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Pedagogy
THE IMPORTANCE OF FOREIGN SCHOOLS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC
EDUCATION IN TURKESTAN (END OF XIXth
–
BEGINNING XXth CENTURY)
Djuraev D.U.
Djuraev Dusmurod Uralovich, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Head Department
“
Pedagogy and Psychology
”
Uzbekistan World Languages University, Tashkent,
Uzbekistan e-mail:
This article describes issues related to the positive impact of the foreign pedagogical school
in the formation and development of people education of colonial Turkestan. Examples
from the historical experience of formation of pedagogical education, which is revealed
with the help of archival materials and the ways that the colonizers used in the system of
education of its population with the way of propaganda of colonialist policy. The author
tries to reveal the reasons of the poor state of public education in Turkestan. He wants to
say that the wrong attitude for public education in the part of Turkestan Khanate is the
main cause of formation of colonial territory. The reaction of the tsarist authorities to
reform Muslim schools has been analyzed.
Key
words: public education, new method schools, school reform, indigenous people,
education of the population.
At the same time it is necessary not to forget the historical experience of formation of
the pedagogical education. From history it is known that colonists, invaders of all times
used educational systems of the population of their colonies in propagation of the state
colonial policy. As education is inseparable part of any society, indicator of its culture and
basis for its progress.
As testified by history in the second half of the
ХIХ
century among the nations under
the influence of Islam started the movement to reform traditional Muslim schools. In tsarist
Russia at the end of the XIX century the movement to reform Muslim schools started among
Turkic nations of Crimea, Volga region, Azerbaijan and Turkestan. The necessity for this
appeared because, first of all, the content of training at these schools no longer met the
requirements of the new time, requirements of a capitalist society.
Religion has strictly normative character, dogmatism is inherent in it. The reform
religious requirements sooner or later get in conflict with continuous development of free-
thinking (freedom and free-thinking are allowed only to such an extent that the religion
allows). When freethinking (by freethinking we mean, first of all, creative, fruitful thinking)
in Turkestan exhausted all the possibilities of development given to it by Islam the
stagnation has begun in artistic and scientific thinking of a society, traditionalism got the
upper hand. The strictly normative character of Islam predefined the stability and
stagnation of customs and traditions [1; P. 130].
Considerable influence of the revolution of 1905-1907 on the development of public
education of the Turkestan native population can be mentioned. The necessity in real
knowledge and in the reform of extremely obsolete old method schools started to be felt by
a wide circle of society especially under the influence of the given revolution. From 1905
the network of schools opened by teachers of the new method starts to grow rapidly in
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counterbalance to old method schools. The number of teachers of the new method started
to rise also among the native population of Central Asia. At the same time the idea of
teaching in a native language of the local population was defined more precisely.
At the end of
ХIХ
and in the first decade of the XX century there were very few teachers
who could teach schoolchildren modern knowledge in one of languages of the Muslim
nations of Central Asia. At the same time many Tatars of the Volga region lived on the given
territory whose language was clear to local nations and in the last quarter of the XIX century
there were successful cases in training children. In the second it ions the first teachers of
new method schools in Turkestan were Tatars of the Volga region and Crimean Tatar
teachers. In new method schools of Turkestan basic textbooks used in general subjects
were mainly of Kazan publication in the Tatar language as there were a few corresponding
academic books in the Central Asian languages. Orientation to the Tatar language as
“general
Turkic”
originated first of all, from circles of the Tatar bourgeoisie which
considered Turkestan as the arena of applying their capitals, and in "unity" of the Turkic
nations they searched support for their competition with stronger Russian capitalism.
New method schools were opened usually in cities or in large settlements of
commercial and industrial significance. From nationalities of colonial Turkestan before
October revolution of 1917 only Uzbek and Tajik people comprised considerable masses of
urban population. Thus in new method schools of the Turkestan territory mainly children
of Uzbeks and Tajiks could study at Tatar teachers. Small house schools of the new method
could be seen in villages of Kazakh nomads. Two teachers Tatar by nationality who studied
at a new method madrasah in Ufa worked as instructors there [2; p.251].
Among the Tatar intellectuals there was a movement of "educators" which saw
Central Asia as a place of apply in gets know ledge and forces. Having graduated from new
method Tatar madrasahs the youth going to educate the people of Turkestan, were
convinced of universal suitability of the Tatar language for teaching all Turkic children.
Opening of the first new method school in Samarkand (1893) is connected with the name
of a well-known teacher enlightener Ismailbey Gasprinsky, who was engaged in publishing
and educational activity among the Crimean Tatars. The documents testifying that
Gasprinsky tried to assure colonizers, i. e. tsarist administration to reform the medieval
schools of colonial Turkestan are stored in historical archive of Uzbekistan. When his offer
was rejected, Gasprinsky went to Samarkand at the invitation of Uzbek educators and took
the initiative on the spot [3].
Responsible for the organization of national education of colonial Turkestan, the
inspector of national schools N. P. Ostroumov expressed his amazement that Gasprinsky,
not having official position, had dared to present the opinion
«on
such an important in the
sense of the Russian state
matter».
Hence it is not difficult to imagine the attitude of
invaders towards the representatives of peoples of the colony. People living on the colonial
territory were estranged from deciding the destiny of their people, of their children.
On the offer of Gasprinsky to reform Muslim schools of colonial Turkestan Ostroumov
answers that the question on reorganization of Muslim schools in Turkestan region is
awaiting its turn and will be solved at the place
«without
instructions of Mr. Gasprinsky
whose competence on this matter is not yet recognized by the Ministry of public
education».
Having continued his opinion he asserts that:
«In
the matter of education of
foreigners in Russia we
need instructions of a Russian member of the Ministry of public
education, not of the foreigner-Tatar
, defending with fervor the inviolability of a foreign life
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with all its
features».
According to Ostroumov in the history there was no example when
the matter of rapprochement
«of
the subjugated foreigners with conquerors was entrusted
to foreigners
themselves»
.
«It
would be an
absurdity»!
- exclaims Ostroumov, and specifies
that Germany is a good example where Germanizing of
Poznań
Slavs and other
subdued
nationalities
is conducted persistently, regularly, without instructions
of foreigners
and
consequently is accompanied by other results, than in Russia [2; p.254].On their native
lands the multinational populations of the subjugated countries were compelled to be
called
foreigners
by colonizers.
The meeting called by the senior inspector N. P. Ostroumov in 1909 worked out a
project on establishing new method schools the main paragraphs of which were approved
by the governor general of colonial Turkestan A. V. Samsonov in 1912. In the second
paragraph of these rules it was mentioned that
«It
is necessary to monitor that in the newly
opened schools teacher sap pointed were
indigenes of same tribe
with
pupils».
With this
paragraph
Tatar teachers were prohibited to accept the children of Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Tajiks,
Kirghiz and other people of Turkestan to their schools
, and on the other hand Tatar should
not teach at Uzbek, Tajik, Turkmen and other schools [2; p.280].
The above mentioned facts show that emerging national bourgeoisie of Central Asia
and groups of intellectuals connected with it stood behind new method schools. The new
method movement stood up for updating of medieval religious schools, for inserting of
modern secular knowledge into them, and for improvement of the organizational-
methodical parts. In order to prepare of competent employees of commercial and industrial
business for the Uzbek bourgeoisie the establishers of new method schools included in the
curricula arithmetic, reading and writing in a native language, elements of natural sciences
and geography. However the prior attention nevertheless was focused on religion. Tatars-
educators also wanted to teach children of Turkestan region not only secular subjects but
also teach them Muslim literacy. The reform tsarist officials strongly resisted to opening
new method schools by Tatars. Leaders of Fergana region area headed by the military
governor of the region gave instructions to the senior inspector of schools that it is
necessary not to permit Tatars tea chat Muslim schools of Turkestan region and Fergana in
particular.
According to tsarist officials of the region, the advanced Islam it is by development of
new forms of life are dream in go to return the Muslim religion its former power, provide
its progress, revive the faded idea of solidarity and unity both political, and religious; they
are perfectly aware in order to realize these aspirations and plans it is necessary to take
Muslim people out of ignorance condition.
«The
reform reformers of Muslim life also aspire
to take schools in their hands and by appropriate arrangement of teaching and education
create the strong and educated fighters for
ideals…»
[4].
From IX to XV century we were one of the most advanced nations that gave
tremendous numbers of great scientists, thinkers and artists, but gradually, within five
centuries after the death of Ulugbek, have plunged into such deep crisis, that even the most
educated, advanced representatives of our nation
–
jadids
–
at the beginning of
ХХ
century
perceived the project of Ismail Gasprinsky great spiritual revolution, that in Muslim
madrasahs 20 percent of subjects made up secular sciences, and they faced great difficulties
in realizing this project. That was the degree of impoverishment of our culture [1; p.136].
Our spirituality as the practical attitude of consciousness, outlook to the reality from the
second half of
ХV
to the beginning of
ХХ
century was not oriented to updating society,
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updating in general, and did not strive for it. As a result we have been doomed to
backwardness and got in the grips of colonialism for many years.
The tsarist administration in Turkestan for a long time used to consider madrasahs as
the centers of Pan-Islamism. After the Andizhan revolt in 1898 administrative supervision
over a network of madrasahs was strengthened. After the revolution of 1905 the attention
tsarist secret political police was focused on revolutionary movement and on a network
new method schools. At the same time the most far-sighted representatives of colonists
reconsider their negative attitude towards old schools and madrasahs and try to find allies
in these schools for a struggle against new method schools. By 1917 the new method
direction in Turkestan region widely extended to Muslim schools, but poorly affected
madrasahs. None of the new method madrasah was created, as those in Tatarstan and
Bashkiria that carried out functions of
teachers’
seminaries.
During the period of colonialism the strengthened attempts were undertaken to
suggest to our people the feeling of national inferiority. With that end in view our national
heroes were declared blood-thirsty. The majority of names of the great scientists, writers
and other figures of national culture were ignored, and if some of them were mentioned
that was done only casually, in a dosed way. The cultural heritage underwent a partial
destruction, a partial export, and a partial interdiction for ideological reasons. Only
fragments reached the people. Our national pride was stamped out. The tsarism tried to
suggest to us that 4600 years are required for overall lilted racy in Turkestan, and without
Russia we
couldn’t
achieve progress [1; p.146].
They widely braid the life of the people of Turkestan with the aim of spiritual
enslavement of the exploited. However there was a sound public pedagogy born from the
experience of labor families; it is reflected in proverbs and other forms of the folklore which
avoided censorship of clergy [5; 134].
Proceeding from the above-stated, it is possible to draw a conclusion that tsarist
Russia to string the colonial policy in Turkestan used the process of organization of a public
education for its own purposes. Jadids, well understanding the role of public education in
the struggle against colonizers took a great pain mostly to reform the whole structure of
public education. They were considerably supported by educators of foreign pedagogical
school who made an essential contribution to the formation and development of new
method schools that promoted to increase not only
children’s
erudition level, but also of
the people of colonial Turkestan.
Learning a lesson from history it is possible to draw a conclusion that not only at the
end of
ХIХ
and in the first decade of the XX century, but also since ancient times and today
the development of education is the guarantee of a stable society and a strong state. As
education is an inseparable component of any society, an indicator of its culture and a
progress basis. As a connecting link it provides unity and continuity of social experience,
spiritual and moral and cultural traditions, progressive development of a society. The
reform, today education bears responsibility for the destiny of the country more than ever.
Prosperity of the country is inseparably linked with overall improvement of each
separately taken person: versatile people ensure the progress.
References:
1.
Erkaev A.P. Spirituality and development,
Т.:
Ma’naviyat
, 2008.
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2.
Bendrikov K.E. Sketch on the history of Public Education in Turkestan (1865-1924
гг.).
–
M.: APN, 1960.
3.
Central State Archive of Uzbekistan, F. 47, 947 apt., With the correspondence about
indigenous schools, 1892.
4.
The report on audit of the Turkestanregion, made on the greatest command by the
senator steward, earl K.K.Palenom, Issue
№
VI. Educational matter, Saint Petersburg. 1910.
–
p. 134.
5.
Volkov G.N. Chuvash Public Pedagogy // Cheboksary, 1958.
