What was good in the system of Soviet education

Teaching children in a Soviet school was intended not only to teach them to read, count, write, give the basics of various sciences, but also to form them as individuals, to educate worthy members of society. Against the background of gaining knowledge about the laws of nature, thinking and society, labor skills, social skills, strong communist views and beliefs developed. But all this is true only in relation to the entire era of Soviet education. At various stages of its formation and development, the situation was a little different.

The formation of Soviet education

You can’t talk about any merits of the Soviet education system without understanding how, when, and where it came from. The basic principles of education for the near future were formulated in 1903. At the II Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, it was stated that education should be universal and free for all children under 16 years of age, regardless of gender. In addition, class and national schools should be liquidated, and the school should be separated from the church. November 9, 1917 is the day of the establishment of the State Education Commission, which was supposed to develop and control the entire system of education and culture of the vast country of the Soviets. The Regulation "On the Unified Labor School of the RSFSR", dated October 1918, provided for compulsory school attendance by all citizens of the country aged 8 to 50 years who were not yet able to read and write. The only thing that could be chosen was in what language to learn to read and write (Russian or native).

At that time, most of the working population was illiterate. The country of the Soviets was considered to be far behind Europe, where general education for all was introduced almost 100 years earlier. Lenin believed that the ability to read and write could give an impetus to every person to "improve his economy and his state."

By 1920, over 3 million people were literate. A census of the same year showed that more than 40 percent of the population over 8 years old can read and write.

The 1920 census was incomplete. It was not carried out in Belarus, Crimea, Transcaucasia, in the North Caucasus, in the Podolsk and Volyn provinces, and in a number of regions of Ukraine.

Fundamental changes awaited the education system in 1918-1920. The school was separated from the church, and the church from the state. The teaching of any creed was forbidden, boys and girls were now studying together, and now there was nothing to pay for lessons. At the same time, they began to create a system of preschool education, revised the rules for admission to higher educational institutions.

In 1927, the average training time for people over 9 years old was a little over a year, in 1977 - almost 8 full years.

By the 1930s, illiteracy as a phenomenon was defeated. The education system was organized as follows. Almost immediately after the birth of a child, he could be sent to a nursery, then to a kindergarten. Moreover, there were day care kindergartens, as well as around the clock. After 4 years of primary school, the child became a high school student. Upon completion, he could get a profession in a school or college or continue his studies in high school.

The desire to educate trustworthy members of Soviet society and competent specialists (especially engineering and technical profile) made the Soviet education system the best in the world. The education system underwent a total reform in the course of liberal reforms in the 1990s.