n for a period of four years.

Schools were divided into faculties, headed by deans; faculties, in
turn, were divided into departments, each headed by a chairman.
Collectively the rector, deans, chairmen, and certain other selected
faculty members were grouped into an advisory council, which had broad
authority in carrying out the government's educational policies,
approving the faculty work programs, supervising the instruction carried
out by the departments, and granting degrees at the graduate level.

Students were admitted to all higher schools on the basis of competitive
examination and assigned to particular faculties according to
government-directed areas of study. Most degree courses at universities
required three to six years to complete, and those at polytechnical
institutes, from two to three years. Medical and dental degrees were
granted at institutes attached to universities and required six years of
study.

After completing all course requirements and passing a comprehensive
state examination, graduates of the various institutions were assigned
to positions in the government or industry as dictated by their
specialized work. Students who graduated with distinction were given
preference in assignment to positions and in the selection of candidates
for postgraduate study. Two higher degrees were available: the Candidate
of Science, which required an additional three years of study, the
passing of several examinations, and the successful defense of a thesis
that made an original contribution to the student's field of
specialization; and the Doctor of Science, which also required extensive
study, the passing of oral and written examinations, and the successful
defense of a thesis based on original and extensive research work in the
student's selected field.

Adult Education

Adult education as a supplementary form of instruction was considered an
integral part of the educational process. Initiated in the early 1950s,
the program was intended to give the workers and peasants the
opportunity to improve their level of education and skill and, at the
same time, to provide the government with the means of intensifying the
ideological and political indoctrination of the general population.

A variety of schools was established throughout the country that offered
evening and correspondence courses to volunteer enrollees, mostly
between the ages of forty and sixty. The courses consisted of lectures
given by v