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ISSUES OF ILLITERACY OF THE POPULATION OF THE FERGANA
REGION IN ARCHIVE DOCUMENTS OF 1920–30
Nizomiddinov Odiljon Bakhodirovich
doctoral student
Fergana State University
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15826369
Abstract:
The article analyses archival documents describing the state of
the education system in Ferghana province in 1920– 30, issues of illiteracy,
creation of new Soviet schools, etc. The article also describes the level of
illiteracy in Ferghana province, measures to eliminate it in the archival
documents of practical actions to increase the number of literate youth.
Key words:
Illiteracy, "Cultural Revolution", Turkglavpolitprosveta, Trade
union, Ispolkom, fund, district, national, social
Entrance
Examining the period of the 20s and 30s of the 20th century, we are
convinced that, along with all processes of social life, the cultural and spiritual
sphere also proceeded with its own complexity and difficulties. The Soviet
government and its ruling party, setting the main goal of establishing a socialist
system throughout the country, well understood the special role of the cultural
sphere, without which much could not be achieved. Therefore, from the very
first years of Soviet power, they began to develop the process of cultural
construction based on their own provisions and ideas.
By the 1920s and 1930s, with the intensification of the policy of
industrialization and collectivization of agriculture in the Soviet state, the
processes of the "cultural revolution" and the mass events that constituted an
integral part of this process began to be organized in a new direction. It was
from this period that the goals and essence of the policy of eradicating illiteracy
in the Soviet country also changed. That is, every literate person should support
the measures of the Soviet government and serve the Soviet regime with loyalty.
On the other hand, the industrial enterprises being built throughout the country
desperately needed knowledgeable and qualified workers.
Relevance of the topic
The fight against illiteracy was driven not only by economic needs, but
also by political ones - the need to form a Soviet society consisting of citizens
loyal to the new regime. In the context of the industrialization of the country, the
shortage of qualified personnel for its implementation was on the agenda. It was
from this time that the eradication of illiteracy began to be determined
simultaneously by the political and economic needs of the state. Therefore, the
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Department of Political and Educational Affairs of the Turkestan Republic
considered the eradication of illiteracy one of its important tasks. The fact that
97% of the country's population is illiterate could be a clear reason for this. It
should be especially noted that with such cultural backwardness in the
education system, it was impossible to change the economy of the republic.
Therefore, the Department of Political and Educational Affairs of the Turkestan
Republic focused all its attention on resolving this issue.
The Republic's Department of Political and Educational Affairs, taking into
account the importance of this task, began to act seriously. Literacy schools were
removed from state support, and the government did not adequately consider
appeals on this issue. As an appendix, it should be noted that the allocation of
funds for the elimination of illiteracy in the Uzbek SSR increased year by year: in
the 1925-1926 academic year - 228,145 rubles, and in the 1927-1928 academic
year - 438,156 rubles. However, the increase in funding allocated for this
purpose was insufficient, as it did not allow increasing the number of literacy
schools to the required level[1].
Also, the lack of literate and educated ready-made forces in the country
showed that this task could not be implemented on a large scale in the near
future. Nevertheless, the report cited by the department states that the following
existing shortcomings should not be a reason for idleness, but on the contrary, it
is necessary to combine their efforts and create the necessary conditions to
prevent this work from stopping. The need to find funds locally to solve the
illiteracy problem and implement this task, and to organize a network of schools
in the districts using these funds, was emphasized. It should be noted that
"Although the improvement of cities has been elevated to the level of state
policy, villages have been neglected. Explaining the extremely complex and
contradictory social life of this period requires a historian to conduct a
comparative analysis of a wide range of sources for an objective illumination of
reality" [2, 654].
In the cited protocol, the department proposed the following: 1) involving
representatives of professional Soviet schools as the main source in the
organization of literacy schools; 2) the local commission assumes the
responsibility of managing these schools; 3) control over the prevention of theft
of found funds. After the measures taken in accordance with these proposals, the
issue of literacy among young people became much more widespread. By
October 14, 1922, the Committee for Emergency Situations of the Turkestan
Political and Educational Administration issued a resolution on the division of
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the population into shock groups among young people to further intensify the
activities of the literacy school. According to it: 1. Youth of trade unions. 2. The
youth of the Qoshchi movement. 3. Young people called up to the ranks of the
Red Army. 4. Youth members of the militia. 5. Local women. On the basis of these
formed groups, a strong network of schools was to be created. In addition, it was
noted that schools should be organized for young people in correctional
institutions, depending on the conditions.
The need to save funds in opening and operating schools necessitated the
unification of schools in the regions. Therefore, he instructed the Turkestan
Political and Educational Administration to organize groups of no less than 30
people and no more than 40 people. It was determined that local committees
should be given the right to organize children's schools depending on the
conditions, and those with experience in working with adults should be involved
as teachers.
At the same time, the Turkestan Political and Educational Administration
gave the following instructions to the Local Committee: 1. The Commission shall
organize special questionnaires and books for teacher supervision in all schools.
2. Classes in schools should be conducted according to the plan drawn up by the
Turkestan Political and Educational Administration. 3. Set the age of enrollment
in literacy schools at 30 years, and leave the appearance of those who are 30
years old voluntary. 4. Attracting students to schools should be carried out
through mass and individual awareness campaigns. 5. Assign to the local
emergency commission the transfer of students who have graduated from
literacy schools to in-depth groups. 6. Establish that lessons in literacy schools
are conducted on cultural and educational work, in conjunction with political,
economic, and production activities, as the main part of education. 7. Establish,
on the basis of the decision of the Labor Commissariat of the Extraordinary
Commission of May 14, 1921, exemption from work for 2 hours for students
studying in literacy schools, with the preservation of their wages. 8. Assign to
the Extraordinary Commission the task of finding funds as soon as possible. For
this purpose, a) by agreement with the mahalla trade unions; b) by agreement
with the local executive committee, by establishing a fund; c) by establishing
guardianship over literacy schools. 9. According to the decision established by
the Council of People's Commissars of Turkestan, the minimum monthly wage
for teachers working in literacy schools shall be set at 9,600 rubles. 10. Establish
that teaching in schools is carried out in coordination with local party
committees. 11. Assess attendance at schools and report to the commission at
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the end of the month according to the plan. 12. Control the provision of school
supplies to students and their equal distribution. 13. Assign to the local
commission the obligation to report on its work and the state of affairs on a
monthly basis. 14. Supervision and management of schools shall be carried out
by the local commission[3].
Discussion and results
When analyzing the funds of the Fergana Regional State Archive, we can
find a lot of information about the eradication of illiteracy. For example, the
Fergana Regional Department of Public Education reports that in 1923, two
public schools aimed at eradicating illiteracy were opened in the Turkestan
Republic. However, representatives of the local trade union leadership were not
sufficiently interested in the activities of the schools[4]. As the primary reason
for this, the economic crisis in the country did not require attention to the field
of education. Also, the Soviet government considered the education of the local
population as literate individuals to be contrary to the political processes being
carried out in the country.
If we pay attention to the figures on the eradication of illiteracy in the
cities and villages of the Fergana Okrug in the summer of 1928, then it is
planned to educate 23,400 people (16,370 men, 7,030 women) in the Okrug.
These figures for the cities and districts of the district were as follows: in the
cities of Kokand, Fergana, Margilan, and Chust - 8100 people (5670 men, 2430
women), in the districts of Kokand, Fergana, Margilan, Pap, Buvayda, Baghdad,
Kuva, Altyaryk, Rishtan, Kudash, and Besharyk - 15300 people (10700 men,
4600 women) were enrolled in literacy schools[5].
In subsequent years, according to the illiteracy eradication plan, the
complete eradication of illiteracy was planned in all regions of the country. In
particular, in the period 1930-1931, in the cities of Kokand, Fergana, Margilan,
Chust of the Fergana district, as well as in the Kuva district and at the machine-
craft station of the Baghdad district, it was planned to completely eradicate
illiteracy among the entire population aged 15 to 40 in this academic year[6].
In the 1930-1931 academic year, the number of illiterate people planned
to be enrolled in literacy schools in the Fergana district was 104,660, and to
teach them, it was necessary to organize 3,475 literacy schools at the rate of 30
people per school. The number of low-literacy students planned to be enrolled in
low-literacy schools this academic year was 16,000, with 454 low-literacy
schools to be established at a rate of 35 people per school[7].
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In the 1930-1931 academic year, 3,996 teachers were needed for literacy
schools in the Fergana district, of which 3,475 (including 1,635 female teachers)
were needed for literacy courses, 454 for teaching less literate students, and 67
for literacy support points[8].
Conclusion
The relatively low percentage of literacy in the cities of the Fergana region
is explained by the fact that the indicators are given in percentages, there are
relatively many cities in the region, and the population in them is significantly
higher than in other regions. Accordingly, the number of literate adults in the
cities of the Fergana region is significantly higher than in other regions (with the
exception of the city of Tashkent), while showing a low percentage of the total
urban population. On the other hand, even before the 1926 census, Soviet power
was not fully established in some regions of the Fergana region, and the Soviet
government's policy of eradicating illiteracy among adults was not widespread
in all regions of the valley, since the armed resistance movement against the
Soviets continued in this region. The high level of literacy in rural areas
compared to other regions was associated with the high literacy that had long
existed among the rural population of the Fergana Valley. Because it is known
that in the regions of the Fergana Valley, both during the period of the khanates
and during the colonization of the Russian Empire, the system of national
schools (otinoyi schools for girls) and madrasas was widely developed.
References:
1. UzMA, Fund 94, Inventory 5, File 68, Pages 77–78.
2. Nizomiddinov, O. (2023). Study of the Social Life of the Population in the
1920s–1930s (Based on Documents from the Fergana Regional State Archive).
Interpretation and Researches, 1(1).
3. Fergana Regional State Archive, Fund 83, Inventory 1, File 16, Pages 19–21.
4. Fergana Regional State Archive, Fund 83, Inventory 1, File 48, Page 6.
5. Fergana Regional State Archive, Fund 131, Inventory 1, File 327, Page 13.
6. Fergana Regional State Archive, Fund 131, Inventory 1, File 327, Page 39.
7. Fergana Regional State Archive, Fund 131, Inventory 1, File 315, Page 180.
8. Fergana Regional State Archive, Fund 131, Inventory 1, File 315, Page 181.
9. Nizomiddinov, O. (2023). Study of the Social Life of the Population in the
1920s–1930s (Based on Documents from the Fergana Regional State Archive).
Interpretation and Researches, 1(1).
10. Nizomiddinov, O. (2021). The Importance of the Documents of the Regional
State Archive in Researching the History of Turkestan Autonomy. The American
Journal of Social Science and Education Innovations, 3(11), 53–57.
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11. Nizomiddinov, O. (2021). Establishment of a Unified State Archival Fund in
the Republic of Turkestan (Based on the Example of the Fergana Regional State
Archive). Asian Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, 11(11),
822–825.
12. Nizomiddinov, O., Tulqinjonov, S., & Mirzaeva, D. (2020). Issues of
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