Pirmoji aukštoji mokykla Šiauliuose: Prekybos institutas (1939-1944m.)

LTPirmosios Lietuvos Respublikos laikotarpiu (1918-1940) didelis dėmesys buvo skiriamas švietimo sistemos kūrimui ir plėtotei, kartu ir aukštųjų mokyklų reikalams. Prekybos institutas įkurtas 1934 m. Klaipėdoje, žymaus visuomenės veikėjo inžinieriaus Ernesto Galvanausko iniciatyva ir tuometinio Ministro Pirmininko ir finansų ministro Juozo Tūbelio pritarimu. 1939 m. hitlerinei Vokietijai užėmus Klaipėdos kraštą, Prekybos institutas persikėlė į Šiaulius, kur veikė iki 1943 m., (o nelegaliai iki 1944 m.). Per visą gyvavimo laikotarpį ši aukštoji mokykla parengė apie 250 absolventų-ekonomistų, prekybininkų, verslininkų. Prekybos institutas turėjo didelę reikšmę Lietuvos ūkiui. Leidinyje stengiamasi atsiriboti nuo Prekybos instituto „klaipėdietiškojo" periodo, akcentuojant jo veiklą Šiauliuose nuo 1939 metų, pabrėžiant, kad tai buvo pirmoji aukštoji mokykla Šiauliuose. Studijos tikslas - atskleisti Prekybos instituto bruožus, išryškinti veiklos specifiką įvairiais laikotarpiais. Bus siekiama išsiaiškinti, kaip kito šios aukštosios mokyklos statusas, studijų programos, studentų veikla; kokia buvo dėstytojų kvalifikacija, jų laikysena keičiantis politinėms situacijoms; kaip Prekybos institutas pakeitė miesto gyvenimą ir su kokiais sunkumais teko susidurti persikėlus iš Klaipėdos. Darbe remtasi pirminiais šaltiniais, saugomais Lietuvos centriniame valstybės archyve, Prekybos instituto, Švietimo ministerijos, Nacių okupacijos laikų Švietimo vadybos fonduose. Taip pat naudotasi to meto periodine spauda bei instituto absolvento Prano Zibolio atsiminimais.Reikšminiai žodžiai: Šiauliai; Prekybos institutas; švietimo sistema; Aukštasis mokslas; Aukštosios mokyklos; Prekybos institutas.

ENTrade Institute was founded in 1934 in Klaipeda by the initiative of a famous public figure Ernestas Galvanauskas. In 1939, after Nazi Germany occupied the Klaipėda region, the Trade Institute was moved to Šiauliai, where it operated until 1943 (and in the underground until 1944). Moving of the institute to Šiauliai was urgent. Šiauliai was chosen for several reasons. One of the key arguments put forward for choosing Šiauliai was the cultural influence of the Institute provided for the North Lithuania. In addition, Šiauliai was one of the larger industrial centers in Lithuania at that time. In 1940 E. Galvanauskas after once again becoming the Minister of Finance, allocated 1 million litas for the construction of a new building for the Trade Institute. It was built on the corner of Venclauskis and Darius and Girėnas streets, where construction of a representative hotel had already begun. During the years of World War II, the war hospital was set up in the Institute building and the students had to work in other premises. Trade Institute was the Graduate School providing degrees in Economics and Trade. Education program was very broad. The basis of subjects consisted of the study of company's economy with special courses for individual industries - industrial, commercial, credit, finance, insurance, land and sea transport, cooperation, etc. The studies lasted for 3 years, each year students had to do two-month placements in the companies. With the changes of the political regimes the education programmes had to be adjusted as well. Institute courses were taught by qualified teachers with significant theoretical knowledge and practical skills.These were the teachers who had received their economic or legal education in the higher educational institutions of Western Europe. Some of them came to give courses from Kaunas Vytautas Magnus University. One of the main features of the school was a small number of students. In 1939, the great majority of the students of the Trade Institute moved from Klaipėda to Šiauliai. During the first month of the Institute's work in Šiauliai, there were 50 first-years, 26 second-years and 33 third-years, 109 students in total. Later the number of students increased to exceed 200. The moving of Institute to Šiauliai boosted the city's cultural life as well. The students were members of various organizations, organized student parties. The contingent of students was diverse; the students came to study not only from the neighboring areas, but from the whole of Lithuania. In March 1943 the Trade Institute like the rest of Lithuania's higher educational establishments, was closed down in response to the failed mobilization of Lithuanian youths to the Nazi Army. However, the studies continued underground. In the summer of 1944 when the Soviet Army recaptured Lithuania, about 80 percent of Institute's teaching staff fled to the West. The change of regimes had a significant influence on the life of the Institute. The Trade Institute in Šiauliai had to work under different conditions almost every year: 1) from May 1939 until June 1940 - the last year of Independent Lithuania, was the period of Institutes "adapting" to Šiauliai; 2) from June 1940 to June 1941 - the first Soviet occupation, the "sovietization" of the institute; 3) since June 1941 until 1943-44 - the Nazi occupation, the attempts to recreate the former status of the Institute and its final closure. [From the publication]