Incompetent university students, not enough practical training.

[Education] / [Hanoverians]. Wir Georg von Gottes Gnaden König von Groß-Britannien, Franckreich und Irland, Beschützer des Glaubens, Hertzog zu Braunschweig und Luneburg, des H. R. Reichs Erz-Schatzmeister und Chur-Fürst. Fügen hiemit zu wissen. Es ergiebet die tägliche Erfahrung mehr und mehr, daß in allen Facultäten gar viel Schlechte… S.l. [Hanover]: s.n., [decree dated 25 November 1722]. [42.1 x 33.2 cm], [1] f. letterpress broadside. Folds, spotted, toned, embossing from having been pressed against something while folded.

Very rare (1 copy worldwide: Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen) large broadside presenting an educational reform decreed in Hanover by King George I in his role as Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. At issue is a complaint still familiar today: There are too many incompetent university students, too few scholarships (which are given to the wrong people), and not enough talented youths training to pursue practical professions.

The document explicitly states how it was to be used: “So that this Our declaration may be known everywhere, it shall be read from the chancellery, distributed to the offices and guilds, and posted publicly in other usual places and in public schools.”

I quote a portion of the document here in translation:

“Daily experience increasingly shows that in all faculties there are many incompetent and unqualified people who can be of no use in either the Church of God or in other civil service, and who therefore become a burden and a nuisance to the country and the commonwealth. All this stems primarily from the fact that parents and guardians, or those otherwise entrusted with the children’s upbringing, fail to adequately discern whether the boys destined for university studies possess the necessary aptitude and skill, as well as the required means, but instead rely on being granted scholarships and receiving assistance in one way or another…

“We urge them that they would provide for their children and wards far better if, instead of pursuing formal studies, they would teach them a skilled trade & other arts, including proper writing & arithmetic, or to thoroughly teach housekeeping and economics. This requires fewer financial resources, and the young people generally progress better and find their livelihood more easily than if they attempt to study without sufficient means and, due to lack of resources, are unable to learn anything properly. However, because sometimes among the children of poor and destitute people one finds truly extraordinary talents capable of studying, we do not intend to exclude such children from all assistance but rather intend to give them as much support as possible. Insofar as the intention of the founders of such scholarships and other subsidies is aimed at the poor but exceptionally talented & dedicated youth, they should be encouraged and inspired to learn something capable and righteous with which they could soon render useful and beneficial services to the Church of God and the country.”

The text then states that boys should be examined before the age of 14 to determine their aptitude and accomplishments. The exams are to take place in Lüneburg, Celle, Hanover, Göttingen, Stade, and Ratzeburg. Their progress should be recorded and further exams taken at age 18. At that point it will be determined who qualifies for scholarships.

OCLC and KVK locate only 1 copy of this broadside: Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen.