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Curricula of the technical schools.-The following tables give the respective curricula of the five divisions. Before passing over to the tabular form of their presentation, it must be mentioned that the secondary technical schools, as here treated, are now regarded as a transient type, and a very strong movement is on foot to develop a new kind of technical school combining the features of the existing lower and secondary technical schools and equaling in scope the real or the commercial schools. This movement is an outcome of the precarious position in which the existing secondary technical schools have been placed by the want of definite admission rules already referred to.

Curriculum of the secondary technical schools-Hours per week.

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Aside from the technical schools of the above type, characterized by a strongly practical bias, there are other secondary technical schools combining special education with general. Of the latter type, two schools have gained special recognition as exceptionally efficient and well organized. They are: Łódź Technical School and Komissarov Technical School at Moscow.

Commercial schools.-Admission to higher technical institutions is also open to graduates of numerous other schools of secondary order, such as agricultural schools, commercial schools, cadet corps, theological seminaries, teachers' institutes, etc. Among these of most importance are commercial schools controlled by the ministry of finance. These schools have either seven classes, giving a complete secondary education of general and commercial character, or they have only the three upper classes, with a strictly special course of instruction. While many of the graduates of the commercial schools. engage directly in business, or enter higher schools of commerce, there is always a considerable percentage of those who choose the

engineering career and seek admission to technical colleges and polytechnics.

Entrance examinations.-Almost all higher technical schools in Russia require, in addition to certificates of secondary education, proof of intellectual attainment in the form of entrance examination. In some of the schools it is simply an examination in special subjects, such as physics, mathematics, and drawing. In other schools there are elaborate examinations, and admission can hardly be secured by any but the ablest and best educated young men. Recently university graduates, especially those of the physico-mathematical faculty, have been attracted in large numbers to the best technological institutes, where they are accepted without examination. The cause of this movement is seen in the prospects of important careers offered by some technological institutes, such as the Institute of Engineers of Ways of Communication, the Mining Institute, etc. The appearance of university graduates as competitors for admission to higher technical schools has further reduced the chances of graduates of secondary schools. It also tends to make the entrance examinations more difficult.

On the whole, the tendency on the part of Russian higher technical schools is rather to obstruct the entrance of young men seeking admission than to solicit for students, as is the case in countries where private institutions prevail. Two underlying facts explain this peculiar situation of Russian higher technical schools. The first is the inadequacy of the number of schools to the demand of Russian industries, with the result that more young men seek higher technical education than the schools can accommodate; taking advantage of this fact the schools accord admission to the choicest groups of students, preferably to university graduates, in this way raising the intellectual level of their student body. The other cause of rigid admission requirements lies in the specific purposes of Russian higher technical schools. A majority of these schools were established by the Government to meet suddenly created demands for engineers in this or that branch of industry, commerce, or transportation. They are all State supported or State aided, and the Government does not hesitate at heavy expenditures connected with the maintenance of old schools and establishment of new ones. But, on the other hand, it takes careful measures to obtain from the graduates a fair return to the country by work in native industries. This consideration explains the fact that many Russian higher technical schools refuse admission to foreigners; many have clauses binding the students to serve in Government positions a certain minimum period after the graduation; in all the schools academical degrees convey also high civil ranks. There is also an evident purpose to insure that the student body shall be recruited chiefly from the Russian

population. Most of the schools limit the percentage of Jewish, and one school even the percentage of Polish, students, while all require that candidates for admission shall give proof of loyalty to the Government.1

ORGANIZATION OF HIGHER TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

Administration.-All educational institutions in Russia are under close control of the Central Government, which dictates their statutes, curricula, rules, and regulations of discipline. This control is exercised by the Government through the channels of several ministries. As a rule, general education converges in the ministry of public instruction, while the different branches of technical education are under the control of other ministries. All higher educational institutions in Russia are State supported; in some cases, however, they are aided by local contributions.

The internal administration of higher technical schools is in the main features uniform, irrespective of ministry affiliations. It is exercised by a council of professors under the presidency of a chief officer whose official title is "rector" in some schools and "director" in others. He is elected by the faculty of professors and must be a professor himself. His election is subject to the approval of the Emperor. A vice director supervises the instruction. Business management of the institution is intrusted to a business committee presided over ex officio by the rector. The business committee is also elected. Slight deviations from this system are allowed in some of the schools, to meet certain local or special needs and conditions. For instance, in the administration of the Ekaterinoslav Higher School of Mines, local manufacturers are given voice as members of the school council; to this end, the statute of the institution provides for the participation in the council of four representatives of the Association of South Russian Mine and Smelter Industries and of the chief of mining administration for South Russia.

Instruction. In the highest special technological institutes the course of instruction covers from five to seven years. In polytechnic institutes it is generally four years, and in one case, namely, that of the Riga Polytechnic Institute, a commercial course of three years' duration is offered. The instruction is partly theoretical, partly practical. The latter side of the training is given marked emphasis in Russia. In most of the schools regular programs include excursions to and practical work in factories, railroads, and mines, while some others are lavishly equipped with cabinets, laboratories, and experimental shops. Special interest attaches in this connection to the Imperial

1 According to recent press advices, the revolutionary Russian Government has rescinded all limitations, pertaining to nationality, for admission to educational institutions of every class.

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Technical School of Moscow, which maintains great machine shops conducted on a commercial basis, in which students receive their practical training.

The allotment of time between the theoretical and the practical instruction is not regulated by any uniform system. It seems that in Russia this question is in its experimental stage, just as it is in other countries. There are schools embodying either one or the other extreme view in the matter; in some the practical and the theoretical instructions are closely interwoven throughout the course, while in others whole semesters are given to practical work entirely. An example of the latter type is the Moscow High School of Engineering (different from the Moscow school mentioned above), in which two years are devoted to practical work exclusively.

Degrees. By the successful passage of the leaving examination the student generally qualifies for a degree. The degrees in engineering conveyed by the Russian institutions are the following: Engineer-technologist, electrical engineer, engineer-architect, engineer of metallurgy, engineer of ways of communication, construction engineer, and agronomist. Postgraduate study and presentation of some original work lead to the degree of "learned engineer-technologist."

Number of schools. There are now in Russia 16 higher technical schools, as follows:

Five polytechnic institutes under the ministry of public instruction, located, respectively, in Petrograd, Moscow, Kharkof, Riga, and Tomsk.

Three polytechnic institutes under the ministry of finance, in Kief, Warsaw, and Petrograd.

Two mining institutes under the ministry of finance, in Petrograd and Ekaterinoslav.

Two engineering institutes under the ministry of ways of communication, in Petrograd and Moscow.

One institute of electrical engineering pertaining to the ministry of the interior, in Petrograd.

One institute of civil engineering under the ministry of the interior, in Petrograd.

Two higher technical schools have been established recently but are not included in this presentation. They are: Polytechnic Institute of the Don, located in Novotcherkassk, established in 1907, and Polytechnic Courses for Women at Petrograd, opened in January, 1906. No official account of these two institutions is yet available. All particulars pertaining to the 14 institutions enumerated above are presented in tabular form in the appendix to this section.

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