UA-R-GC-1914-01-01-1949-11-28_Page-016

' 84 - 10 - Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Lincoln School General Two chief problems faced these departments during the year; the Palestine situation and the currents of unrest it engendered made the general student at-mosphere of Cairo tense and uncertain. Despite the restlessness in other schools, the student body at the University was unusually cooperative and no serious interruptions of work were experienced. The most serious effect of the war lay in t he financial problems of Palestine students. Requests for grants-in- aid greatly exceeded available funds and many Palestinian students could not even exchange the money they did have. In conference with the Ministry of Finance special arrangements were made to allow the maximum conversion of Pal-estine currency, and every possible device was utilized to assist refugee students. Yet the problem was far greater than our resources and a number of students were unable to complete the payment of their fees during the year. The second problem lay in the heavy demand put upon the permanent staff. The failure to find a replacement for Dr. Smith, the sudden resignation of the Registrar, and the President's long absence in America, combined to demand the utmost from an already fully assigned staff. Although the administrative work was adequately carried, there were signs in general morale and administration of the serious staff shortages. Yet with these problems a good scholastic record was made. Constant pressur'' from the Admissions Committee has considerably raised the quality of students and each year's graduates are becoming more worthy of B.A. standards. At the beginning of the year it appeared that the total enrollment might be over 500. This expectation was not fulfilled, for the anal enrollment was slightly below the previous year. This was due principally to the failure to realize expected enrollments in the two beginning classes of Linooln School. Lincoln School In both sections of Lincoln Sohool, reports mention the growing competition between Government and Private schools. The Government policy of providing free education for students with high scholastic averages makes it difficult to ob-tain the most desirable students for schools such as ours. At the same time the Ministry has increased its seals of teachers' salaries, so that the best teachers naturally seek service with the Government. It is encouraging to report that the application of Law 38 caused no particu-lar difficulties throughout the year. Inspectors continued to be cooperative and no undue pressure was applied by the Ministry. Two central problems in the Secondary Section continuo to bo the teaching of Arabic and English. Since most of the English instruction is in the hands of in-experienced short-termers , it lacks the necessary continuity and experience.