In the Lower Houses of Education there are only military or treasury places.
In the Upper Houses of Education there are 1,800 military places; the remaining 600 are filled up by pupils upon provincial or private foundations, and by paying pupils.
In the School Companies the number of the foundation places and paying places is not fixed.
In the Cadet Institutions and the Academies there are 900 full and 200 half military places, and 520 places for pupils on provincial and private foundations, and for paying pupils.[6]
A sum to cover the expenses is fixed in the case of the pupils on the provincial and private foundations, as also for the paying pupils, amounting in the Houses of Education and in the School Companies to 150 florins (15l.) per annum; in the Cadet Houses to 400 florins (40l.) per annum; in the Academies 600 florins (60l.) for each of the three first years, and 800 florins (80l.) for the last year. These payments will be subject to modifications, at considerable intervals of time, according to the price of articles of consumption, and will be drawn in the case of the pupils on the provincial foundations from the funds of the respective provinces, and in the case of the pupils of the private foundations, from the moneys belonging to the private foundations.
The capital for the provincial and private foundations must be duly secured and sufficient in amount to cover the fixed payments for the number of places determined upon. Supposing the sum contributed to be insufficient, the requisite sums must be obtained by deferring any further nominations.[7] The proper sums in discharge of these contributions must be paid in advance, half-yearly, on the 1st of October and the 1st of April. Those which belong to the provincial foundations, and such private ones as are administered by trustees, must be paid into the nearest Military Chest.[8] In the case of those pupils who pay for themselves, the money must be sent precisely on the above-mentioned days to the Commandant, or Director of the School, without reference to the day on which the pupil may have entered the school. On the other hand, in cases where a pupil either is removed from or otherwise quits the institution before the natural time, restitution will be made of the corresponding proportion of the sum paid in advance.
For admission into a Military Educational Institution, the boy must first of all be of the age specified for the institution in question, and must further possess the proper bodily growth and strength corresponding to that age, and the prescribed amount of knowledge. Every boy who is to be offered as a candidate for a military place must first be registered, and this in the course of the same year for which his admission is desired. This registration must be made by the parents or guardians through the Commanding Officers of the Army,[9] or Army-Corps, or Military Government[10] within whose district they are domiciled, or in case of their living in foreign parts, through the Austrian Legation of the country.
Applications thus made must state what is the institution, admission into which is desired, and must be accompanied by the following certificates:—1. Baptismal certificate. 2. Certificate of vaccination. 3. Certificate of bodily health, by a Military Surgeon. 4. The school certificate for the last half-yearly examination: And 5. On the reverse the following declaration:—
“I hereby pledge myself to surrender up my son (or ward) to the Imperial Military Service, in case of his being admitted into a Military Educational Institution; and I declare that I will under no pretext require his return.”
The object of this declaration is, on the one hand, to secure permanent elements for the Military Educational Institutions, and to create in the minds of the relations of the candidates the seriousness of purpose so essential in the choice of a profession. The declaration will also serve to retain the pupils to a course, which they have usefully commenced, and to protect them from the consequences of hasty decisions on the part of their friends. On the other hand, if it appears manifest that a pupil has not the requisite inclination or qualification for the military service, his removal from the institution ensues with or without the request of his friends, as will be more fully explained further on.