GREAT REFORMS OF ALEXANDER II IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION

Kolegichev K. M.

student of the Higher School of Social Sciences, Humanities and International Communication, [email protected];

Scientific supervisor: Zakharchenko M.V., senior teacher of the English Language Department, Higher School of Social Sciences, Humanities and International Communication.

The goal of this article is to perform analysis of the Reforms of Alexander II giving a particular attention to his reforms in education. The relevance of this paper is explained by the fact that the importance of the educational reforms were underestimated in some research works.

The first series of reforms were introduced for primary and secondary education. The Regulation on Primary Public Schools was approved in 1864. It granted the public institutions and private individuals the right to open primary schools, but with the permission of the State Council. The founders assumed responsibility for the material maintenance of their schools. The management of the educational part was delegated to the State Council. The elementary school program included such subjects as Reading, Writing, the four rules of Arithmetic, Religious and Ecclesiastical Choral Singing [1].

The Charter of Gymnasiums, approved on November 19, 1864 had an enormous impact on the development of Russian education. This document introduced the principle of formal equality in secondary education for people of all classes and religions. According to the 1864 Charter, the previous gymnasiums were divided into the classical and real ones. The classical gymnasiums provided humanitarian education based on the teaching of ancient languages – Latin and Greek. The real gymnasiums devoted more teaching hours to Mathematics and Science. The graduates of classical gymnasiums had the right to enter universities without entrance examinations, whereas those leaving real gymnasiums could not enter universities; they could only get higher technical education.

It was a favorable period for women’s education. Special Schools for girls and non-privileged classes opened in 1858. These schools received their own Charter on January 9, 1862. The School for Women acquired the status of gymnasiums on November 10, 1862. In spite of reduced educational programme, they were intended for a seven-year training period, with an additional 8^th grade aimed at the training of teachers[2].

Alexander II was concerned about the university education and the question about the revision of the University Charter arose in 1835. However, the government began developing the reform of higher education in the end of 1861 under the influence of the student’s unrest. After a lengthy discussion, the Emperor adopted the University Charter on June 16, 1863, and it later obtained the force of law. It was the most liberal of all the University Charters in the pre-revolutionary Russia. The effect of the Charter (1863) extended to the five existing Russian universities in Moscow, Petersburg, Kazan, Kharkov and Kiev, as well as Dorpat in Estonia. According to the Charter, each university was supposed to have four faculties of History and Philology, Physics and Mathematics, Law and Medicine. In the St. Petersburg University, the faculty of Oriental Languages replaced the faculty of Medicine. The number of full-time professors increased by half. New disciplines were introduced, and new departments were opened.

The Charter granted a rather wide autonomy to the universities. The Council of the University was given the right to resolve all scientific, educational, administrative and financial issues such as awarding of academic degrees and titles, distribution of public funds, dividing the faculties into departments, replacement of departments, opening new departments, organizing overseas internships independently. The universities had their own censorship, wrote books, ordered magazines and newspapers from abroad without verification at the customs. The Charter granted the right to elect the rector, vice-rectors, and deans with their subsequent approval by the minister of public education [3].

Unfortunately, the Charter of 1863 did not grant women the right to enter universities. However, the government could not ignore the progressive women’s demands on giving them access to higher education. Therefore, in 1876 in Kazan, it was allowed to open private Higher Courses for Women. Similar courses were then established in Kiev in 1878. Due to the initiative of the professor of Russian History K.N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, these courses received special visibility for fundamental higher education.

Thus, it may be stated that the Reforms of Alexander II made a huge contribution to Russian education. This conclusion is supported by the remarkable results: the number of schools in Russia grew to almost 20,000, the number of high school students increased by several times, the level of people’s literacy improved significantly, and our country was furnished with highly skilled specialists in different spheres. It was a glorious period for Russian education.

REFERENCES

1. Fedorov V.A. Russian History. 1861-1917. Textbook. 2^nd edition, revised and expanded. M.: YuRAYT, 2011.

2. Lyubzhin A. I. An Outline of Russian Education in the Imperial Period // Proceedings of the MСL. — Issue 1310. Historical Series. — M.: Publishing House of the Moscow Lyceum of Culturology, 2000

3. Kornilov A. A. Course of the 19^th Century History of Russia (in three volumes) — M., 1912—1914. — Historical Legacy Series. — M.: Vysshaya Shkola, 1993.