It is natural for scientists, public figures, university professors and other higher education institutions, trustees of educa-tional districts, ministers of public education, statesmen, etc. to show interest in the so-called “university issue” in the conditions of formation and development of domestic university education in the XIX – the early XX century. Particularly heated discussions on this problem arise at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when the activities of universities were regulatedby the reactionary statute of 1884. Many well-known progressives (V. Vernadskyi, M. Pyrohov, I. Sechenov, K. Timiriaziev, Ye. Tru-betskoi, S. Trubetskoi, P. Fortunatov, O. Shvarts and others) advocated the expansion of university rights, and the idea of an au-tonomous independent university became key. The position of supporters of the independence of universities was manifested in the relevant appeals. Thus, in 1899, ten professors submitted a note to the Minister of Education, which referred to the humiliating role of teachers, defined by regula-tions. In 1905, 342 scholars prepared for publication in the journal “Herald of Europe” a special document “Note on the needs of education”, which spoke about the progress of scientific progress through the efforts of domestic scientists and the inappro-priate attitude of the authorities to such achievements. Numerous publications show interest in the university issue. For example, O. Posnikov, V. Sobolevskyi, O. Chuprov substantiate the effectiveness of university autonomy in the columns of the periodical “Russian Gazette”. K. Timiriaziev in his own collection of articles “Science and Democracy” advocates the principle of academic freedom. P. Struve in the preface to O. Heorhiievskyi’s book “A Brief Essay on Government Measures and Predictions Against Student Riots” reflects on human rights violations in universities, the oppression of the rights of teachers and students. V. Vernadskyi writes in the article “On the Professorial Congress” about the importance of creating an “Association for Achieving Academic Freedom and Improving the Conditions of Academic Life”. The study made it possible to state a great interest in the “university question” at the turn of the XIX–XX centuries. Note that this problem is related to the conceptual “idea of the university”, which is interpreted as a combination of the whole set of knowledge and ideas about the university: goals, objectives, principles, structure, functions, internal and external relations,place and role in society at a certain specific historical stage.
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