Education under Stalin

• • Primary education expanded, increase in primary students of 36% from 1928 to 1932.
  • 1.5 million increase in secondary students from 1929-1939, still only 7% of children however.
  • 1930 Illiteracy campaign, 90% of adults attended literacy courses, by 1939 over 94% literacy rates.
• Education under Stalin overview

  • Stalinist education style and curriculum.
  • Stalin's war against illiteracy.
  • Educational expansion including universities.
  • Labour Reserve Schools.
• Stalinist education style and curriculum

  • 1931 Decree abolished Polytechnic schools; focus on workers gaining basic mathematics and literacy to become good industrial workers and farmers.
  • Harsh discipline to prepare students for world of work; students had to sit a certain way, students could be expelled for misconduct, regular homework set.
  • National examinations introduced in 1935 to identify high-achieving students for management posts.
  • 1934 Decree on Teaching of Civic History; nationalist focus on Russian history - link to Cult of Stalin.
  • Teachers inspired by Stakhanov - eg Mrs Leonova.
• Stalin's War on Illiteracy

  • 1930 Party Congress commits itself to eliminating illiteracy, and providing compulsory primary education.
  • 3 million teachers recruited from Komsomol; these were called 'cultural soldiers' fighting a war against illiteracy.
  • Occurred at the same time as collectivisation; 40% of teachers were attacked, teachers could not provide free school meals, rumours spread that teachers would sell women students to China.
  • By 1939, over 94% of citizens were literate; 97% of men versus 90% of women.
• Educational expansion including universities

  • By 1932, over 95% of primary age students attended school.
  • Higher education scholarships; however these favoured children of party officials.
  • Universities saw 800% increase; there were over 817 universities in 1939, university education focused on creating 'red specialists', however WW2 decimated universities - only 270K students in 1944.
  • By 1953; 100% of students completed primary education but only 20% completed secondary education.
• Labour Reserve Schools

  • Form of industrial conscription; established in 1940, aimed at young men aged 14 to 17, quotas for compulsory recruitment were issued.
  • Recruits enrolled on to training courses lasting 6 months to 2 years.
  • During WW2; young men could avoid military service by enrolling in LRS, deployed in specialist roles in factories to facilitate war production.
  • LRS recruited women.
  • Harsh conditions; deserting students could face 1 year in prison or 10 years in a GULAG.
  • Between 1946-1952, LRS recruited 4.2 million young people.
  • Important for providing skilled labour after WW2.