Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 112

Chapter 112: Chapter 112: The Poorest Compulsory Education Model
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Politicians often have a low bar to clear, and no one had much objection to Franz’s proposal; for the long-term stability and peace of Austria, spinning a little tale seemed trivial.

After all, the higher echelons of the Cabinet were nobility from the Germany Region, bona fide members of the Germanic people, so a Germanization movement wouldn’t hurt their national sentiments.

However, the Minister of Education was bewildered, altering historical origins seemed simple enough—centuries-old history was already hard to clarify—but what in the world was this “Austrian language”?

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“Your Highness, what is the Austrian language?” Count Hohenberg, Leo Von Tuss-Huohen, asked with perplexity.

Franz explained, “Merely promoting German could easily upset other minorities. To take their feelings into account,

I plan to convene Austrian linguists and historians to create an Austrian language and script, based on German and supplemented with languages and scripts of various minorities.”

Prime Minister Felix frowned and said, “Your Highness, German is the most widely used language in Austria. Creating a new Austrian language would mean everyone has to learn it all over again—isn’t that too much of a hassle?

Moreover, a unique Austrian language could deepen our rift with the Germany Region, benefiting those Little Germany separatists!”

Franz laughed heartily and responded, “That will depend on how the Ministry of Education compiles the Austrian language. If we directly borrow from German, altering only some unfamiliar terms, it shouldn’t impact daily communication, right?

Aren’t there also variations between different types of German? As long as our Austrian language is mutually intelligible with German, there won’t be so-called communication barriers.”

The others regained their composure. If it was just a matter of changing some obscure nouns that ordinary people would never use in their lives, then there was no issue.

The power of speech now rested in the hands of the Austrian Government. How the change was made was entirely up to them. Promoting German had effectively become promoting Austrian—a mere change of terminology.

The opposition? It seemed that now was the weakest moment for Austria’s opposition. Those daring enough to cause trouble had met God during the rebellion, and the rest were at most stuck in a phase of verbal protest.

No policy can please everyone. Conservative Austria wasn’t France; the public fervor for revolution wasn’t as high.

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As long as their interests weren’t harmed, the public wouldn’t cause a commotion, let alone revolt, over such a trifling matter.

Franz knew that his introduction of the Austrian language was merely political posturing, signaling that the Central Government valued each nationality and respected their linguistic and cultural heritage.

It wouldn’t satisfy everyone, but acting was better than inaction. The Austrian language indeed incorporated words from various ethnic languages, even if they were all obscure terms.

“Your Highness, language and script assimilation is a long-term investment. To complete this project, at least twenty years and continuous substantial funding will be necessary,” the Minister of Education, Count Hohenberg, Leo Von Tuss-Huohen, said after some thought.

Once the unified language and culture are included in national policy, the Ministry of Education’s influence would greatly increase. For the next several decades, the Ministry of Education would be the most important department in Austria.

Franz nodded and said, “Of course, I’ve already discussed the budget with the Prime Minister, and the government will find a solution.

This action to unify language and culture will be combined with Austria’s compulsory education.

Before implementing compulsory education, we lack a significant number of qualified teachers, and the Ministry of Education must resolve this issue as soon as possible.

If recruitment falls short, we’ll lower the standards for short-term training. As long as candidates have the right values, and can master basic primary education knowledge, they can begin teaching.”

The right values?

What are the right values?

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Undoubtedly, these would be Franz’s version of a societal, value, and life outlook.

In summary, one must support the great Habsburg dynasty, be loyal to the great Emperor, abide by Austrian laws and regulations, and be free of bad habits.

If loyalty is sufficient, a lack of personal ability can be compensated for.

Training programs for teachers can be established if necessary. A slower pace is acceptable; we must not let a few bad apples spoil the next generation.

Prime Minister Felix said, “Exactly, the Cabinet has already drafted a preliminary plan to build 3,000 new public primary schools across the nation and promote universal compulsory education.

In the new public schools, Austrian language and mathematics will be the main subjects. In minority regions, courses in local minority languages will also be offered, but these languages will be electives and not counted toward examination scores for advancement.

The compulsory education in Austria is provisionally set for six years, and all children between the ages of six and twelve must enter school for compulsory education.”

Adolescents beyond this age group who wish to enter school for study must also be accepted by the schools.

After completing six years of compulsory education, students with excellent grades may enter secondary school through an entrance examination.

For those who are admitted to middle school on their own merit, the government can subsidize their education if they come from families with financial difficulties, and the same is true for university education.”

“Prime Minister, what about the funding? Even if we use the cheapest equipment, the annual cost won’t be less than 50 million shields, and with the allocation for higher education, I’m afraid the budget for education will exceed 100 million shields in the future.

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Relying solely on tuition fees is just a drop in the bucket. Government financial resources are limited, and even with the Hungarian Region added, it’s at most 300 million shields. Can the government really afford to spend one-third of its funds on education?” Count Leo von Thun-Hohenberg asked with a furrowed brow.

Don’t think that as Minister of Education, he is unconcerned about other issues. Overall, the Austrian Government cannot possibly invest one-third of its finances in education.

In this survival of the fittest era, blindly investing in education could lead to the country’s premature downfall, before the dividends of education materialize.

Prime Minister Felix shook his head and said, “There’s no need to charge any fees; ordinary people simply cannot bear this expense. The government will find a way to resolve the funding.

The Ministry of Education should promptly draft a plan. We need to calculate the educational budget for the next year, as Austria will initiate compulsory education starting in 1849.”

The matter of cutting into the Church’s share is still confidential at this time. With Franz’s ascension to the throne imminent, stability in Austria is paramount, and naturally, it’s not a time to create unnecessary complications.

Franz spoke up, “Alright, we will discuss the specific funding issues in a separate Cabinet meeting later. Today’s main focus is to implement compulsory education.

Austria is not wealthy, and we can only manage poor education. With limited funding, we should cultivate as much talent as possible.”

This cultivation of talent? It clearly does not mean cultivating high-tech personnel. Franz couldn’t possibly set such a high bar; the compulsory education they offered was merely to produce industrial workers with a certain level of cultural knowledge.

Even if they were just primary school graduates, a qualified engineer or two would emerge from the large base of industrial workers. Their developmental ceiling would be much higher than that of an illiterate laborer.

“Yes, Your Highness!” Count Leo von Thun-Hohenberg, the Minister of Education, replied.

Austria’s compulsory education was influenced by the neighboring Kingdom of Prussia. At this time, the only successful example of compulsory education was in the Kingdom of Prussia; England and France had not yet started.

While emulating the framework of Prussia, the two differed when it came to specific details.

Austria’s foray into compulsory education at this time was also a form of poor education—in essence, it was about being as cheap as possible.

According to Franz’s plan, this type of affordable compulsory education was in fact not expensive at all.

For instance, schools could use local churches or seize the property of rebellious dissidents, or call upon the people to build a few wooden huts. As long as they could make do for the moment, it would be fine.

Another example was the textbooks: it was sufficient to ensure that teachers had books in their hands, and whether students could get textbooks would depend on the budget. There was no need for paper and ink; each student could simply bring a sand tray to class.

The largest expense was teacher salaries and student meal costs.

Franz, who had himself experienced hard times before his transmigration, understood that for many lower-class citizens, having three meals a day was a burdensome challenge.

Asking parents to bear the cost of their children’s meals was beyond the means of many families, or else there wouldn’t be so many child laborers.

If the economic conditions allowed, who would have the heart to let children of a few years old enter the dark factories?

Keep in mind, the mortality rate among child workers was incredibly high; someone who left in good shape in the morning might not return by evening.

If they died, it was a thankless death, with no one holding the capitalists accountable. At most, they would casually pay out a few years’ worth of wages and consider the matter settled.

To avoid lowering the birth rate, Franz decided not to increase the education burden on parents—compulsory education costs would still be borne by the government.

After all, no one at this time would be picky; no matter the school environment, it would still be better than a factory. At the very least, Franz could ensure an adequate supply of dark bread, so no one would go hungry.

Of course, as a high and mighty Crown Prince, it would be better for him not to suggest such a scheme. It would be more convincing if it came from the common people themselves.

“Release the news that Austria is preparing to launch compulsory education, seek public opinion, and find the most cost-effective and suitable education model for Austria,” Franz said.