The material base of labour reserves educational institutions of Ukraine during the recovery period (1943-1950)

Korol V. M. The material base of labour reserves educational institutions of Ukraine during the recovery period (1943-1950)

  • The article investigates the material base conditions of Labour Reserves educational institutions during the economic recovery of the Ukrainian SSR after World War II. The author made an attempt to analyze the level of different premises and technical equipment provision of factory training and vocational schools. The sources and ways to replenish the respective constituents of material base have been clarified.

    Most of the prewar Labour Reserves buildings were strongly affected by the hostilities and the deliberate destruction. The institutions got dilapidated buildings in destroyed cities.  It resulted in a significant delay of the full training process start. Given the critical status of the overall economy, the government tried to save on Labour Reserves system and carry out reconstruction with minimal investment.

    The main immediate cause of recovery and repair delay in most schools was a shortage of building materials. All urgent repairs were carried out by students and teachers of factory training and vocational schools and partly by basic enterprises employees.

    The huge problem was overcrowding as large buildings were very few. The classroom fund was extremely lacking. There were too little places in hostels.

    At the beginning of the restoration of the Labour Reserves network almost all prewar technical equipment of educational institutions were removed during the evacuation, destroyed or plundered by invaders or by looters. Most of the base units of technical equipment were transferred to educational institutions by basic enterprises after cessation of hostilities. Industrial managers were doing it as a volunteer, and also under pressure from government and party organs. But usually training workshops received obsolete and worn out equipment with limited suitability that needs repair or full restoration.

    Much attention was given to the independent manufacturing of various technological tools and accessories and own machinery products. Expansion of own production and turning it into a massive faced with a number of insurmountable obstacles that nullify all optimistic plans.

  • post-war recovery, Labour Reserves, factory training schools, vocational schools, material base
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