VOCATIONAL TRAINING
37. To draw general and specialised education still closer together, basic vocational training was introduced step by step into the ten-form polytechnical high schools some time back. This means that a part of the vocational training is completed at the school itself. The pupils of IX and X forms take part in this training. In addition to the general lessons they are given lessons in theory and practice which provide them with knowledge and skills in the basic elements of several related vocations. Thus, for example, children taking up a metalwork trade such as lathe, drill, milling machine, shaping machine, or grinding machine operator, etc. all receive a common basic training. During this time, children receive a common basic training and also some remuneration by the factory which is training them. This remuneration is income-tax free and is also paid during school holidays, in cases of excused absence, sickness and accidents at work. Pupils of the ninth form receive 40 marks a month. Generally speaking, this is followed by an extremely Curtailed special vocational training course which takes place in the training workshops of the factory and in special departments for school children. Dependent on local conditions, these courses are at present held for the chemical, metallurgical and metal work industries, electrical engineering, machine-engineering, power and gas production, building, farming, mining and the printing machinery industry, These special vocational training courses aim to equip young people with the conditions of modern technological processes. They are often entrusted with jobs for
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which they are themselves responsible and the results of' which can be exactly calculated.
38. Theoretical and practical vocational training is given by a wide network of modern factory vocational training schools. Even during their period of training the best apprentices may be called on to work in the factory's research groups or development departments. They thus participate in assignments connected with the development and production programme of the factory and are given the opportunity to obtain a higher education if they so wish.
39. Not all boys and girls stay at school for ten years. Some of them (23 % in 1964) leave after the eighth form and start on an apprenticeship. But the law prescribes that every child is to reach the standard of education set for the 10th form. The law is carried out, too, because early school-leavers attend a vocational school for three years where with an extended time table, they learn the subjects scheduled in the 10-year school syllabus. As mentioned earlier, similar facilities are available to 10-form leavers to combine general and vocational education in a three year course, instead of two years in extended polytechnical secondary schools, enabling them to qualify for Abitur examination which is equivalent to 'A' level of the G.E.C. of U.K. Such classes are opened in vocational schools where apprentices can take Abitur in addition to learning their trades.
40. The number of vocational schools in the GDR in 1968-69 was 1189. Of these 420 were General Vocational Schools run by the Central Ministry of Education and the District Education Departments and 713 were vocational schools run by the various enterprises. The number of such
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institutions, the number of teachers working there and the enrolment is indicated in Table 5 :
TABLE 5 : Vocational Schools, Teachers and Enrolment
of which Full-time
teachers Pupils
General Enterprise
vocational
schools
(1000)
1 2 3 4 5 6
1950 1,583 809 774 11,694 801,1
1955 1,354 744 610 16,287 653,5
1960 1,146 528 618 13,348 337,9
1961 1,108 451 657 12,344 274,1
1962 1,133 430 646 13,036 301,9
1963 1,125 421 647 13,125 345,7
1964 1,123 423 645 13,601 387,1
1965 1,130 424 654 14,587 418,9
1966 1,145 427 663 15,115 446,2
1967 1,172 435 684 15,170 468,7
1968 1,189 420 713 15,159 464.5
Last year, the enrolment in such institutions was 464,000 and the rough distribution between the general vocational schools and vocational schools run by enterprises was in the proportion of 48 and 52.
41. In these vocational institutions, students, who have not completed either 8 or 10 or 12 years of schooling, are given vocational and general education. Various production plants and enterprises provide training facilities in vocational schools run by them and 52% of the total enrolment in vocational schools is to be found in such vocational
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schools. About 48 % of the enrolment in vocational schools is in general vocational trade schools which are directly under the Ministry of Education and Education Departments of15 Districts. There is a central coordination body called State Board for Trade Training set up in 1966 which cooperates with the Ministry of Education and State economic bodies and provides the necessary collaboration between various Ministries as far as vocational education is concerned.
42. The rough break-up of the time table in vocational training schools indicates that 6 per cent of the time is devoted to general education, 40% to special theoretical background of various vocations and 54 % for practical work. This, however, differs from trade to trade.
43. One such vocational training or trade school, Whose number in 1968 was 420 and which I saw, was at Arnstadt. This is a trade school being run by a Town Council. Various types of courses are run in this general vocational training school like secretariat, shop keeping, masonry, painting electrician, textile worker etc. They are providing sandwich courses where one week is spent in theory and one week in practicals. This school has an enrolment of 600 students out of whom 12 per cent are those who have not completed 8 years of schooling and are combining general education upto Form VIII with vocational training, 48 per cent are those who have completed 8 years of schooling and are combining general education upto Form Xi with vocational training, and 40 per cent are those who have completed 10 years schooling and are combining general education upto Form XII with vocational training. The duration of courses is somewhat different from the ones in general schools.
44. The social background of 600 students enrolled in 1968-69 is shown in Table 6.
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TABLE 6 : Social Background of Students Enrolled in Arnstadt
Vocational Training School.
Sl.
No. Social Background Percentage
1 2 3
1. Factory workers 60.0
2. Farmers of cooperatives 13.0
3. Trades like butchers, bakers etc. 3.0
4. Trades in private enterprises 1.8
5. Officials 19.8
6. Independents 2.4
100.0
45. The economic background of the students enrolled in this school is shown in Table 7.
TABLE 7 : Economic Background of Students Enrolled in Arnstadt
Vocational Training school.
S. Economic Background Percentage
No.
1 2 3
1. Workers in people's own enterprising plants 56.8
2. Cooperatives, agricultural and trades 20.1
3. Government assisted factories 11.6
4. Private trades 6.2
5. Private industry 5.3
100.0
About 30 per cent of the students came directly from towns and 70 per cent from villages. The proportion of boys and girls was 45 and 55 respectively. The girls mainly specialised in secretariat training.
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46. The annual admission in this vocational training/ trade school in 1968-69 was 220 students which will increase to 240 in 1969- 70 and to 260 by the end of 1974. Total enrolment will, however, go down because the number of students, who have completed Form VIII schooling, will decrease, because now it is compulsory for all to complete 10 years of schooling. The total enrolment in all trade schools of the type of Arnstadt school in 1968 is expected to be near- ly 2,30,000.
47. Plants in which apprentices are trained have permanent instructors on their staff. Such persons possess considerable technical knowledge and the ability to impart such information. The instructors receive university training which gives them the necessary technical and pedagogic qualifications. Generally speaking, apprentices are looked after by skilled workers on the shop floor as soon as they have successfully completed their first year's training. It is significant to note that industrial training can draw on the experiences gained by the apprentices during earlier polytechnical education at school.