After reflecting on Austria's foreign policy, Franz made a decisive decision to farm with peace of mind in the days to come.

Austria has been in the limelight lately, taking down the Kingdom of Sardinia, extorting a war reparation, and then intervening in the Papal States to consolidate its hegemony in Italy.

Now there is a Holy Roman League, and everyone knows that this alliance is not as simple as it seems, just look at the reaction of the German regions.

The Holy Roman League and the Holy Roman Empire, that is, the gap between the two words, which is easy to conjure.

If it weren't for the participation of the Italian states and the base camp in Rome, it is estimated that many people would not be able to sleep.

Even so, in the eyes of many German nationalists, this was a prelude to Austria's desire to unify the German regions.

The seeds have been planted, and the rest is waiting to take root and sprout. If you want to harvest, let's wait until the strength arrives.

On June 1, 1849, compulsory education in Austria officially kicked off, and all children who have reached the age of 6~13 can register in any compulsory education school.

Compulsory education in Austria copied some of the successful experiences of Prussia, and the core purpose of both sides was the same, and the management style could naturally be used as a reference.

Prussia's aim: "to resist the spread of revolutionary ideas and to train loyal and courageous citizens through schools strictly controlled by the government." ”

The purpose of Austria is similar, but in other words, the purpose of education is to adopt semi-military management with "loyalty to the monarch and patriotism" as the leading ideology.

Since everyone thought it was appropriate, Franz would not object. The national conditions and times are different, and many things of later generations are not applicable in this era.

For example, Franz worries that compulsory education will be overcrowded at the beginning, after all, just over 1,000 additional schools will not be able to accommodate so many students.

It turns out that he thinks too much, and many people at the bottom are not interested in compulsory education. People who live in the city or in the surrounding areas are okay, and they have a little more broadened horizons, and they know that it is easier to find a job after studying.

In remote mountainous areas, many people have never traveled 100 miles since they were young, and they don't know what the use of reading is at all.

The people's mentality has not yet changed, and Franz can't help but be glad that he did not take it upon himself to turn tithes into an education surcharge, otherwise it is estimated that many people would have said that they did not need compulsory education and would not have paid this tax.

Do not doubt that it is not uncommon for the European people to resist taxes on the grounds that they do not need to, and as long as the revolutionaries instigate and the aristocrats add fuel to the fire, it will be a nationwide anti-tax movement.

Fortunately, compulsory education in Austria is free of tuition, and as long as the government enforces it, they will enforce it.

Although there is one and a half less laborers, isn't there also a missing mouth? Everyone will still calculate this account, the school is a boarding system, except for the holiday time, they don't have to bear the cost of the child at other times.

"Is the new student enrollment situation and statistics out?" Franz asked with concern

"Your Majesty, preliminary statistics have been made, and the total number of students enrolled in this school is 1.246 million, which is one-fifth less than we expected." The Minister of Education, Count Leo von Tus Hoh, replied

The education rate in Austria at this time was actually not as low as Franz originally imagined, and the Ministry of Education counted that in 1848 there were more than 2.3 million primary school students and more than 50,000 middle school students.

Of course, the distribution of the educated population is also very uneven, with the economically developed regions of Austria and Bohemia, which have the highest enrollment rate, reaching 94% in 1842, while the enrollment rate in Galicia, which is next door, is only 27%, and the lowest province, Dalmatia, is less than 5%.

Of course, this data is not perfect, and only the freedmen are counted, and the serfs are excluded.

And enrollment does not mean that you really receive education, and many free church schools cheat donations under the guise of education.

Students come and go freely, teachers are very casual in class, they can teach whatever they want, and there are not many people who can learn knowledge.

Due to the corruption of local governments, many public schools do not allocate funds in a timely manner, and arrears of teachers' salaries occur from time to time.

Not long ago, when the local education system was being strictly inspected, there was a school with 15 teachers, but in fact there was only one teacher, and this teacher was responsible for all grades of the school.

What's even more bizarre is the existence of schools, teachers, and students, that is, inspectors can't find where the school is.

These cases of defrauding government education funds are no longer an isolated case, and the more remote the place, the more serious the situation.

This is confirmed by many later sources, where only 4.5% of the Austrian soldiers recruited in Galicia in 1865 were able to write simply, a far cry from the original enrolment rate.

Franz has not yet had time to rectify the chaos in the education system. He had just succeeded to the throne, and domestic stability was overwhelming, but that didn't mean it was over.

The compulsory education that is being promoted now is a test, and those who are unfavorable and dare to stretch out their hands are just to be dealt with together.

The fight against corruption can only start now, and if we settle old scores, a major investigation of the Austrian government will reveal that nine out of ten officials have been killed, and some have slipped through the net.

This is the common feature of all old empires, and in the face of this situation, Franz is also very helpless, he can't arrest everyone, right?

He is not Emperor Chongzhen, and he can't hold sand in his eyes. As long as you can do things, the problem of personal ethics can be put aside first, and the problem can be written down in a small book, and you will not be in a hurry in the future.

"Why is it so bad?" Franz asked with concern

"Your Majesty, most of the compulsory education schools are concentrated in the cities, and our enrollment is only for the cities or the surrounding areas.

These areas happen to be the best areas for receiving education, and we are recruiting students at this time, and we have missed the season, and those who are qualified to enter the school have already entered the school.

Our Ministry of Education has counted all the students who can be enrolled this year, but as long as the family conditions are acceptable, they will not choose to let their children enter compulsory education schools. Count Leo von Tus Hoh Hum explained

There is no way, who makes compulsory education in Austria poor education?

In order to save money, all unnecessary facilities are saved, and even the teachers are just out of the novice village, and the quality of education can only be said to be better than nothing.

There are many children in this era, and based on the population base of Austria, the number of primary school students in Austria in this era should be about 6 million, and it can be regarded as basically completing the compulsory education for all.

"In this case, the Ministry of Education and local governments should work together to fill the gap in the back of the student supply, and do not waste resources.

At the same time, it is also necessary to standardize the teaching and management system of church schools, and if they want to defraud education funds in the name of schools, let them go to prison. Franz thought for a moment and said

If it weren't for the fear of bad influence, Franz would have followed the example of the Prussian government and directly snatched the right to education from the church.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. From now on, all students in Austria will have to take the unified examination organized by the Ministry of Education every year, and these garbage schools will be banned if there is a large number of students who fail to pass the test.

At the same time, we will also send people to the school from time to time to inspect, once it is found that the teaching materials are not uniformly issued by education, teachers and school administrators will be held accountable for education. Count Leo von Tus Hoh replied

At present, the Austrian government is not rich in finances and teachers, and cannot afford to fully spread out compulsory education, and in the future, these church schools will be the target of banning.

Austria only has the voice of the emperor, the church only needs to serve God well, if you are energetic, you can go to the colonies to vent, and the next generation does not need to worry about the problems.

Now that the boss has been decided, the Ministry of Education naturally has to work in this direction. Most typically, starting in 1850, the Austrian government would end funding for church schools.

If they are not funded by the government, they can run their education with church funds and meet the requirements of the Ministry of Education.

Franz had no opinion, such zealous people should be commended, and he did not mind giving them an educational medal.

In any country, there is always a group of people who are silently dedicated, and Austria is naturally no exception, and it is always not good to cut it with a knife.

。 m.