History of Buryat State Pedagogical Institute

Establishment of Buryat State Pedagogical Institute

Buryat State Pedagogical Institute is one of the oldest higher educational institutions in Siberia. It was founded on the basis ofBuryat-Mongolian Irkutsk Pedagogical Institute branch, by the order of the People's CommissarsCouncil on January 10, 1932.

The newly opened Buryat-Mongolian State Teacher’s Training College included Faculties of Physics and Mathematics, Natural Science, Literature and Linguistics, Social studies and Economics. In the autumn of 1932, the first 146 students were enrolled.

A number of high-qualified specialists travelled to Buryatia to organize the educational work as soon as possible. Twenty-two professors worked at the college in 1932. The building had 10 classrooms and laboratories, and a lecture hall. The first dormitory could accommodate 90 students.

War years

In the first months of the Great Patriotic War, over half the teaching staff and students were called to serve the military. Many of them received honorary military decorations, but sadly, some of the soldiers did not return from the battlefields. Sadly, 40 teachers and students lost their lives defending their country.

Postwar years

After Buryat-Mongolian ASSR (Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) was renamed Buryat ASSR in 1958, the Institute was also officially renamed Dorzhi Banzarov Buryat State Pedagogical Institute (BSPI).

In September 1956, education at the Institute became free. At the same time, a new procedure of giving scholarships according to students’ academic achievements became the norm, students from needy families were supported so as they could continue their studies.

Period of changes

In the mid-1980s, the country saw a period of political and socio-economic transformation, which also affected the higher education system. Despite all the difficulties of the transition period, BSPI retained its scientific potential, and expanded the number of teaching professions it offered. Therefore, in the period of 1985-1995 the number of students increased by about 6000.

In June 1993 the new rector was elected - Associate Professor Stepan Kalmykov, Ed.D., a graduate with honors from Buryat Pedagogical Institute - he finished his postgraduate studies at Krupskaya Moscow State Pedagogical Institute and received his Candidate’s Degree of Pedagogical Sciences. He worked at BSPI as Dean of Physical Culture Department, where he showed himself to be a qualified lecturer and a demanding, principled and erudite leader. In 1990 he was elected a member of the Supreme Council of Buryatia and became the head of the Supreme Council Committee on Science, Culture, Education, Youth policy and Sports. As the rector of the Pedagogical Institute, he defended his doctoral dissertation and received the title of Professor.

The institute opened the graduate school in 1990 in order to enhance the system of teacher training and to attract talented young people to work in higher education. BSPI created the Council for defending Candidate’s dissertations in Philosophy and Sociologyin 1991by decision of the State Commission for Academic Degrees and Titles of the Soviet Union. In 1997 the Council grew into the Doctoral Dissertation Council. From 1994, the University has had the joint Buryat-Mongolian Doctoral Dissertation Council for Defending Dissertations in Pedagogy and Psychology.

For 63 years of its existence (1932-1995), Buryat Pedagogical Institute has become the leading educational institution in the Russian Federation.