Bulgarian Empire

Chapter 21: University

Ferdinand's agricultural reform program did not harm the interests of the landlord class. Therefore, it was supported by the enlightened landlords, while others mostly looked on with indifference, and the rollout to the extended rural areas went smoothly.

Ferdinand was satisfied to see the progress. As long as this year can produce positive results, next year, they can go further.

As he learned more about Bulgaria, Ferdinand did not intend to build irrigation projects until he had gained the authority to govern.

The Bulgarian peasant class is now living a tough life. It cannot afford to bear the burden of irrigation projects.

Some would say that the government could pay for it or let the landlord class pay for it. The fact is that it is no longer possible to do so. The Bulgarian treasury cannot afford it.

On the other hand, the Bulgarian landlord class had not yet adopted mechanized production on a large scale before the great land annexation. It was also not as rich as it might have been.

And the Qing Dynasty is not the same. A hundred or eighty mu of land is called a landlord. A thousand mu of good land is a major landlord.

In fact, an ordinary peasant family in Bulgaria has a few hundred mu of land, and it is normal. It is embarrassing to call it a landlord without tens of thousands of mu of land.

The land is vast, and the people are sparse. There is no such thing as ecological protection in this era, and one can continue to reclaim the wilderness as long as one wishes.

It is also the reason why Stambolov's cabinet dares to raise taxes. When farmers are bankrupt, they can also run to the mountains and continue to open up the land, and the government can't control it.

Peasants will not revolt unless they are forced to do so. Historically, Bulgaria has raised agricultural taxes several times to develop industry, but peasant uprisings have been rare.

After learning about the current state of Bulgarian agriculture, Ferdinand also takes up time to rest assured. Now the output of agricultural products on the premise of meeting domestic demand and for export abroad, the need to increase production in the short term is not very urgent.

In June, the humble University of Bulgaria has been completed. As for the interior, in those days, who is still so picky? A concrete floor and a layer of lime hanging on the wall are enough.

The historical Sofia University, too, was established this year. Built by the generous support of two brothers, Hristo Georgiev and Evlogi Georgiev, the main building was completed only in 1934.

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There are naturally not anymore, and Bulgaria's resources are limited. Thanks to Ferdinand's intervention, the Bulgarian government took the lead and supported the community.

In just a few months, a manor in the city's eastern suburbs rebuilt out as a simple university. The conditions are estimated to be similar to those of a rural elementary school 20 or 30 years ago.

Ferdinand had to put his energy into the university where the history of Sofia University, and the title of the Red Cradle, could not be ignored by him.

Although not very familiar with the inner workings of the Bulgarian revolution, there was one thing Ferdinand remembered. The massive unemployment of Sofia University graduates laid the groundwork for the spread of the revolution.

Ferdinand decided to take the bite out of the situation. He just came to make a move with the guarantee of being assigned. Everyone will have a job, and there will be no time for revolution!

On July 2, 1888, Ferdinand held a meeting with the university's administration to decide on the number of students to be admitted to the first semester and the division of the faculties.

"Mr. Minister, is it true that His Highness is coming to the meeting?" Aleko Konstantinov asked in surprise (a famous Bulgarian writer and current literature teacher at the University of Bulgaria).

Others also perked up their ears and expressed concern. Although all the people sitting here are renowned figures in the education sector, the biggest official they usually contact is from the Ministry of Education.

They gave little thought to Ferdinand, the high-ranking rector, who was then elected only to secure funding.

"Of course, His Highness attaches great value to education. Isn't there half an hour before it starts, just be patient and wait!" Chekhov said with a smile.

...

After a few polite words, Ferdinand waved a hand and spoke, "Well, let the meeting begin!"

"Yes, Your Highness! Then let's start with our Ministry of Education!" Chekhov said in a good mood.

"This entrance test, the Ministry of Education began prepared three months ago. The preparations are ready, and now the main thing is to decide the number of admissions, and the number of students in each major!" Chekhov finished very concisely.

Ferdinand liked his pragmatic approach to work, no rhetoric, no hint of bureaucratic style.

"Well, let's all express your own opinions below!" Ferdinand said with a satisfied nod.

"We, the Faculty of Mechanics, want two hundred people! As we all know, Bulgaria is being industrialized and there is a shortage of this type of talent!" Alan, the head of the Faculty of Mechanics, said first.

The crowd did not speak, clearly approved of Alan's reason, but it involved a dispute over the quota, and did not speak. Ferdinand nodded and signaled his attendant to record.

"The Faculty of Literature, we need three hundred people. Bulgaria was enslaved by the Ottoman Empire for a long time, and urgently needs to open its mind, but also to restore traditional culture, which requires a lot of manpower; we also urgently need excellent literature to enrich the moral life of the people!" Aleko said right after him.

Next, Faculty of History...

Faculty of Physics...

Faculty of Chemistry...

Faculty of Architecture...

The small University of Bulgaria actually has more than thirty faculties, both large and small, with total admission of more than five thousand people.

Ferdinand was all smiles and listened. Frankly, more than 5,000 people are very much? Ferdinand's opinion is not much at all, but that depends on what kind of place. There are tens of thousands of people in any random university in the future.

But now, that is simply unlikely. It is estimated that the first batch of applicants in Bulgaria are not necessarily five thousand people.

Ferdinand looked to Chekhov and asked, "What is your Ministry of Education's estimate, my minister, of the number of the first applicants to the University of Bulgaria?"

"Your Highness, through the initial survey, the total number of eligible applicants is expected to fluctuate between 4,500 and 5,200 people!" Chekhov said cautiously.

Ferdinand said cautiously, "Well! All of you are the elite of the Bulgarian education sector, and now the situation is clear to all of you. Based on the current situation, everyone realizes that it is impossible for us to meet everyone's demands!"

"Then, for the sake of the greater good of Bulgaria, so many majors will have to make sacrifices!"

The people's faces changed greatly. In fact, they were also shocked by this figure. How many people were there at the University of Vienna? Less than three thousand, right? If the University of Bulgaria really wants to recruit five thousand students at once, it is estimated that everyone will be the laughing stock of the education sector.

They must cut the number of people, but it's a question of which majors are cut more and which are cut less!

Seeing the crowd still in deep thought, Ferdinand spoke again. He said, "We all know well that the purpose of creating a university in Bulgaria is for the development of the country, so the quality of university graduates must be ensured. Therefore, the number of students admitted to the first batch would rather be less than more than five hundred in principle!"

"In fact it will only get smaller. The University of Vienna is now admitting the same number of students, and Oxford has even fewer! The well-known universities around the world have already given us a good example!"