GRESS

fo ten
1Y :
o Million in agriculture and for-
tigg an € country has 13,150 facto-
then bel Other enterprises; 3,700 of
Tun With = to the people, 5,560 are
J) Pattnersh 80vernment participation or
io Wnershin.” and 3,890 are in private
Agticult
Wh lined geture is also highly deve-
if Gustriat Cause of the high level of in-
gi\Mag py, evelopment in the G.D.R. it
‘ Wit Rable to supply agriculture
that ary efficient machinery, so
Stan) Cultural production has con-
The aay increased.
Hr iy million inhabitants of the
”* stabje | 1M Social security. There is
c pe structure, and living
re rising year after year.
fide eee of the people, and retail
hu
A tht Tate of 4.5 to 5 percent.

ec :
nsumption of the citizens of

|. LI geass Cm Om | Ell KG 0 RG Wt nt

-3. million work in industry

Over, increase at an average

the G.D.R. in meat, meat products,
milk, butter, eggs télevision sets, re-
frigerators and electric washing ma-
chines is above the average for Europe,
and above the standards for some ad-
vanced western capitalist countries.
But, in discussing living standards,
it cannot be reduced to the parcel of
groceries carried out of a_ grocery
store, but has to include all the social
security, the low-rentals, medical
treatment, etc., which the German
people accept as part of their life in the

Democratic
Republic

German Berlin Poland
Federal bls
WisTerRtin Gor

Republic

Wagdebuig
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Oresden
a

Czechoslovakia

ok SN
Ww. Went Bertinss 168 km trom the
West German border on G08 territory
al Chemical industry + Power Stations eGR
Iron and Steel a Optical and Preci-
yen ons Ap wiring came) QB ein ane

Machine
& Shipbuilding Engineering BzBp tense Industry

G.D.R. A job is guaranteed for every-
one.

In contrast to the inflationary spiral
in Canada, the purchasing power of
the mark in 20 years in the G.D.R. has
almost doubled.

When the G.D.R. was founded in
1949, the eastern part of post-war Ger-
many had gone through four years of
intense democratic reconstruction.
Half a million former nazis had been
removed from the public institutions,
including the schools. A sweeping ag-
rarian reform had abolished large land-
ed property and established democra-
tic conditions in the country. All
trusts, big industrial complexes, bank-
ing houses and possessions of war
criminals had been expropriated and
formed a separate sector owned by the
German people.

Since the end of the fifties, not only
the country’s economic development,
but social development as a whole has
in growing measures been determined
by processes of the on-going scientific
and technological revolution. For the
national economy this means future
concentration of utilization of nuclear
power in close cooperation with the
Soviet Union, on electronics, data pro-
cessing, scientific instrument building
and so forth.

Underlying it all is: “The real aim
of what we call the developed social
system of socialism is the free deve-
lopment of socialist personalities and
of a socialist community in which
man is a friend to man.”

Instead of the G.D.R. conforming to
the pictures we are given of it as back-
ward and grey, it is a stable, inspiring
country, forging ahead at a breath-
taking rate.

LT
Education is
for peace,
friendship and
humanism...
cc enn ne

In 1945 the German anti-fascists
were not only faced with the task of
removing the debris from towns and
factories; they were above all faced
with the need to oust all fascist ideas
and confusion from the minds of the
people. Courageous anti-fascists who
had warned against Hitler and then
made the greatest sacrifices in the fas-
cist concentration camps, began after
the defeat of fascism to spread the
great world historic ideas of Marx,
Engels and Lenin and to revive the
buried ideas of humanism and friend-
ship among the people.

Education was purged of the influ- ~

ence of German imperialism and the
educational monopoly of the propertied
classes was abolished. The young gen-

eration was thenceforth brought up in ©

the spirit of peace, friendship among
the peoples and humanism.

The socialist society of Germany to-.

day offers equal educational opportun-
ities to all citizens and demands the
acquisition of a high standard of know-
ledge. The aim is to develop a highly
cultured nation; a nation of universally
educated people who will take an inter-
est in mathematics and technology,
politics and economics as much as in
sport, music and poetry. -

All citizens have the opportunity to
obtain an education up to university
level free of charge, depending on their
abilities. Those already working have
every opportunity to continue their
vocational and general education in
special courses and institutions. The
education of the young and adults is
coordinated and forms an integrated
system that includes nursery systems
and creches. :

More than two million citizens parti-
cipated in the discussions to work out
the “Principles Governing the Develop-
ment of the Integrated Socialist Educa-
tional System” based on the need to
cope with the new tasks of the techni-
cal revolution and create new cultural
values by the year 2000.

In order to achieve this goal the edu-
cation of each student must be based
on the unity of science and partisan-
ship—fully trained and educated peo-
ple with a high degree of class con-
sciousness. Only in this way is it poss-
ible to win the “battle for men’s minds”
which is fought primarily in the class-
room.

The ten-class general educational
secondary school forms the core of the
educational system. In addition there
are special schools and classes in which
concentrated instruction is given in
certain subjects to train the reserves
for specific branches.of. the economy,

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—

science and sport. This is followed by
specialized vocational training provid-
ing a skilled worker’s certificate and
qualification for admission to a tech-
nical school. Basically, everyoné who
has completed the ten-class secondary
school has the opportunity to qualify
for university study. The universities,
colleges and technical schools consti-
tute the highest stage in the education-
al system.

Every child is taught at least one
foreign language starting in the fifth
class. Particularly gifted children may
attend special language classes from
the third class. Russian and English
take foremost place in this field.

‘Private and religious schools may
only be attended in addition to the obli-
gatory school which does not include
religious instruction. Although, in many
cases, schools make available rooms
for religious instructions and teachers
must respect the freedom of religion
guaranteed by law and may not exert
coercion on any child.

There are no longer any basic dif-
ferences between rural and urban
schools. The same timetables and sub-
ject matter are valid everywhere and
the number of teaching staff is evenly
distributed (G.D.R. average: 20 pupils
per teacher) .

Pupils whose mothers work may, on
request of the parents, spend their free
time at an after-school center until
their parents come from work. Here the
pupils do their homework under the
supervision of teachers, engage in
sports activity, singing, crafts, reading
and discussion.

The number of universities and col-
leges has greatly increased since 1945

-and there are now nearly 200 techni-

cal, agricultural, social science and art
schools.

Full-time students of the higher edu-
cation system-—with the: rare excep-
tion of sons and daughters of citizens
with unusually high incomes—have to
pay no tuition fees. Most of the full-
time students receive state grants.
Children of workers and those who are
orphans receive a basic monthly grant.
There are additional grants for good
and outstanding achievement.

The higher school system is con-
stantly being improved ‘to meet the
needs of the future—turning out ever
more highly skilled and more know-
ledgeable young people. Moreover, they
will be “educated in the modern sense
and above all, full of revolutionary
fervor’, that is in the meaning of leav-
ing behind the old and building the
new.

The young people of the G.D.R. are
entering the stage of history when, in
the words of the great German human-
ist, Ulrich von Hutten, they will shout
to the heavens:

“O Century, O Science!
It is a joy to live...”

OCTOBER 10; 1969-—Page 7