First Agenda

Today, the era of knowledge-based economy, almost all countries of the world regard it as an important policy to attach importance to education.

However, the DPRK has already set it as the most important policy to attach importance to education in the first days of its foundation.

This is clearly proved by the fact that the pencil production was discussed as the agenda item at the First Session of the Provisional People's Committee.

The Provisional People's Committee was established on February 8, Juche 35(1946) and developed into the People's Committee, the executive organ of the supreme power exercising the legislative power in our country in February Juche 36(1947).

The First Session of the Provisional People's Committee, the central power organ, which performed the function of the people's democratic dictatorship in our country which was liberated from the colonial rule of the Japanese imperialists, took place here on February 20, Juche 35(1946).

In the liberated country many urgent problems were raised before the Provisional People's Committee at that time, including the issue of stabilizing the people's livelihood which was deteoriated by the Japanese imperialists, the issue of smashing the manoeuvres of reactionaries at home and abroad and carrying out democratic reforms including the agrarian reform and the nationalization of major industries.

But no one knew that the first agenda item of the first session of the Provisional People's Committee, so important in such difficult and complicated times, would be to discuss the issue of pencils.

The meeting discussed the issue of pencil as its first agenda item.

President Kim Il Sung said:

"To solve the problem of pencils is not simply a practical question. This is a highly important political question of rearing our younger generation to become competent persons and of satisfying a desire cherished deep in the hearts of our people."

The President raised the solution of the pencil problem as an important political issue, not as a simply a practical question, and clarified the positive measures for mass-producing pencils as soon as possible.

True to the instructions of the President, the meeting adopted a relevant decision for implementing the instructions.

As a result, a pencil "First agenda" associated with President Kim Il Sung's warm love for the younger generation and idea of attaching importance to education came into being.

With the birth of the pencil, the ardent desire of our people, who had been eager to educate their children to their heart's content by giving pencils to their children at any cost, was fulfilled, lamenting the fact that they had failed to learn when they had written under the colonial rule of the Japanese imperialists in the past, and a practical example was given to the countries struggling to achieve social progress and national prosperity.

Thanks to the wise guidance of Kim Il Sung, who put forward the educational work as one of the most important issues for the prosperity of the country and the nation from the first period of the building of the government and devoted all his efforts to its development, the DPRK could successfully train national cadres to shoulder the nation-building by its own efforts in a short span of time and perform world miracles in the postwar reconstruction, too.

The immortal revolutionary exploits of the President who put forward the educational work as one of the most important state affairs in his early years and consistently and wisely led the struggle for its development have been successfully carried forward by Kim Jong Il and are now being carried forward and developed more successfully under the guidance of respected a general secretary Kim Jong Un.

The catchy slogans "Let us make a leap forward by dint of science and guarantee the future by dint of education!", the Ryomyong Street near the holy place of the sun and the bright smile of children entering the gate of the universal 12-year compulsory education eloquently show it.

Indeed, thanks to the wise guidance of respected a general secretary Kim Jong Un who is successfully carrying forward and accomplishing the idea of prioritizing education of President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il, the DPRK will emerge a talent power and an educational power.