V. I. Lenin

The all-Russia school census of January 18, 1911, makes it
possible—despite the extremely bad processing of the data—slightly to
lift the veil of official secrecy.

The only data available so far are those on the St. Petersburg academic
district, separately for the towns and villages. Let us see on the basis of
these data what our parish schools are like.

In the towns, there were 329 city one-class schools, 139 private
third-category and 177 parish one-class schools. Let us compare the
schoolmistresses’ average salaries (the number of schoolmasters is quite
small): city schools—924 rubles a year, private—609, parish— 302 .

Poor, starving schoolmistresses—that is what our parish schools are.

Let us see what the percentage of teachers with higher and secondary
lay general education is. In the city schools—76 per cent, private—67
per cent, and parish—18 per cent!

Uneducated schoolmistresses (we say nothing as yet about the teachers
of catechism)—that is what our parish schools are.

In the villages we have 3,545 Zemstvo one-class schools and 2,506
parish one-class schools. In the former, the average salary of
schoolmistresses is 374 rubles a year, in the latter—301 rubles .

In the former, educated teachers (teachers in general) come to 20
per cent, in the latter—2.5 per cent—once again without the
teachers of catechism.

These data give an idea of the plight of the parish schools!

The census has also collected data on the average number of square
arshins {1} of floor-space and cubic arshins of air space per pupil—i.e., the
crowding of schools.

The Zemstvo schools have 2.6 sq. arshins of floor-space and 10.1
cu. arshins of air; the parish schools, 2.4 sq. arshins and 9.6
cu. arshins, respectively.

The floor-space should be six times the light area of the
windows. Actually, it is nine times greater, i.e., the schools are not only
crowded, but also dark .

These data are, of course, extremely meagre. The Ministry tried very
hard to prevent the collection of detailed, precise and full data
on the beggarly condition of our schools.

Even so, the beggarly condition of the parish schools stands out in
these incomplete, officially curtailed and poorly processed data.

One of the vital tasks before the representatives of workers’ cultural
and educational and trade union organisations at the forthcoming All-Russia
Congress on Public Education is to make a comprehensive presentation of the
question and to shed every possible light on the condition of our schools
and schoolteachers.

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Notes:
{1}
Arshin = 28 inches.— Ed .