§ 49. Mr. P. Freemanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many boys and girls, respectively, are attending elementary and middle schools in each province of Eritrea; and how these figures compare with the numbers attending in this country.
§ Mr. YoungerThe figures, which are given below, show the position at 31st December, 1950, the latest date for which statistics are at present available. No useful comparison can be made between these figures and those for children attending school in this country since there were virtually no educational facilities in Eritrea prior to the British occupation in 1941.
Merowe Dam
This dam is to provide additional storage capacity for flood water that would otherwise pass through to the sea, and will also provide protection against floods. The major benefit of this scheme will be for Egypt, although it is possible that the Sudan will have a right to some of the additional water.Other Schemes
Discussions are continuing with the Egyptian Government with the object of bringing about negotiations with the Ethiopian Government over the project for constructing a reservoir at Lake Tsana.The projects for storage of water in the equatorial lakes, and for reducing losses of water in the Sudd region of the Upper Nile are still under investigation. The dam at Owen Falls, which is to provide power for Uganda, but also forms a part of this chain of projects, is now under construction.The present sharing of Nile waters between the Sudan and Egypt is governed by the Nile Waters Agreement of 1929 between His Majesty's Government and the Egyptian Government. The sharing of the benefits of further projects has to be agreed upon in each case.