The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

EDUCATION. 471Education.In education the same contrast presents itself as in her industrial life. Thehigh schools were already organized, and scientific teaching fully developed in allthe Universities, while primary instruction was still almost entirely neglected.long as 20,000,000 of the people were in a state of thraldom mental culturewas necessarily regarded as dangerous. But few primary schools existed, andthose of Little Russia and of the Ukranian communities in Great Russia were closedAsin the present century.Ever since 1830 the Government was taking steps to preventeven the free children of the "lower orders" from entering the middle schoolsreserved for the nohles. But the emancipation of the serfs was accompanied bya general movement in favour of popular education. Under private action Sundayschools were opened at first in Kiev, and they had already 20,000 pupilsin the empire when they were closed by a Government decree in 1862. Sincethen private citizens have rarely been able to promote the cause of national instruction.Normal training schools have long been wanting, notwithstanding thepetitions of the Zemstvos, on whom the State wished to impose teachers trained in theecclesiastical seminaries. But since the Eranco-German war a few normal schoolshave been founded under pressure of public opinion* In her general educationalsystem Russia is thus still behind even such countries as Japan and Egypt.In 1876 there were only 24,456 primary schools in European Russia, and1,019,488 children, including 177,900 girls, in attendance—a proportion of littleover 1 to 80 of the population. Yet rudimentary instruction is obligatory for allsoldiers inthe regimental schools, so that the War Department may be said to domore for education than the Minister of Public Instruction.The secondary establishments — gymnasia, " real " schools, military gymnasia,ecclesiastical seminaries, and boarding schools—were attended in 1877 by 88,400students, besides 41,630 following the courses of the special ministerial institutes.Since the end of the last century the academies for girls of noble birth have givencourses analogous to those of the gymnasia, and in 1876 there were 320 middleschools for girls of all classes, with 55,620 pupils. Since 1861 women began alsoto attend the University and medical courses, but in 1863 they were excludedfrom the former, and for some years past they have frequented foreign Universities,especially those of Zurich, Berne, and Geneva.The eight Russian Universities, modelled on those of German}', have a comparativelymuch smaller attendance, t Entrance is rendered very difficult byexcessively hard examinations, while many of the students are periodicallyexpelled in consequence of their tendency to become imbued with the new ideas.But such is the love of learning that, in spite of all coercive measures, candidatescontinue to present themselves in ever-increasing numbers.This real devotion to* Normal schools in 1877 :—For towns, 7 ; for villages, 61 ;pupils, 4,596, of whom 727 were girls.t Russian Universities (1878) :— Students, 6,250 ; history, philology, letters, 721 ;physics and mathematics,1,365 ; law, 1,641 ; medicine, 2,865 ; free auditors, 449 ;professors, 636 ;yearly hudget, 2,529,470roubles.i i 2