Commission of National Education

The Commission of National Education (Polish: Komisja Edukacji Narodowej, abbreviated KEN, Lithuanian: Edukacinė komisija, Belarusian: Адукацыйная камісія) was the central educational authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created by the Sejm and the King Stanisław August Poniatowski on October 14, 1773. Because of its vast authority and autonomy, it is considered the first Ministry of Education in European history and an important achievement of the Polish Enlightenment.

The chief reason behind its creation was that in Poland and Lithuania, the Jesuits ran an extensive system of educational institutions. Although the Jesuit schools were fairly efficient and provided the Polish youth with a good education, they were also very conservative. In addition, in 1773 the Pope decided to close down the Jesuit order (Dominus ac Redemptor). This threatened a complete breakdown of education in the Commonwealth.

One of the first items on the parliamentary agenda of the Partition Sejm (1773–1775), which acceded to the First Partition of Poland, was the assessment in how to best utilise the former Jesuit property and declaration of a firm intention to the continuity of the education system.

The Commission was formally created on October 14, 1773. It was one of the newly set-up "Grand Commissions"; organisations with the status of a ministry, albeit with a collegiate structure. Its main mastermind and chief figure was a Catholic priest, Hugo Kołłątaj; other notable supporters included and Adam K. Czartoryski. Initially, the governing body consisted of 4 senators and 4 members of the Sejm, half of them representing the eastern "counties"voivodships of the Commonwealth (from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania). The first head of the KEN was Prince Bishop Michał Jerzy Poniatowski. Although the other members were mostly magnate politicians, the main founders of the body were the prominent writers and scientists of the epoch: Franciszek Bieliński, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Feliks Oraczewski, Andrzej Gawroński, Dawid Pilchowski, Hieronim Stroynowski and Grzegorz Piramowicz. They were joined by Pierre Samuel Du Pont de Nemours, the Secretary of the King of Poland (and father of the founder of the DuPont company).

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