Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 119

Chapter 119: Chapter 6, Education Reform

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New officials tend to start their tenure with assertive actions, and Franz, as the new Emperor, certainly didn’t hesitate. How could he live up to his identity as a transmigrator without accomplishing something notable?

“Reform” became the theme of the government. The Austrian Empire had many problems, and even after last year’s great revolution, which disposed of much debris, the festering flesh still clung to the Empire.

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To excise the flesh? That was too painful, and Franz believed that the Austrian Empire could not afford such an injury without anesthetic—it might even be fatal.

He was not prepared to risk death; thus, he could only gradually remove these hidden dangers. After all, the serfs had been liberated, and the land issues had been settled, barely keeping the working class fed.

The bourgeoisie and the blabbermouths who dared to cause trouble had been greatly reduced after the sweep of the recent past.

Those who survived were clever enough to know what could be said and what could not be said; what could be done and what could not be done.

The Citizens of Vienna, having experienced a revolution, had grown to detest the Revolutionary Party to the bone. Anyone daring to spread revolutionary ideas among them was guaranteed a beating before being turned into the police station.

Up to this point, the Vienna Police Department had already taken in dozens of such Rebels. With every new arrest, they uncovered more, and after several months of public security clean-up, hundreds of Rebel members were arrested, dealing a heavy blow to the audacity of the Revolutionaries.

A large portion of these were young students, which made Franz very angry and determined to overhaul the Austrian educational system.

Freedom of speech was acceptable, but everyone had to be responsible for their own words. Spreading rumors, mischief, and malicious slander all warranted time in prison for reflection.

Schools operating independently without government supervision was a thing of the past, especially universities, which were a main focus of monitoring.

Incidents like those before the March Revolution, where Vienna University refused police entry to arrest Revolutionaries, were no longer possible.

If it ever happened again, I’m sorry to say, everyone impeding the execution of public duties would be jailed alongside the criminals. The notion of collective irresponsibility does not exist in Austria.

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“Count Hohenberg, has the Ministry of Education developed any specific plans to strengthen ideological education among young students?” Franz asked.

Minister of Education, Leo Von Thun-Hohenberg, promptly replied, “Your Majesty, the Ministry of Education has decided to employ special educators in schools, responsible exclusively for ideological education of students. Should any negative tendencies be detected, they will be immediately addressed.

To strengthen control over schools, the Ministry of Education has decided on having key school leaders appointed only with approval from the Ministry, and this will apply to private schools as well.

The number of students admitted by schools each year must be filed with the local education departments; faculty and staff employed at the schools must possess the correct worldview and have no criminal records.

To reinforce university supervision, the Ministry of Education will provide advisory opinions about the variety of offered majors and the enrollment capacity of each.

The Ministry of Education will allocate financial grants for the following year based on each institution’s performance. Institutions with recurring issues will be shut down, and the responsible individuals will face legal accountability.”

This was a move aimed at the pocketbook—education cost money, and without government support, most schools likely couldn’t survive on tuition fees alone.

In these times, Austria adopted an elitist model of education; enrollments at each school were not large, typically only several hundred students, with faculty and staff numbers proportionately high.

Without funding from the Ministry of Education, if primary and secondary schools were to charge slightly higher tuition fees, which only wealthy families could afford, they might barely get by.

But this was not feasible for universities, which couldn’t afford expert professors and couldn’t sustain themselves even by enrolling only arts students.

This was Austria; don’t count on societal donations—schools not favored by the government wouldn’t win the favor of social elites either.

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Having reflected on it, Franz said, “Supervisory work must be taken seriously, and it’s definitely necessary for the Ministry of Education to guide school enrollments.

What’s the point of enrolling so many students in majors society doesn’t need? Being guaranteed unemployment upon graduation is akin to leading students astray, isn’t it?

While implementing oversight, we must also enforce accountability in education. For every problem, we can trace it to those responsible.

The head of a school is the primary responsible person. As a principal, it is their duty to educate every student well; at the class level, we could implement a class teacher system, appointing one teacher responsible for an entire class.

As for the specifics, determine them based on the actual situation. Before implementing compulsory education, we must first bring the existing schools under management.

This type of management must be strategic, ensuring the smooth progress of educational activities while also strengthening ideological education among the students.”

However, there’s no need to set up specialized ideological education teachers, as that can easily provoke backlash.

We can integrate ideological education into subjects such as history, politics, and language, making it a compulsory part of the entrance exams.

The Ministry of Education must supervise the entrance examinations to prevent any interference. If wealthy people’s children perform poorly and want to advance, let them pay a sponsorship fee to the school. Do not allow these people to disrupt our education system.”

Franz too was taking precautionary measures. If the wealthy were not given an alternative, they would find ways to corrupt the education system, so it might be better to set a clear price.

It’s not a problem if they fail to qualify. They can pay to enroll, and whether or not their children graduate is their own issue. If it comes to it, they can always pay more money to buy their child a diploma.

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Prime Minister Felix suggested, “Your Majesty, now that we’ve decided to implement compulsory education, should we also restrict private education? These private schools are always a potential risk.

Education is sacred and should not be used as a tool for some to seek personal gains!”

His words were not unfounded. An investigation into the young students involved in the Vienna riots revealed that nearly eighty percent of them came from private schools.

Students who frequently participated in protests and demonstrations were mostly from private schools, while public schools usually prohibited their students from leaving campus during class times.

In other words, the sources of revolutionary thought were mainly spread through these private schools independent from the government system, subtly influencing young people’s life philosophies.

It’s ironic that these private schools also received education funding from the Austrian Government. In the end, the Austrian Government paid the money, the capitalists made a profit, and a group of anti-government students was cultivated.

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

As the Emperor, he wasn’t in the habit of figuring out everything by himself and having his subordinates execute them.

If he did that, his subordinates would be free of burden, but he would work himself to death. Emperors diligent in government affairs often had short lifespans, a common tale throughout history.

Even more tragic is that if one’s experience is insufficient, it’s very easy to make foolish decisions. Toiling to the point of exhaustion, one might end up with unappreciated hard work, a prime example being Emperor Chongzhen.

The wisdom of one person is no match for the collective wisdom of many. There are experts in every field, and it’s better to have professionals handle specialized matters.

As an Emperor, one can amend the plans of subordinates or abolish them, but one absolutely must not prevent subordinates from making plans.

Count Leo von Thun-Hohenberg responded, “Your Majesty, the Ministry of Education is still discussing this issue, and we have two options to consider.

The first is to prohibit the private sector from continuing to establish private schools and for the government to fund the acquisition of those already established, thereby bringing education fully under government management.

The second is to stop the educational grants to private schools, strengthen the approval process for establishing private schools, and tighten management of them.”

Both methods aim at curbing private schools, with the first one being slightly more drastic.

Once burned, twice shy. The Ministry of Education now harbors a strong aversion to messy ideologies, and as a result, nearly a hundred teachers have been dismissed from public schools, some of whom have even been sent to prison.

Franz said with a sneer, “Stop the funding to private schools then. Since they are private, they should be responsible for their own profits and losses.

We should also add an investor responsibility system and strengthen the management of private schools.

If there is a large-scale spread of illegal thoughts in a private school, both the capitalists and the principal behind it should go to jail!”

The Austrian Government still needs to be mindful of its image; it cannot simply resolve issues with a blanket approach. In European society during this era, education was essentially a business.

However, it was a unique business, vested with different meanings. Those who invested in education during this time were certainly not philanthropists; they had their own agendas.

The children of the lower classes were not entitled to education, even at the cheapest church schools, as they couldn’t afford the most basic stationery.

In such an environment, who has the resources to sponsor impoverished students? It’s not just one or two, not just ten or twenty thousand, but millions who desperately need education.

Reality is far crueler than what’s recorded in textbooks. Living in this era, Franz was well aware that it was a dark and grim time.