The Public Education System in the Fergana Oblast in the Pre-Revolutionary Period

Building on wide-ranging statistical material, the work looks into the public education system in the Fergana Oblast in the pre-revolutionary period.The research materials included both archival resources from the Russian State Historical Archive, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, and published collections of documents, which are represented by annual reviews of the Fergana Oblast, stretching over the period from 1887 to 1913.The work's methodology is based on system, statistical and chronological methods.In conclusion, the authors come out with the following findings: 1.In the pre-revolutionary period, the development of the public education system in the Fergana Oblast had unique local distinctions.Efforts by the Russian administration to introduce secular education were made in an unfriendly environment, where the Asian Muslim population took negatively any attempts to change the deep-rooted traditions of the local patriarchal society.2.In the period from 1887 to 1913, the Russian administration was able to found several gymnasiums and progymnasiums in the region, which made secondary education accessible both in the Oblast's center and in some district cities. Lower and primary education went along a similar path in the region.3. Despite the positive trends set by the launch of Russian and Russian-indigenous educational institutions, as the Russian population was insignificant in the region, it had some of the lowest indicators in the Russian Empire both in the number of secular educational institutions and in the number of children enrolled in them.