Technikatörténeti szemle 23. (1997-98)
TANULMÁNYOK - Efmertová, Marcela: Major Anniversaries of Prague’s Czech Technical University and its Support from the Secondary School System in the Past
examinations held once in sixth months. The Viennese Court Office was kept informed about the school's record from its annual catalogues. Throughout Gerstner's tenure of office, the number of students at the Polytechnic kept rising 20 . 106 students began their studies in 1806, in 1810 the student population totalled 216, five years later there were 260 undergraduates, 371 in 1820, in 1825 their number exceeded the 400 mark and in 1830 a total of 388 students attended the school. With the growing student population it was vital to improve the quality of instruction. Intellectual demands on students were relatively high. As a result, a mere 25% of admitted students graduated 21 . Gerstner realized that a technical school may set the highest possible demands on its undergraduates but without an adequate network of secondary technical schools providing quality schooling it was next to impossible to keep improving the level of education at the Polytechnic. That was why Gerstner began his crusade for the establishment of Realschules and industrial schools training students for his technical institute. Negotiations with Vienna were just as protracted as in the process of reorganizing the original project of the Estates' Technical School. Although the Study Court Commission would turn down one Gerstner's proposal after another, he kept modifying and persistently sending them back to Vienna. A breakthrough came in 1829 when Vienna approved the establishment of the first two secondary technical schools 22 which were duly formed in the 1830s. Thanks to the widespread success of the graduates from Prague's reformed technical school in practical life, similar technical schools and polytechnics, designed according to Gerstner's concept, mushroomed during the first decades of the 19th century all over Central Europe (e.g. in Graz 1814, Vienna 1815, Nurenberg 1823, Berlin 1824, Karlsruhe 1825, Dresden 1828, Kassel 1830, Hannover 1831 etc.) 23 The newly established Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in Paris (founded in 1829) also had its impact on the continued development of industry-oriented technical universities. The Prague Polytechnic attained a university level of performance in 1863 when its organic statutes were published The school had introduced its four basic technical disciplines and study branches: water and civil engineering, mechanical engineering and chemistry. Heads (later deans) were in charge of the individual faculties, and the Institute's Director, until then appointed for life, was replaced by a Rector elected each year. Czech and German were made equal as languages of instruction, and the institute of compulsory lectures was introduced. The organic statutes were later amended in 1869 pursuant to the Hasner School Act, dividing the Prague Technical University, according to the language of instruction, into its Czech and German parts. The names of the schools were changed in 1875 to Cfsarsko-kralovska (C.k. or Imperial-Royal)
