Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 119: Educational Reform

With a new leader in place, Emperor Franz understood the importance of making significant accomplishments to justify his role as a time traveler.

“Reform” became the central theme of his government. The Austrian Empire faced numerous problems, even after the previous year’s major revolution had cleared away much of the debris. However, there were still underlying issues that needed to be addressed.

Franz was cautious about implementing radical reforms, as he feared it might lead to social instability or even violence. While he had already abolished serfdom, resolved land issues, and made attempts to improve the living conditions of the working class, he knew that attempting to solve all the empire’s problems at once would be too painful.

The Austrian Empire couldn’t afford such drastic changes without causing harm. Instead, he opted to address issues one by one, starting with the liberation of the serfs, resolving land disputes, and ensuring that the working class had access to basic necessities.

The troublesome bourgeoisie and the radicals who dared to cause disturbances had become a rare breed after the recent purges.

Those who survived were generally intelligent individuals who knew what to say and what not to say, as well as what actions were permissible and what were not.

Vienna’s citizens, who had experienced a revolution, harbored deep-seated resentment towards the revolutionary parties. Anyone attempting to promote revolutionary ideas among them was met with swift retaliation, often a sound beating followed by a trip to the police station.

So far, the Vienna police had apprehended dozens of such troublemakers. Every capture led to the identification of more, and after several months of maintaining law and order, hundreds of revolutionary activists had been arrested, significantly dampening the arrogance of the revolutionaries.

Many of those arrested were young students, which greatly angered Franz. He was determined to reform Austria’s education system.

While freedom of speech was allowed, everyone had to be responsible for their words. Nonsensical talk, spreading rumors, and malicious slander all had consequences, often leading to time in prison.

The idea of schools operating independently from government oversight was abolished, never to return. This was especially enforced in universities.

The days when the University of Vienna refused police entry to arrest revolutionary activists, as happened before the March Revolution, were now inconceivable.

If such a situation indeed occurs, anyone obstructing the execution of official duties will be sent to prison, just like any common criminal. In Austria, there is no immunity from the law.

“Count von Thun und Hohenstein, what specific plans does the Ministry of Education have to strengthen ideological education for young students?” Franz inquired.

Count Leopold von Thun und Hohenstein, the Minister of Education, promptly replied, “Your Majesty, the Ministry of Education has decided to establish teachers specializing in ideological education at schools, who will be responsible for guiding students’ thoughts. If any negative tendencies are identified, they will be promptly addressed.

To enhance school management, the Ministry of Education has decreed that the appointment of key school leadership personnel must receive prior approval from the ministry. This requirement also applies to private schools.

Schools are now required to report their annual enrollment figures to the local education authorities. When hiring faculty and staff, schools must ensure that individuals have the correct ideological stance and a clean criminal record.

To strengthen oversight of universities and colleges, the Ministry of Education will provide guidance on the types of programs each school can offer and the number of students they can admit in each program.

Based on the performance of individual institutions, the Ministry of Education will determine their financial allocations for the following year. Schools with recurrent issues may face closure, and individuals responsible for these issues will be held legally accountable.”

This means they are going to start by tackling the finances. Running an education system is a costly endeavor, and without government support, most schools would likely have to shut down if they rely solely on tuition fees.

In this era, Austria adopted an elitist education model. Each school had a relatively small number of students, usually only a few hundred, and the staff also numbered around a hundred and eighty.

In such a situation, without funding from the Ministry of Education, if primary and secondary schools were to raise tuition fees significantly, their student body would mainly consist of children from wealthy families, and they might just barely be able to keep themselves afloat.

For universities, it would be even more challenging. Without enough government support, there would be a lack of research resources and highly qualified professors. Even if they only admitted liberal arts students, they wouldn’t be able to sustain it.

This was Austria, so charitable donations from society couldn’t be expected. Schools that don’t have the government's support won't receive favor from social elites either.

Franz pondered for a moment and said, “Regulatory work must be taken seriously. The Ministry of Education’s guidance on student enrollment in schools is essential.

Some majors that are not in demand in society shouldn’t admit so many students. Graduating into unemployment isn’t what we want for our youth, right?

While implementing regulations, we must also establish an educational accountability system, so problems can be traced back to those responsible.

The school principal is the one primary responsible, and as a principal, they have the responsibility to educate every student. When it comes to classes, we can implement a class teacher responsibility system, assigning one teacher to be in charge of each class.

The specifics can be determined based on the actual situation. Before implementing compulsory education, we need to manage the existing schools.

This kind of management must emphasize strategy, ensuring smooth teaching while also strengthening students’ ideological education.

However, there is no need to add dedicated ideological education teachers, as this can easily lead to resistance.

We can integrate this ideological education into subjects such as history, politics, and language, making these topics mandatory for college entrance exams.

The Ministry of Education must effectively oversee the college entrance exams and ensure that there is no room for manipulation. If wealthy individuals want their children to perform poorly academically but still secure admissions, they can contribute to school sponsorship fees. We should not allow these individuals to disrupt our education system.”

Franz also took preventive measures. If the wealthy were not given a path, they would find ways to corrupt the education system. Rather than that, why not be transparent about it?

Failing the exams is not an issue. You pay to get in, whether your child graduates or not is their own problem. If it doesn’t work out, you can pay again later to buy your child a diploma.

Prime Minister Felix proposed, “Your Majesty, since we have already decided to promote compulsory education, should we consider restricting private education?

These private schools have always been a hidden danger. Education is sacred and should not become a tool for certain individuals to seek personal profit!”

His concerns were not unfounded. Through an investigation into the young students involved in the Vienna Uprising, it was found that nearly eighty percent of them came from private schools.

The young students who frequently participated in protests and demonstrations were mostly from private schools. Public schools usually prohibit students from leaving the campus during class hours.

In other words, the origins of revolutionary ideas mostly stemmed from these privately-run schools that operated independently of the government system, subtly influencing the worldview of young individuals.

Ironically, these private schools also received educational funding from the Austrian government. In the end, the government paid, capitalists profited, and they nurtured a group of anti-government students.

“This is indeed a problem. How does the Ministry of Education plan to address it?” Franz inquired.

As an emperor, Franz did not have the habit of having everything figured out himself and then commanding his subordinates to execute it.

If he did that, his subordinates would have an easy time while he would be overworked. Emperors known for their diligent governance often had relatively short reigns, a phenomenon seen in various historical contexts.

Moreover, lacking sufficient experience could lead to making unwise decisions. Working tirelessly, but ultimately achieving little and facing dissatisfaction, as exemplified by the fate of Emperor Chongzhen in Chinese history, was not an appealing prospect for Franz.

One person’s wisdom is never a match for the collective wisdom of a group, and specialization is essential. Professional matters are best handled by professionals.

As an emperor, you can amend the plans of your subordinates or even discard them, but you should never let them cease making plans.

Count Leopold von Thun und Hohenstein responded, “Your Majesty, the Ministry of Education is still discussing this issue, and there are two potential approaches we can consider.

First, we could prohibit further construction of private schools by civilians and have the government buy the existing private schools, thus bringing education entirely under government management.

Second, we could cease educational funding for private schools, strengthen the approval process for privately-established schools, and enhance our supervision of them.”

Both approaches are aimed at curbing private schools, with the first being more extreme.

Learning from past mistakes, the Ministry of Education now vehemently opposes disorderly and chaotic ideologies. As a result, nearly a hundred teachers have been dismissed from public schools, with some of them even sent for reeducation.

Franz, with a cold smile, remarked, “Let’s stop funding private schools. Since they are private, they should naturally bear their own financial burden.

We should also introduce an investor liability system to enhance management of private schools.

If a private school becomes a hub for the widespread dissemination of unlawful ideologies, let the capitalists behind it and the school administrators go to prison together!”

The Austrian government needs to be mindful of appearances; a one-size-fits-all solution won’t work. In European society during this era, education is indeed a business, albeit one with a unique purpose.

Those investing in education at this time are by no means philanthropists; they have specific motives.

Children from lower-class families aren’t even eligible for education, even at the cheapest church schools, as they can’t even afford the most basic supplies like paper and pens.

In this kind of widespread environment, who has the capacity to sponsor impoverished students? It’s not a matter of one or two individuals, nor is it tens of thousands, but rather millions of people in desperate need of education.

The reality is much harsher than what’s recorded in textbooks, and being in this era, Franz is acutely aware that it’s a dark era.