The reason there were so many children in schools at this time was largely due to the implementation of the Children's Protection Act; the minimum age for child labor had shot up from eight all the way to fourteen.
In the Austrian Empire, any child under the age of fourteen was forbidden from working, while the duration of compulsory education had also been extended to seven years.
During their time at school, all educational, recreational, boarding, and meal expenses were jointly borne by the imperial government, the Church, and charitable education funds.
All goods produced in labor and handicraft classes were distributed through multiple channels, with the proceeds deposited into the children's accounts.
There was no helping it. After the Austrian Empire implemented the Children's Protection Act, there had been a large number of child abandonment cases.
In fact, throughout the nineteenth century, and even during the first decade of the twentieth, child labor had been an important source of household income.
Once child labor was banned, children became a wholly negative return for many urban families. Abandonment, abuse, and even murder could all occur. (This referenced the former Southeast Asian region.)
It could also easily breed an underground market. The methods of these black-market brokers were far more ruthless and rampant than those of the factories, even forcing children into disguised forms of crime.
Franz had already conducted many pilot programs before introducing compulsory education, so he had a complete system in place to counter such problems.
At the same time, he raised workers' wages across the board, lowered the prices of daily necessities, strictly capped the prices of children's goods, and promoted social insurance to ensure a smooth transition.
In truth, most people's intense reactions came simply from unfamiliarity. After one or two generations, it would naturally become