The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-09-15
Education III Egypt is Being
Pushed With Great
Vigor.
MANY WOMEN ARE STUDENTS
Industries and Agriculture Are
.Ifaught-National Univer-
sity Planned.

connected with the mosques and wer,
taught by Mohammedan priests. They
were supported by the people them
selves. and also by Moliammedan re-
llgtous organization known as tho
Wakf, which has an enormous endow-
ment. There are something like ten
thousand of these schools here and
there Ever the lower part of the Nile
Valley. and they had an attendance OF
something like two hundred Thousand.
They taught little more than the
Arabic language. the Koran, and read
ing, writing and arithmetic. Lord
Cromer wanted to bring these schools
under the ministry of public instruc-
ton and introduce our modern studies.
He tried to force the teachers to come
under him, but they refused. He then
offered to give every mosque school
that would come in an appropriation
Of so cents for every boy and z 5 cents
for every girl, and this has apparently
solved the problem. The village schools
are rapidly adopting modern methods.
Already 5000 of them are subject to
the government, and within short
time they will all be under the imme-
date direction of its educational de-
nartment. At present tits necessary
to handle them carefully and to make
the religious studies among the most
important.
Now the half of each school day is
set apart for the study OF the Koran
and the precepts of Islam, and am
told that such of the Mohammedan
scholars as do we'll are more likely to
Ii get appointments under the govern
lment than If they were Christians or
lCopts.
Female Education.
| ,rt,. ..,,i. u,,,,pt oro hnpit,p{np n
go to school For long time 1t was
hard TO persuade their parents to send
them either to the government schools
| or private schools, but of late some
of the native educated women have
been given places as teachers and many
girls are now preparing themselves
| for school work Other parents are
sending their daughters to school to
give them a good general education.
as the educated boys want educated
women for wives There are at pres
ent something like 1000 girls schools
A movement is now going on to estab-
Ilsh village schools for girls, and the
time will come when there will he
girls schools all over Egypt and the
Mohammedan women may become ed
ucated.
we are apt to think that the only
/ charity is Christian charity. | find
THAT there Is ATohammedan charity as
| we'll. and that many of the richer
Moslems give money toward education
| and other such things.
I have spoken of the endowment of
tho El-Azbar University. which is al
most entirely of this nature. Some of
the village schools are aided by native
charity, as are also some high schools.
!; In 1903 Mahmoud Suleiman constructed,
! at his own cost. and endowed literally
at Abou-Tig an Industrial school, in
which are taught weaving. carpentry.
.Iblacksmithing, and turning. That school
ihas now ninetytwo pupils. all of whom
are receiving their training free OF
l charge. The khedive has an Industrial
school with 200 pupils on his private
estates. and there is Mohammedan
/ benevolent society at Alexandria which
4 has raised $4,000 for anaindustriat
school there. That school will accom-
4 modate over 500 pupils. and it has now
an endowment of about $4,000 per year.
i One of the princes of the khedives
i family is starting a similar school In
Il the Behera provinces, and the towns
i of Fayoum and Beni-Snef are raising
i money for Industrial schools. There
is also talk of a national university
along modern lines, to be supported
i by the government This is favored by
] many of the leading Egyptians. and
lord Cromer has advocated 1t In his
/ report of this year 1t is stated that
this university will be absolutely
I scientific and literary, and that It's
1 doors will be wide open to all desirous
Of learning. irrespective of their origin
A FRAN G. CARPENTER.