Unlike later generations, private education was not accessible to the general public.

Although there were many private schools in Europe at this time, Australasia also had large and small private schools.

These private schools generally bear the name of aristocrats, and those who can go to these private schools are either nobles or capitalists with a lot of money.

Even, some more traditional aristocratic schools, even top capitalists with a net worth of millions or even tens of millions, do not have the right to study in such schools.

Such schools are generally only open to the descendants of high-ranking nobles, and are specially designed for the noble class to train excellent offspring.

Such schools are designed not only to provide a top-notch education, but also to provide an excellent network for the descendants of the nobility.

You must know that in such a top traditional aristocratic school, every student's parents and family are powerful aristocrats with a lot of power.

The aristocracy was linked to each other in this way, and the entire aristocratic class became more united.

In fact, this also means that it is difficult for ordinary people to receive other forms of education than the public education provided by the state.

What is taught in public schools is actually up to the Australasian government.

Australasia's unified language policy was implemented several years ago when Archbishop Steed had just arrived in Australasia, not only clarifying the status of English in major schools, but also establishing the Victorian Language School in the private sector.

In Australasia, all public schools currently teach only English as a language, and other languages can only be taken when you go to university and enter the corresponding literature department.

This also means that all current Australasian students are able to communicate effectively in English.

These students include a large number of people of British descent, but also Germans, Russians, Italians, and so on.

For a country like Australasia, which is made up of the majority of immigrants, the importance of a unified language cannot be higher.

"Minister Stefan, tell us about our current state of English popularization!" Arthur looked at Education Secretary Stefan and asked with a smile.

Although the Victorian Language School is a joint venture between the Australasian Government and the Australasian Church, the main funder is the Department of Education.

There is no way, the popularization of language schools in Australasia is simply not affordable with the current strength of the Australasian church.

Moreover, because of the importance of universal English, most language schools are free of charge, and the education sector and the church are simply unable to make a profit from it.

Therefore, the Victorian language school has always been funded by the Department of Education, and the church and the education department jointly contributed talents.

The reason why Bishop Steed risked losing money to build the Victorian Language School was actually to take advantage of the opportunity to popularize English and win more missionary opportunities among the vast number of non-English immigrants.

After all, only when there are more Protestant believers, the Protestant church and Archbishop Stede himself can obtain higher status and benefits, so the new version of Victorian Language School is a win-win situation for the Australasian government and the church.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Minister Stefan stood up and replied with a little respect.

"Your Majesty, the Victorian Language School has spent almost five years since its inception. Given the importance of universal access to English, it has been our goal to make Victorian language schools available everywhere over the past five years.

So far, there are more than 100 Victorian language schools in one territory in eight states in Australia and New Zealand, and a total of nearly 700,000 short-term trainees and nearly 200,000 long-term trainees.

Our next goal is to train at least 300,000 people a year so that more immigrants can communicate in English proficiently.

Because of its private nature, Victorian language schools are divided into half-year and one-year courses, corresponding to short-term training and long-term training respectively.

Generally speaking, after half a year of studying at a language school, you will be able to communicate in mostly simple English, which is no longer a barrier to living in Austoria.

At present, most non-English immigrants choose to choose short-term training methods based on half a year.

In fact, the Cabinet government has also proposed a way to quickly increase the English language penetration rate, which is to set a limit on English proficiency in major factories and high-paying jobs.

If you do this, it will easily make immigrants who do not speak English resentful, which is not good for the stability of the country.

You must know that Australasia currently has a large population of Russian and German descent, and if such restrictions are blindly increased, it is easy for these people to be dissatisfied.

Therefore, after much consideration, Arthur still chose a more moderate way, that is, to open a free English education school such as the Victorian Language School in the private sector.

In order to make a living, in order to live better in Australasia, these immigrants always have to come into contact with and learn and understand English.

At present, Australasian language schools are able to teach more than 200,000 immigrants each year, and the English language penetration rate in Australasia has also increased on a large scale.

Arthur is very supportive of the popularization of English. After giving the education department sufficient funding, Arthur also set a new goal of increasing the number of English language training to more than 500,000 per year within three years.

In addition to the mandates given to the Ministry of Education, Arthur also gave specific assignments to each department, encompassing all aspects of Australasia.

Time is about to enter the new year, and no one can guarantee whether the coming year will be peace or war.

In such a situation, Australasia must be prepared for war at any time, and major factories and enterprises should also mobilize for this purpose.

At a cabinet meeting, Arthur vetoed a proposal by some cabinet ministers to hold a military parade between the army and the navy.

First, there are still more than ten days before the National Day, and the temporary preparation time is definitely too late.

Second, the military parade in Australasia is now being held with great fanfare, which will inevitably have a certain impact on the current tense situation in Europe.

Even if the Germans would not be mistaken, what would Austria-Hungary think? As a member of the Entente, Australasia's large-scale military parade at this time will inevitably be provocative in the eyes of others.

However, there should be National Day activities are still indispensable. This may be the last peaceful national day event for Australasian people before World War I, and Arthur intends to give a speech to stabilize the mood at home and at the same time vaccinate all citizens, and Australasia could be embroiled in a huge European war at any time.

After this cabinet meeting, the time quietly came to January 1, 1914.

On New Year's Day, Australasia also ushered in good news, that is, the construction of two Hope-class battleships, Hope and Dream, is about to begin.

Because of the experience of building Hope-class battleships for the Chileans, the battleships Hope and Dream have also been modified to a certain extent, and their performance has become more advanced.

The main improvements are in armor and power. The two Hope-class battleships in Australasia were more robust in terms of armor, which also brought the two Hope-class battleships to a standard displacement of 23,000 tons and a full load displacement of 27,100 tons.

In order to match the increased weight, in terms of power system, two more mixed combustion boilers were added, so that the power of the Hope-class battleship reached about 35,000 horsepower, and the speed was expected to exceed 21.5 knots.

Of course, the improvement in artillery was not significant. Because the 45 times diameter MK V 13.5-inch caliber main gun that the Hope-class battleship is expected to be equipped with, it is currently the most advanced, the largest caliber, and the most powerful firepower of the British Empire's main naval gun.

As for the more powerful 15-inch guns, not to mention Australasia, the British Empire was under intense research.

However, the good news is that the construction period of the battleships Hope and Dream was about a year, and the history of the British Empire was equipped with 15-inch guns in 1915.

This also meant that the two battleships were hopefully equipped with 15-inch guns, which could be replaced as soon as either the British Empire or Australasia developed a stable 15-inch gun.

Even if it is not equipped with a 15-inch main gun, the 45-diameter 13.5-inch main gun of the former British Empire is definitely one of the most powerful capital naval guns in the world.

In particular, the two upgraded Hope-class battleships will represent the highest level of Australasian shipbuilding, and also symbolize the strength of Australasia.

Arthur took the groundbreaking of the battleships Hope and Dream very seriously, and on January 1, the day after the cabinet meeting, he personally attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the two battleships and gave an important speech.

In his speech, Arthur compared the Hope and Dream to the bridge of Australasia's rise, and Australasia's important cards to protect itself and its people's safety and safeguard its own and people's interests.

The entire naval construction program for 1914 was dominated by these two Hope-class battleships. If construction went well, the two Hope-class battleships were expected to be completed and tested in early 1915, and officially commissioned in late 1915 and early 1916.

I have to admit that the Hope-class battleship. As one of the most powerful battleship designs in the world, it is also very expensive to build.

Even if the Royal Shipyards offer the Ministry of Defence a price that is basically only slightly higher than the cost price, each Hope-class battleship costs nearly $4.6 million.

This also means that this year has just begun, and the financial budget of the Ministry of Defense has already spent nearly 10 million, and the result is only these two battleships, which will not be commissioned until the end of next year.

In this respect, we can also see how exaggerated the current naval arms race in European countries is consuming funds.

Australasia has built only two super-dreadnoughts, which alone cost one-tenth of the government's annual revenue.

If you add in the cost of follow-up tests, training and maintenance, Australasia's finances can't afford to support too many super dreadnoughts.

Ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)