Prussia passes the School Supervision Act
Elementary education had been the responsibility of either the Church or the local ruler for as long as anyone could remember. Surveying the situation in his newly unified Germany, Bismarck decided he needed to curb the influence of the Catholic Church and brought the education of the youngest under state control. The School Supervision Act passed in Prussia on 11 March 1872 meant that 60% of children would now attend schools that were inspected not by the Church but by the Prussian state. The Catholic Church was not prepared to take this blow to its influence lying down and the dispute over the matter rumbled on for years.
The supervision of secondary schools in Prussia had been established as a matter of Enlightened secular authority from the end of the 18th century. Today, the principle of state school supervision is enshrined in the German constitution and although Churches can provide education, they are overseen by the state authorities.
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