Measures of Ukrainian Central Council in the Field of Education (March 1917 – April 1918)

Узагальнивши напрацювання науковців з даної проблеми, а також залучивши джерела, зокрема збірники документів і матеріалів та фонди Державного архіву Сумської області, авторами зроблена спроба відстежити заходи Української Центральної Ради в сфері освіти в період березня 1917 р. – квітня 1918 р. Зазначено головні здобутки й невдачі на шляху створення нової української школи. Названо ключові заходи з реформування початкової, середньої, професійної, вищої школи, позашкільної освіти та дошкільного виховання. У висновках наголошено, що Центральною Радою, незважаючи на різні труднощі, було прийнято низку важливих рішень і здійснено низку заходів у освітній сфері, які стали фундаментом для подальших реформ у галузі освіти наступними урядами.Summing up the work of the scientists on this problem, as well as involving sources, in particular collections of documents and materials of the State Archive of Sumy region, the authors attempted to track the activities of Ukrainian Central Council (UCC) in the field of education in the period from March 1917 to April 1918. It is noted that after coming to power in March 1917, one of the priority tasks of the UCC was to solve problems in the educational sphere, in particular to construct of a new Ukrainian school. In this case, the main achievements and failures on this path are highlighted. Central Council, in practice, did not overcome any educational problems affecting a variety of areas: Ukrainianization of school and the whole system of education; compulsory and free training; organization of primary, secondary, vocational, higher, out-of-school and preschool education, training of teachers and educators, providing schools and education institutions with educational literature and so on. Measures of the Central Council and other institutions that were aimed at building a new school are characterized. A system of education has been described for each of the levels: preschool, primary, secondary, vocational, higher, and extracurricular. It was noted that in addition to the authorities, various public organizations, such as All Ukrainian Teachers' Union, "Prosvita" Society, etc., participated in educational activities, thanks to which cultural and educational work in Ukrainian cities and villages was extended. The authors conclude that Ukrainian authorities, personalized by Central Council, adopted a number of important decisions and implemented a number of activities in the field of education: a network of new education institutions of the primary and secondary level was created, the structure of their management and subordination changed; the plan of measures for the reform of vocational education was developed; a number of new higher educational establishments were founded and existing ones were reformed; proper attention was paid to development of out-of-school and preschool education, etc. it is noted that due to the rapid change of power and inconsistency of actions, many innovations remain unrealized. However, despite the difficulties, UCC succeeded in laying the foundations for educational transformations by the next Ukrainian government