Public authorities’ role in public education organization in the Simbirsk province in the second half of the 19th century

Abstract

This paper examines public authorities role in public education organization in the Simbirsk province in the second half of 19th - beginning of the 20th century. The state structures, the Russian Orthodox Church and other confessions managed the state-religious education in the country. The author examines the role of public authorities in the organization of state-religious education of people. The Ministry of National Education and the Holy Synod were responsible for it on the state scale. In the provinces this work was coordinated by the guardianship of the school districts, directorate of education and provincial and district councils. In secular educational institutions educational work was organized by the directorate of public schools, who controlled the educational work of school teachers and effective forms and methods use. The main responsibility of the national education directorates was joint Russian-Tatar schools opening, Russian classes opening in Islamic schools and compulsory Russian language study in Tatar schools. An important goal was to tighten control over the school activities. There was Orthodox missionary fraternity. These organizations were responsible for the same questions. Provincial directorates of national education had to coordinate all state-religious activities done by teachers, religious priests and missionaries. Thus, the system of the state-religious education management was complex, diverse; its parts copied each other, so it led to its activity efficiency decrease.