Sociological Problems of the Transition to Universal Secondary Education

Abstract

Building the material and technological foundation for communism presupposes developing not only the material but the personal elements of the productive forces. In the Report to the Twenty-fourth Congress of the CPSU, L. I. Brezhnev emphasized that modern production makes rapidly growing demands not only on machines and equipment but above all on the personnel themselves - on those who create the machines and those who run them. Specialized knowledge, a high level of occupational training, and general culture become obligatory for successful work by ever broader strata of personnel. (1) Mechanization and automation of production raise to a constantly increasing degree the role of polytechnical knowledge and creative initiative in production processes. The capacity to think creatively and to work with inspiration, along with a high level of discipline, precision, and faultless performance, become decisive for personnel of any rank.