The System of Public Education in Baku Governorate in the Period between the second half of the 19^thcentury and the early 20^thcentury. Part 1

This work analyzes the system of public education in Baku Governorate in the period between the second half of the 19^th century and the early 20^th century. This part of the work examines the timeframe 1849-1900, i.e. the period from the creation of the governorate to the beginning of the 20^th century. The key source used in putting this work together is the annual Reports on Educational Institutions in the Caucasus Educational District, which provide data on the region's schools under the purview of the Ministry of Public Education. Wide use was made of the statistical method. The authors researched the reports for statistical data on the following: the types of the region's educational institutions, the number of schools in the region, the region's library holdings, and the region's student body (information related to student demographics, including ethnicity, religion, social estate, and gender). The use of the statistical method helped identify some of the key distinctive characteristics of the development of the system of public education in Baku Governorate in the period 1849-1900. The authors' conclusion is that the system of public education in Baku Governorate had markedly distinct characteristics. Above all, this was the case with its private educational institutions, which played an important role in the development of its public education system. By the year 1900, Baku Governorate had in place an entire network of public and private educational institutions, which included six gymnasia, seven lower educational institutions, and 113 primary schools. Gender-wise, girls comprised just 31% of the region's total student body, which at the time was quite characteristic of areas with a large Muslim population.