CO537-6564 — Page 73

1. (Cont'd)

"ublic Education" No.2.

18 yet there is only ɔnc Russian textbook. It is used in the clementary schools, in the adult schools and in the higher educational institutions. It is admitted to be vory imperfect. Steps are being taken to

produce a qualified Russian textbook adapted for educational institutions of various types.

As yet teachers are lacking even for the existing network of schools. It must be taken into consideration that a number of the old teachers are not suitable for employment in the new conditions. Many of them until now have been under

护

the influence of the ideas of Anglo-American pedagogics. Now the teachers are thirstily seeking for literature which might help to unmask the reactionary nature of these ideas, but such literature practically does not exist as yet in China...

The public education organs are setting themselves a complex task that of effecting direct managomont of the whole system of state schools and of effecting state control over the still numerous network of private schools. In Peking, out of 600 schools one-third still belong to privato persons, missionary organisations, in individual instances to religious communities, etc.; out of 60 socondary schools, 40 are private. The picture is approximately the same in other towns \too...

The political influence in the former missionary or other private schools is not yet always successfully onsured. A case is known in which two girls from such a school in Shanghai refused to attend a lesson on God's law and wore punished for this. Then the Shanghai Public Education Department specially explained that attendance at religious subjects was not obligatory for schoolchildren.

As a rule, Communists or representatives

of democratic organisations are placed at the head of schools as directors or their deputics, In a number of schools there are Communist Party organisations which include the pupils of the senior classes. Organisations of the Union of Now Democratic Youth aro at wɔrk.

Great attention is paid to higher education. There is a large network of universities and institutos. In Teking, Tientsin and Shanghai alone there are more than 50 higher educational institutions. • •

Beginning with 1949-1950; some changes were made in the educational plans of the higher institutions obligatory teaching of political cconomy, dialectical and historical materialism, the history of the Chinese revolution, the foundations of people's democracy and of Russian was introduced. It is difficult howover to provide professors, timo being in all these branches.

textbooks and aids for the

In order to train the cadros needed by the People's Government more quickly, in 1949 two special universitics were opened the National and the North-China University. Each of them has 500 students and a course lasting 4 to 6 months. Those universities, which essentially are higher short-term courses, train administrative officials and various state institutions. A juridical institute was also opened on October 1, 1949. This year, in accordance with the decision of the State ..dministrative Council a new university is being established in Peking, the task of which includes the training of cadres for the national economy and for various spheros of construction in new China. The university will havo oconomic, planning, credit-finance, cooperativo, commercial, juridical, diplomatic and administrative facultics. 2,500 persons are being admitted for the first course. Concurrently four month courses in the above mentioned branches are being opened under the university to re-train specialists already working in economic institutions.

!!

روز