Agrarian education in the Lower Volga Region. Issues, achievements (the 1920s)

Abstract

Issues in the sphere of education are the pressing ones not only today. For historical reasons, any social upheaval in the country has an impact on the public education. The century-old events are not an exception. The  system  of  agrarian  education  in  Soviet  Russia  encountered  great difficulties  at  the  time  of  the  dismantlement  of  NEP  and  during  the  village modernization. In connection with the new tasks facing agriculture, the small network  of  educational  establishments,  their  disparity,  low  student  take-in capacity, poor financial position and low professional level of graduates could not meet the needs of the People’s Commissariat of Agriculture. Absence of necessary assistance and control from the superior authorities over  many  educational  establishments,  particularly  over  many  mid-ranking and low-ranking institutions, adversely affected their activity. The State paid special  attention to  young  peasants  and  tried  to  increase  the  proportion  of that  social  group  among  the  applicants.  But  the  peasants’  financial  hardship, shortage of time for studies, weak education proficiency, lack of the scholarship allowances and of accommodation in many educational institutions hampered the implementation of the task.To overcome the situation, it was required to restructure – in cooperation with all those involved – the existing system of agrarian staff training.