Financial conditions in primary schools in Częstochowa in the years 1918–1939

Abstract

The subject-matter of this dissertation is the financial conditions of primary education in Częstochowa in the interwar period. In the first years after regaining independence, these conditions were disastrous in elementary education, which was the consequence of the state of educational infrastructure 'inherited' after the 123 years of the Partitions. As education was made commonly available, and when it was made legally compulsory to attend schools until a certain age (by virtue of the decree from the year 1918), the authorities of the city commenced work on school buildings. Financial resources at the disposal of national and local authorities, which remained limited throughout the entire interwar period, made it indispensable to rent buildings for the purpose of schooling rather than to build them. The former ones, in the majority of case, failed to meet relevant hygienic and sanitary requirements, causing, in many cases, health hazards for the students and teachers.

In the face of the unsolved problems relevant to providing premises for schools, supplying them with indispensable equipment and teaching aids became an issue of a secondary importance. In connection with that fact, the majority of schools did not have libraries, laboratories, and also gyms. The lack of appropriate school premises, and also of teaching aids, had a great and negative influence on the quality of education in primary schools in Częstochowa.