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László Felkai: Georg Lukacs, the minister of culture One of the several reasons why the work of Georg Lukacs as a minister of culture merits study is that, as a member of the Fejrvry cabinet, he introduced or planned animpressive number of innovative measures regarding Hungarian education.In several respects, his program was based on the ideas of his predecessor, Albert Berzeviczy. However, his orders in public education and, especially his reforms of the programme of study in remedial schools are regarded as special features. He targeted the improvement of the living conditions of the people when he shaped curricular contents with the consideration of regional geographical environments to serve more effectively the knowledge necessary for agricultural workers. He considered teacher training institutions for elementary education shameful; to improve their quality he considered stricter state control. He hoped that a strengthened economic perspective and a broadened knowledge of industry and trade to be taught in higher elementary schools would make education there more practice-oriented and would lead to the formation of an industrious middle class. Lukacs took decisive measures to promote Hungarian as the official language and, to this end, to make its teaching more effective in schools for students whose mother tongue was different. Similar considerations led him when raising the number of hours per week for the teaching of national subjects such as Hungarian literature, history and geography in ladies' colleges. The improvement of women's education was also his objective when giving a more pronounced structure to their art and physical education. He passed an important and detailed decree on the mature examination and prepared a proposal following a conference of experts he summoned to discuss the unified secondary school and the reform of this school type. His order codifying the principles and concrete tasks of school inspectorate included several measures influencing the whole of the education system. His fight against alcohol abuse and tuberculosis, carried on after his term in office as well, as a part of whichhe introduced social-hygienic contents into the public elementary schools' curriculum is almost unique in the history of Hungarian education. His steps promoting sciences and arts also justify the remembrance of his work. MAGYAR PEDAGÓGIA 102. Number 1. 3-9. (2002) Levelezési cím / Address for correspondence: Felkai László, H1136 Budapest, Hollán Ernő u. 51. |
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