total number of schools 1135 Number of Kouttabs, 3794. – 'A Kouttab is a dependant inferior elementary school, subventioned and inspected by the Minister for Public Instruction". – Number of scholars in the schools, 162356, of these, boys 124018, girls, 38338. In the Kouttabs, 231376, boys 205657, girls 25719. The grand total being for all Egypt: Schools and Kouttabs 4929. Pupils 393732, of these, boys 329675, girls 64057." If the totals are compared with those in New South Wales, where the population is about eighteen hundred thousand people, it will be seen that there are more children at school in the State than in the Sultanate of Egypt. Of recent years there has been some increase, no doubt, but it must be slow, because the ordinary Moslem, mostly the tiller of the soil, sees no great virtue in education, finding the teachings of Khoran to be sufficient without it.
Some fourteen nationalities have schools in Egypt, which are independent of the Parliament of the Country, being for the most part, in some degree, responsible to the government, or a religious order, of their country of origin.
There were "328, of these 'Stranger' schools, at the end of 1912-13, with a roll of scholars, 48303, boys 26618 girls 21685.". These children are mostly non-Moslem and of European extraction. Their numbers, in proportion to population, show how much more anxious Christian people are for education, and for both sexes, than are the Mohamedans indigenous to the "Valley of the Nile".
Of the 328 schools the French own and manage 145, teaching 22,175 Children, almost half of the total. The Christian brothers perform a large share of this work.
With best wishes [indecipherable]
John B Nash