culture

From the new school year of this year which started in April, a new elective educational course was introduced into the DPRK’s general education sector according to the second universal 12-year compulsory education programme.

This constitutes another change for the establishment of a new educational structure and serves as a foundation for putting the country’s secondary education on an advanced level and a springboard for making education the one to which the future of the country can be fully entrusted.

In retrospect, the educational revolution of the country in the new century began over 10 years ago when the universal 12-year compulsory education came into force.

The respected General Secretary Kim Jong Un defined it as the main link in the chain of carrying out the educational revolution in the new century to decisively boost general secondary education, and energetically led the effort in order to make the country’s education outpace the world’s.

At major meetings of the country and on different other occasions, he indicated to officials the orientation and ways for developing education, which served as a new milestone determining the ideal of the country’s education and the orientation of its development.

On September 9 2022, he gave officials instructions on changing the educational structure of the country into the one capable of giving advanced education and on improving the teaching contents and methods accordingly.

After examining a plan for improving the educational structure designed and mapped out by the education sector, he saw to it that the issue was discussed and decided again at a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

The Eighth Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Party Central Committee held in June 2023 discussed "On the epoch-making measures for developing education" as an agenda item.

The plenary meeting stressed that it is a key issue for educational development to alter the educational structure into the one capable of providing advanced education, improve the teaching contents and methods and strengthen the ranks of teachers by rationally forming all elements and parts of education, including educational institutions, forces, courses and means, and to improve the educational conditions and environment.

Afterwards, full-scale efforts were launched to turn the educational course of the secondary education sector into a new one based on the elective system.

A plan was drawn up to newly form such elective classes as those of science, literature, the arts, physical education and technology at senior middle schools and technical senior middle schools so that all students can bring their talents into full bloom according to their aptitudes and individuality. Accordingly, the second universal 12-year compulsory education programme was newly worked out and an over 1 000 strong group was formed to write textbooks according to school systems, years and subjects.

Based on such preparations, the elective system was run on a trial basis at the senior middle schools in Hoechang County of South Phyongan Province, Songnim City of North Hwanghae Province and Jongphyong County of South Hamgyong Province from April last year. The results were great.

On this basis, the system was introduced according to the new education programme into all senior middle schools and technical senior middle schools across the country from April this year.

As a result, it has become possible to train more rapidly a larger number of talents of various fields who would vigorously push ahead with the overall development of the country.