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New steps in Soviet education made in 1984 Reform Program

The system of public education in the Soviet Union — the education of all people — has played a key role in raising the Soviet people to the summits of world culture and in the rapid economic and social progress of the world’s first socialist state. No other social system could have done so much for the education and the intellectual and cultural development of the people in such a short space of time.

The current reform of the education sys- tem is a logical progression from the first reform in 1918. At that time, a few months after the establishment of Soviet rule, 79 per cent of the people were illiterate. A new school system with heavy emphasis on vocational training was introduced.

The second landmark came in 1930 when universal, compulsory four-year education was instituted.

By the end of the ’30s, there was seven- year compulsory: schooling for all, with vastly increased opportunities for secon- dary and higher education. Further pro- gress was disrupted by the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

In 1958, following the restoration and refinement of the education system, com- pulsory eight-year education for all children was launched, with a renewed emphasis on work skills as prerequisites for college.

By the mid-’70s, a program for 10-year compulsory education was completed.

Education in the rural areas is rapidly catching up to the level of towns and cities. In non-Russian areas, the schools use essen- tially the same syllabus, with special atten- tion to such subjects as local history, geography and literature. The Soviet school system is multi-ethnic, with teaching in 52 languages.

_ In 1984, after a wide, public debate involving nearly half the population, a new education reform program was enacted by the Supreme Soviet (parliament). Said Edu- cation Minister Mikhail Prokofiev: “We plan to put all branches of the economy on the technology frontier, to radically boost Productivity and to produce goods of world standard. This implies highly educated peo- Ple capable of independent thought and with high working skills.”

Compulsory education will be extended from 10 to 11 years. Children will be enrolled at age six, instead of age seven, although not all schools are equipped yet to take in six-year olds.

In September, 1984, 1,200,000 six-year- Olds enrolled. In years to come, enrollment

Will reach nearly four times that number.

The structure of the compulsory school System will be as follows:

© Primary — four years; 15). Basic Secondary — five years (to age

© Advanced Secondary — school child- Ten will have the choice of finishing classes

Inthe 10th and 11th grades, or at vocational |

and technical schools.

Individual talents of pupils will be deve- loped through the re-introduction of Optional, extra lessons involving advanced Studies in mathematics and physics, chemis- try and the social sciences.

The school-leaving certificate will give 17-year-olds a choice between higher educa- ton, further vocational training or work in the economy with skills gained at school.

The key concept of the reform is the idea of improving work studies and vocational 8uidance at schools, of combining produc- tive work with study. The plan is to give young people the basic skills of a job by the time they leave the secondary school.

Children will be acquainted with methods Used in all the most important forms of

Work, both in workshops and in real life.

is method has been in effect since 1918,

but it will be further refined. a

From Moscow Jack Phillips

A special program will give all school children certain basic work skills. Senior grades will have a slightly reduced summer vacation to enable them to receive more work experience.

Usefulness of real work done will be stressed, with due allowance for age and

local conditions. Emphasis will be placed on —

the work being rational and in line with modern technology. The first four grades will teach basic methods of manual work involving various materials, through per- forming minor repairs to textbooks, grow- ing plants and making toys and other items useful at school, kindergarten or in the home.

The fifth to ninth grades will give stu- dents a general foundation in metalwork, woodwork, technical drawing, the main economic sectors and environmental legis- lation. This will provide a basis for work in the mass trades during the 10th and 11th grades. Consideration will be given to the urban or rural situation, male and female favored jobs and state manpower needs.

Such a vast program could not be under- taken by the school system alone. The involvement of industry, agriculture and the service sector is essential and these must consider the schools as affiliates for which they are responsible. Enterprises paired with schools are obliged to provide work equipment and space and to fit out work studies classrooms and workshops in schools.

Each school-leaver will have both a secondary education certificate and a voca- tional certificate. The reform aims to reverse current ratios of two to one in favor of remaining at school for finishing classes (grades 10 and 11) over taking two years of vocational training.

Eleventh-grade school-leavers, in order to improve their skills or to learn a more complicated trade, can enroll in the relevant department at a vocational secondary

school with a term period of up to one year. . Others after completing the ninth grade,

will be encouraged to study at a vocational secondary school for a period of three years.

Specialized seocndary schools for teacher training, medical trades and medium-level specialists and executives for industrial pro- duction, public health services, cultural institutions and the service industries will be enlarged in scope. It will be available to both ninth-grade and 1 1th grade graduates.

Teachers’ qualifications are to be up- graded and teaching methods are to be modernized by the increased use of compu- ter and microprocessor technology.

The new requirements born of the reform, will include more studies of the humanities and physical training and will mean more jobs for teachers, kindergarten works and work instructors. The problem is not merely one of substantially increasing the number of teachers from the current number of three million; there will also have to be a refinement in teacher training practi- ces. That will involve changes at the various higher education institutions and colleges. For example, trainees will have to study industry as it is today, its future needs and career guidance. The guidelines for the reform also stipulate that teachers must be equipped with a more extensive back- ground in ethics, aesthetics, logic and law.

Steps will be taken to attract more men to the teaching profession, especially for the general education schools. At this time, the teaching profession at that level is predomi- nantly staffed by women.

The higher demands placed on teachers will be matched with higher pay and improved housing and social benefits. Since September last year, there has been a round of pay increases for teachers and other edu- cation staff. The average salary supplement will eventually reach 30 and 35 per cent.

As the construction industry is able to cath up with the demand for new school buildings and extensions of existing schools, the ratio of pupils to teachers will be reduced.

Aside from salary increases for teaching and other education staff, the state will pro- vide 11 billion rubles to finance the reform. This does not include the sums that will be spent by industry, collective farms, co- operative organizations and public institu- tions in organizing and equipping work places for senior students.

Some 800 vocational training establish- ments and new schools, with a total capac- ity of seven million students, will be provided between 1986 and 1990. Such rapid rates of construction are made neces- sary by the extra grade for six-year-olds and cuts in pupil-teacher ratio.

The vast scope of the reform must be seen against the background of the great achievements of socialist construction in the Soviet Union. There has been full employ- ment for more than 50 years and, instead of a shortage of jobs, there is a shortage of labor. Education, including the provision of school textbooks, is free of charge at every level.

No one here claims that the guidelines laid down for the reform are the last word on the subject. Experience will dictate any changes that may have to be made. But one thing can be said without fear of contradic-

tion: the reform is a reflection of the fact

that Soviet society is moving boldly into the 21st century and aiming for the highest world level of productivity in every field of industrial and agricultural endeavor. When the Soviet leaders say that their country wants peace and the reduction of armaments in order to devote a much greater share of the national product towards improving the social, cultural and aesthetic lives of the people, they mean just

~ that.

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