FEATURES OF THE FEDERAL VETERINARY COLLEGE AT YEREVAN/ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00047R000200250008-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 15, 2009
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: December 13, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2009/07/15: CIA-RDP82-00047R000200250008-
C1 ASSIFICATION TIAL
CONF. W.AJ
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
COUNTRY
SUBJECT
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE
ACQUIRED
DATE (of i~
Features of the Federal Veterinary College at
Yerevan/Elementary and secondary Education
TNT/ OOOYY[NT CON TAINT IN/O ANATION A/ItOTINN TMI NATIONAL Olf {N li
IA THI YNITIO /TA T11. tITNIN TM{ M{AN INI O/TITLI I/t 1[OTIONI 111
ANN 714. OF TXI U.S. OHIO, Al AM{NO{0. ITI TOANIM11I10N 00 PAYS-
LATION 0/ ITI ION TINTI TO OA A{O{IPT IV AN UNAY TX00111I PINION 11
f 00N 111 T10 IY LAO. TNI 04f A00Y0T ION 0/ TMIN FINN 11 fAOXIIIT10.
as uv on a ? o e;e VU $ ~?n
o ? uss as an rm?n an nguagesl The students we ^e divided
into two language groups which received parallel courses of instr tion.
The groups were about equal in else since all Armenian students w1 could
get along in the Russian language were placed in the Russian group. It
was a considerable advantage for a student to know Russian because the
veterinary literature in Armenian was far from adequate for study poses,
DATE DISTR. J3 QEm Y
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NO. OF PAGES 3
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THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION 25X1
Armenians comprised abo t 654 of tba student body, the other
from hbori BOR's.
Politi nation at the College was very intensive but its major
effect was to bore and irritate the students rather than25X1
to ruahe Communists o ?m, The cW1,61 Ile contained two hours a day
of political instruction throughout the entire five years. The political
indoctrination program included courses in political Economy, Darwinism,
Marxism, and the History of the Communist Party, The Veterinary Board
examinaltions, which every graduate'had to pass before certification as a
professional veterinarian, contained a political examination. The gen-
eral attitude of the students toward the political courses was one of
resigrAtion to the necessity of having to pass the political examination
in order to practice the profession.
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Were any efforts made, overt or secret, to weed out possible dissident
elements?
the NXVD-had.none of its personnel at the school.
It.was assumed, however, that some of the students and staff served the
NKVD as secret informants. There was, in addition, the overt Party
group at the school which had jurisdiction over political matters.
Pressure on the student toward political conformity was created by the
presence of Party members in the school and by the presumption that one's
best friend could, conceivably, be a secret NM informant. From time to
time students were removed from the school for suspected political unor-
t3hodoxy.. Occasionally a student was removed as a result of the commis-
sion by a relative of an actual or alleged political crime. When the
reason for dismissal was political, the student was so informed. Unless
the student auilty of some concrete "e un u y" act=
dismissal
from school was no occasion for arrest. The student was merely denied
the privilege of entering the profession which he had chosen and for
which he had once qualified, on all counts.
Beginning about 1935, the USSR
built large numbers of -,.new elementary; and secondary school buildings in
the towns and cities. These were good modern buildings comparable in
design to all except the most architecturally advanced 125X1
in the .,US. Elementary school education (seven years). was compulsory and
the, parents were liable to arrest if they failed, without good reason,
to send their child to school. The elementary school curriculum was
established by the Soviet government and was standard throughout the
TJS8 in. cities, towns,. villages, and on collective farms. Elementary
school was not only tuitionrfree but books,,paper and all other school
supplies were provided-,by the state.
(b) Attenaa oe at secondary. schools was optional but, is both Tiflis tad
Yerevan, ittnd.anoe was . about 9$ of the mentally and physically eligible
school
children. Secondary sohool tuition was fret, although books and
suupp]i s had to be purchased by the student. There were two kinrb of
secondary; schools,. regular and industrial, and the, course was four years
for nearly all students in both types. Every graduate of a secondary
school of either type was equipped to earn a living in a.teohsieal or
semi-professional job. Students entering the regular high sohoo a nould
choose their course. and graduate ii a medca3, assistant, a special wed.
laboratory technician of some: kind, a building foremam, an elementsr]r
schoolteacher (this was on],y a three 'year course) and so on. These gradu-
ates,. depending upon personal desires and ability, could then either begin
work gr.go on to colleges and universities for full professional training
in their chosen fields, eg doctor, architect, rRseereh scientist, second-
try school ,or college., teacher.
(c,) The industrial secondary schools were also: of four years' duration and
trained ;their students as auto meohlnios, machinists, electricians, car-
penters and the like. The schools isre operated in conjunction with state
factories. The students worked in the factories four hours each day and
attended school four hours each day. Graduates of these schools were well
qualified: in their crafts and were eligible to go on to engineering colleges
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for professional training. These schools provided their students with
everything, even including clothes, in return for the work performed in
the factories. Students tended to follow the special training of their
fathers in selecting their courses in the industrial schools. The syn-
thetic rubber,industry.in Yerevan maintained two of these industria'
secondary schools) one for , training, chemical workers and one for train-
ing mechanical workers. The Federal Meat Trust in Yerevan ran a school
to train meat inspectors and.meat cutters. The,aluminum factory also
had an industrial school,
(d) As already stated, elementary schooling for'the children of collective
farms was the same in content as that in the cities, although the quality
of facilities was generally inferior -25X1
Large collectives.,: say of 1500 or more people, usually had separate school-
houses and a staff of several teachers,: Smaller. collectives (500 or less)
frequently. had only one teacher and used the church as the classroom.
The seven years of. elementary education was, as in, the towns and cities,
strictly compulsory. About 95% of the graduates received no further formal
education and became ordinary farmers. About 5% of the farm children
went on to secondary schools, becoming agricultural technicians or
specialists in other technical or professional fields., These children
had to :move to a city to receive their specialized training. 25X1
(Ninety five percent
of the Armenian farmers who were taken into the Army could not speak Rus-
sian, had only elementary, school educations, and seemed to have profited
little from what education they did have. These rural products were
sent almost on masse into the, infantry where the use of a rifle and a few
other fundaments s would be the only things they would have to master.
The navy, the air force, and the tank corps received the better-trained'
town and city youth..
Every elementary school required two hours a week of Russian language
instruction beginning.in the second grade. Every high school required
two hours a week throughout the entire four years,, or three years in the
case of students preparing, to teach in elementary schools. Most second-
ary school graduates had learned Russian fairly well. Rural graduates
of the elementary schools had generally learned little.
CON?IDENTIAL/6ECURITY INFOPY TION
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