The predecessor of the Ministry of Higher Education USSR, the Committee for Higher School Affairs under the
Council of People's Commissars USSR, was established by decree of the
Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars, for the purpose of uniting and directing the administration of higher education in the USSR. The committee was also entrusted with the academic and methodological supervision of secondary special educational institutions. The
Presidium Supreme Soviet USSR, issued a ukase on 10 April 1946, "On the Reorganization of the Committee for Higher School Affairs Into the Union-Republic Ministry of Higher Education USSR". At this time, it was in charge of all the VUZy, institutes of higher education (or universities), and SSUZy, technical schools for training semi-professional personnel, like nurses, para-medics, teachers, and librarians. Despite the designation of
union-republic, however, there are no equivalent Ministries of Higher Education in the
RSFSR and the 15
union republics; in the various republics, higher educational affairs are handled by a main administration of higher educational institutions under the Ministry of Education of the republic. Khrushchev made some changes through Gosplan; however, his reform-minded approach to governance extended little into education. In May 1957, regional economic councils were granted control over the VUZy of their respected areas. However, this control was withdrawn shortly thereafter in 1965. A more successful venture into strengthening republican interests started in 1959 when ministerial offices (of MinVUZ) were set up in the RSFSR, Ukraine and Belarus. Higher committees for higher and secondary education appeared in other republics. Structural changes were much more thorough during Brezhnev's leadership, who showed “a lively interest in the state machinery.” ==List of ministers==