Scientific journal
European Journal of Natural History
ISSN 2073-4972
ИФ РИНЦ = 0,301

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONDITIONS FOR THE REFORMATION OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IN CENTRAL KAZAKHSTAN IN 1930-1940-S

Zueva L.I. 1 Nurligenova Z.N. 2
1 Karaganda State University of the name of academician E.A. Buketov
2 Karaganda State Technical University
The article examines the processes of reform of school education in Central Kazakhstan, highlighted the steps fundamental changes in education in the 1930–1940. The main feature of the reform of the specified period was the organization of primary universal education, elimination of illiteracy among the Kazakh population. The main effort in the formation of a new system of education focused on the development of the elementary school, which is the basis of the educational system. The authors note that Soviet school had a positive experience of the polytechnic education, teaching of natural sciences. The most important components of system of polytechnic education are implementation of the principle of polytechnic in teaching of the principles of science, industrial excursion, extracurricular lessons on technique and agrobiology. Socially useful productive work of pupils become unchangeable in the practice of the Soviet school. School was able to meet not only the requirements of institutions, but also the need for replenishment of the working class and the collective farm peasantry. However, the Great Patriotic War, which began in 1941, broke People’s Commissariat for Education’s plans, but suspended the decision of this problem.
school education
illiteracy
semi-illiteracy
reform

One of the major problems is illiteracy significant part of the population of Kazakhstan in the early 30-s of XX century, which had a negative impact on the prospects for socio-economic development of Kazakhstan. In this connection, February 11, 1930 was made the CEC Decision KazASSR “On mandatory literacy of the population”, which identified concrete methods of teaching school-age children and the achievement of literacy among the adult population [1, 139-141]. It should be noted that accounted for 37 % in 1930, literacy among native peoples of the Republic of Kazakhstan is already 37 % [2, 5].

To implement this goal August 27, 1930 the Government of the KazASSR was signed a decree on the introduction to the 1930–1931 school year, compulsory primary education in the country, and, in particular, in the Karaganda region. According to the decree provided for the introduction of universal compulsory primary education of children aged 8–11 years. The beginning of primary education for nomadic areas planned at a later date. It should be noted that the conditions of such areas may be increased one school per radius of three kilometers with the necessary transportation of children to school or to the opening of boarding schools with catering for poor children. For teenagers from 11 to 15 years have not passed primary school, provided for the creation of one- and two-year schools courses. According to the document in total needed to educate on January 1, 1931 – 440,575 children of school age and 60,000 teenager, and on September 1, 1932 – 651 402 school-age children and 180,339 teenager [3, 11].

January 30, 1930 Regional Committee CPSU (B) enacted by-law on the report of the Republic of Narkompros about school, which recognized the need for publication of textbooks in the native language and qualification courses for teachers [4, 168].

To solve this problem 12 December 1930 on “Karaganda coal” was sent to the document of the Central Soviet of National Economy (CSNE), in which the paramount importance attached to the elimination of illiteracy. It said that the issue of the elimination of illiteracy among the workers, and especially among their Kazakh people, must find a ready response from the business organizations.

This task was not easy, as was hampered by lack of funds, personnel and facilities. Due to the shortage of teachers in 1930, almost everyone who had seven grade education, could work as a teacher. At the end of 1930 in Karaganda was opened 33 points literacy teaching in the Kazakh language. As teachers from Almaty arrived 50 Kazakh students, who carried out this work [5, 110–111].

Total according to a report of the Karaganda District Board of Education from April 1 to August 1, 1931, it was noted the presence of four schools in the area of Bolshoi Mikhailovka, Tikhonovka, New Uzenke, Zelenya Balka. This document pointed to the expansion of the school network in 1931–1932: 17 of the first stage school in Karaganda, one school in addition to the above-mentioned towns and one school of factory training. It is also anticipated opening of the school and the mines of the Karaganda area: “...For mine number 4/11 constructed 2 buildings for 320 children”, and to mine number 5 and number 18 – one school for 8 groups [6, 22].

The next step in the eradication of illiteracy in the region was the adoption of the Karaganda Oblast Executive Committee 9 February 1933. Resolution on holding cultural excursion for solid literacy field signed by the chairman of the regional executive committee Koshkunova and manager of the executive committee Dudkin. The campaign was planned for the period from January 1 to September 15, 1933 the staff of Karaganda Department of Education was instructed to organize a mass work to mobilize workers at the elimination of illiteracy among the adult population. To this end, February 5, 1933 it was necessary to establish a contingent of illiterates by region and cover all studies [7, 53]. This Regulation obliged to October 5, 1933 fully cover the training of illiterate and semi-literate recruits and youth of premilitary age (years 1910–1911–1912.), To entrust Regional Land Office and the Regional Board of Education to provide all school premises equipment, fuel, lighting, textbooks and educational aids and no later than February 10, 1933. In this areas of the school to create basic literacy and illiteracy, and to assign to these schools, in addition to the training sessions, conducting methodical work with kultarmeytsami [8, 69–70].

As a result of the work done at 1 January 1934 130 200 children aged 8–15 years, are covered in the training schools of stages 1 and 2 119 838 people have been taken into account in Karaganda region, or 92 % [9, 111].

However, in 1935 implementation indicators literacy in Karaganda region have fallen sharply: instead of 35 000 people have been educated only 19 242 t. e. 32 % of the planned amount. In terms of 107,000 people on January 1, 1936 the training was covered by only 56,748, or 53 % [10, 57]. This was due primarily to a lack of teaching staff, shortage of textbooks and teaching aids students who lack special facilities for training.

From the reference: “Progress in literacy CUY” of the Regional Committee of the Young Communist League should “by the decision of the Regional Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the need to eliminate illiteracy in 1935, 300 thousand people. From the reference: “Progress in literacy CUY” of the Regional Committee of the Young Communist League should” by the decision of the Regional Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the need to eliminate illiteracy in 1935, 300 thousand people.

In its turn, we set a goal to eliminate illiteracy among elementary Komsomol in 1935. In total, there are illiterate CUY – 17 389 people. For this purpose, it decided 3000 kultarmeytsev mobilize [11, 3]. Including the Karaganda regional committee “in nine areas considered illiterate 230 people, uneducated 316 people, and trained in all 231 people, mobilized by the liquidators to 100 people”, and the city of Karaganda “illiterate KSM 143, enrolled 120 mobilized kultarmeytsami 54” [12, 5].

In order to meet the literacy plan May 19th 1935 Kazakh Central Executive Committee announced a competition for the city, town, rural units on the best training schools for 1935–1936 academic year. One of the winners of this contest was Karkaraly area, despite the fact that geographically it is located quite far from the railway, and some of its parts at that time still remained in a state of semi-nomadic. Through the efforts of local party organizations and national education departments managed to cover 97 % of universal education of school children against 91 % in the 1934–1935 school year, as well as using traditional construction complete and put into operation 163 school buildings, overhauled 142 schools that influenced the results competition [13, 201–202].

It should be noted that the educational functions in schools in Central Kazakhstan carried out teachers who have made a great contribution to literacy and the development of school education in the region: K. Komkenov, G.F. Hoffmann, G.N. Belyakova, L.F. Potapenko, A. Tatikios, M.P. Malikov, A. Ya Plotnikov, A.A. Kobzev, Igor Bubnov, T. Nuralieva, N. Spassky, V.A. Seypulnik, R. Khasenov, A.P. Orleans, Z. Dakirova, T. Tleubekova etc.

Teachers of Karaganda region passed systematic training and improvement of the network evening courses in the city of Karaganda. For example, the city elementary school teachers improved their skills on the six-month courses in the evening Teachers College, opened in 1935 in the village of Prishahtinsky at junior high school number 11. And from November 1, 1936 became operational evening Pedagogical College, which raised the qualification of the teacher who had incomplete secondary education in Karaganda [14, 59].

Arrangements due to the rapid increase in the number of schools and students in them was not enough, so the already 3 March 1937 came into force Decree Orgburo Kazkraykoma CPSU (b) in the Karaganda region “on the preparation by short courses of teachers for primary, lower secondary and secondary schools Karaganda region”. This Regulation instructing the regional department of public education at the expense of the local budget in 1937 to organize a four-month training courses for primary school teachers to Kazakh and Russian schools in Akmolinsk, Karaganda to German schools, as well as a two-month training courses for teachers of the Russian language for the Kazakh parent middle schools and high schools in the city of Karaganda [15, 98–99].

Arrangements of the leader of the region have shown positive results: if in 1935, taught by 26 teachers with higher education, then in 1937 the number of teachers who have received higher education, was already 79 people in the city’s schools [14, 59]. In the 1937–1938 school year in primary schools of the region were employed 1657 teachers in junior high and high schools – 441. At the same time 1626 of them had primary education, 370 – secondary 102 – higher [16, 80–82].

The situation began to improve with the opening in 1938 of the Karaganda teacher’s institute. So, at the beginning of the second half of 1940 it employed 2226 teachers in schools, including specialists with higher education 173, incomplete higher – 262, with the average – 641. However, the proportion of teachers with incomplete secondary education, the presence of which was partly due to an artificial increase in the needs of teachers as a result of the discovery of small schools and classes with little quantitative people, was still unacceptably high – 1 150 people [17, 2].

The next event in the reform of the school system was the adoption of the Decree SNK of Kazakh SSR from March 15, 1938 “On the state of literacy in the country”. Council of People’s Commissars in the document marked a completely unsatisfactory implementation of the plan in 1937 to eliminate illiteracy in the whole country. For example, adopted a plan for the eradication of illiteracy in 1937 was carried out only by 45,6 %, that is, have been trained in all 202,0 thousand. People, instead of 444,4 thousand. People identified in the plan. At the same time, especially lagging three areas of the country, among them the Karaganda region (18,9 %) were noted in the implementation of the plan. The main reason for this state of work on literacy and illiteracy was the absence on the part of the People’s Commissariat leaders, trade unions and executive committees of the Bolshevik struggle for the implementation of the decisions of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) and SNK, Kazkraykoma CPSU (b) and CPC of Kazakh SSR [18, 2].

However, according to the All-Union census in 1939y. literacy rate in Kazakhstan at the age of 9 years and older reached 76,3 %, including the ages of 9 to 49 years – 83,5 % and 50 years and older – 31,4 %. These figures were significantly higher in Karaganda region. This was related not only to the conducted activities on the eradication of illiteracy, but with the voluntary and forced migration in the region of large numbers of people. There were not only competent, but also qualified workers and specialists of different professions and intellectuals. So, the All-Union census in 1939 recorded literacy rate in the Karaganda region at the age of 9 years and older – 83,5 %, including the age group of 9 to 49 years – 88,9 % and 50 years and older – 47 %. In this way, including the all age the Karaganda region ranked 1st place in Kazakhstan, exceed the level of not only Kazakhstan, but also the all-Union level (Literacy rate in the Union at the age of 9 years and older was 81,2 %).

The positive experience of polytechnic education, teaching subjects of natural-mathematical cycle was accumulate in the Soviet school of 1930–1940. After the abolition of the labor education in the school as an independent academic subject, there was gap between school and life’s demands. In spite of this, many of the advanced schools and teachers included important elements of labor education and polytechnic education in the teaching of subjects of natural-mathematical cycle. The most important components of polytechnism were realization polytechnic principles in the teaching of fundamentals of science, production’s excursions, class outing work on technique and Agrobiology, socially useful productive work of pupils remained immutable in the practice of the Soviet school of the late 30-s of XX century. Another thing that, they were subordinated to academic and educational goals of the school, it were preparing the graduates for studies at the universities and colleges. Only after The Decision of XVIII Party Congress (1939) the schools had at the same time preparing graduates for further education in secondary and higher special education and also prepared them for practical work in the national economy. In this way, development of the cultural and technical level of the working class to the level of engineering and technical workers ensured by the development of universal secondary education in the country. Secondary school was able to meet not only the needs of higher educational institutions, but also needs of replenishment of the working class and the collective farm peasantry. Life has demanded changes in the content of secondary education in accordance with the best training of school’s graduates to practice in the national economy and the service sector. The Decisions of XXVII Party Congress demanded from system of the school education not just improve the cultural level of the working class, but also increase cultural and technical level, caused by the rapid technological progress in socialist society. According with the decisions of the Party Congress it was necessary to strengthen the polytechnic education at the Soviet school. The problem of preparing school graduates for practice can be addressed through integrated development of labor education and polytechnic education. However, the People’s Commissariat of the Union republics and local departments were unprepared to meet with new goals in the field of public education. It should also be noted that no one developed the answers of forecasting future development of the Soviet school on more or less prolonged period. Therefore, management bodies of public education and educational science at first could not give clear and precise directions to schools and teachers about the nature, content and the main ways of achieving the objectives of “prepare graduates to practice». S.M. Shabalov wrote about this task, that “we encounter rarely with such vague concept”. Order of the People’s Commissariat of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic on August 26, 1940 “About measures on improvement of rural secondary school work”, according to contemporaries, “had a great fundamental and practical value”. He paid the attention of all teachers, especially teachers of rural schools,on the need for the teaching of science together with the theory and practice and on the importance of transmission the knowledge of vital importance to students. This decision represented a significant achievement in the development of Soviet Polytechnic School. In accordance with the order of the state inputted the significant changes in the curricula of rural schools in the subjects of natural-mathematical cycle (Compulsory practical classes, excursions and so on). Order of the People’s Commissariat was a kind of complement to existing curriculums, concretizing their on individual classes and subjects. Practical classes and excursions were held in conjunction with the study of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, drawing, without disturbing systematic programs. As a result of checking the status of educational work of schools in Karaganda region for 1940 was noted that the total number of pupils of general schools at the beginning of 1940–1941 academic year was 1 138,2 thousand people, of them in urban areas -. 351,9, in – 786,3. In the 1–3 (4) classes – only 469,5, in urban areas – 123,6, in rural areas – 345,9. In the 4–8 (5–9) classes – only 637,0, in urban areas – 208,6, in the countryside – 428.4. In the 9–10 (11) (10–11) classes – only 28,3 in urban areas 16,4 of them, in rural areas 11,9.

The Great Patriotic War broke the peace plans of the People’s Commissariat for preparing students for practice, but not suspended the decision of this problem. In military circumstances, these plans were more relevant, the decision acquired new forms, but still remained significant labor and polytechnique training of pupils. The main feature of reforms in 1930–1940-s was the organization of primary universal education, elimination of illiteracy among the Kazakh population. The main efforts in the formation of a new system of education focused on the development of the elementary school. During these years, there were ideologization, politicization of the school system, destroyed the Kazakh intelligence. V. Baitursynov, Sh. Kudaiberdiev, T. Zhurgenov, S. Mendes, C. Asfendiyarov and many others were repressed. They were the best representatives of the Kazakh people, people of high spiritual and intellectual culture.

Since the 30-s of XX century began a slow but steady offensive on national school, national component in the content of education, the national language of education, national identity. In the 30-s of XX century finally established a new educational model of the Soviet school, working on unified programs, with constant statutes and regulations.

Before the war, especially after the XVIII Party Congress , the labor education and polytechnic education at the Soviet school were greatly enhanced because of task of “training school graduates to practice”. People’s Commissariat of the Union republics held intensive development of new curricula and programs, which were to provide the best training students to practice. Socially useful productive work of students took on an unprecedented scale in the new environment. Department of People’s Commissariat of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic of primary and secondary schools and the State Research Institute of the People’s Commissariat of Education schools of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to the teachers’ meetings in January 1941 developed methodological recommendations “About assignment of practical skills to students in connection with the study program material”.

Historic-retrospective look at the formation and development of the school system of 1930–1940 allowed us to identify two main areas of educational policy of the Soviet state. There were the elimination of illiteracy and low literacy, and the upbringing of the younger generation in the spirit of Marxist-Leninist theory.

The peculiarity of the first direction was determined by the sharply increased national economic needs of the Soviet state in the conditions of rapid development of the economic power of the country and of the second upbringing of Soviet human, in the conditions of the dictatorship of proletariat, who could execute the instructions of the Party and government.

These measures have been impossible without reforming the school system in the USSR and Kazakhstan in 1930–1940-s. Therefore, all secondary schools of the republic, including the Central Kazakhstan, in the second half of the 1930s was taken under strict control by the Party and government bodies, and all following transformation in them happened only in the context of the principles of the Unified Labor School.