AK - The Alchemy Kingdom

Moira observed the Ministry of Education’s staff with a heavy heart. Although the Ministry held the same organizational status as the other Ministries, their current resources couldn’t even be compared with a small department. Their building only had three rooms for studying, one for entrance and reception, and a staff room. The rooms were poorly furnished with a few tables, chairs, and a stone board.

Technically, the Department of Magic Tools’ Studies, where the operators are trained, was also under the management of the Ministry of Education. However, the Department was practically self-manageable. They even had a separate building. So, in terms of work and results, her focus was only here.

As for the available staff, the Ministry only had eight full-time employees. Aside from Moira and three others, the rest of the team were all Elders. Currently, AK couldn’t spare any knowledgeable youngsters, so most of the technical teachers were Elders. AK’s education was structured based on what Marlen and Omero could remember from the Democracy. For now, they only had two major areas, basic and technical studies.

Basic studies involved reading, writing, calculations, and Alchemy. The importance of reading and writing is self-explanatory. Literacy would allow them to record and pass knowledge and also communicate better. Similarly, the ability to deal with numbers would be essential for daily transactions. Now, the reach of basic Alchemy was still in debate. Every day, the number of magic tools entering their lives only grew, so learning how to deal with them was also necessary.

According to the Council’s decision, all citizens from the age of six to fifteen had to participate in a daily three-hour class, while the others could choose to attend a daily two-hour evening class. Three full-time teatchers and Moira taught writing and reading. Unfortunately, they still didn’t have people with enough knowledge to teach calculations, so Katlyn and Alfeur, who had been taught by their parents, would take turns to give the class.

Surprisingly, teaching Alchemy wasn’t a problem at all. Once the Ministry of Alchemy added teaching basic classes as a way of earning credits to advance, the disciples fought for a chance to do it.

The evening optional classes, on the other hand, ended up being much more difficult. Since the youngsters were required to study daily, the Ministry only had to divide them into groups of different levels. But the evening classes were filled with adults and elders who didn’t maintain regular attendance. Fortunately, Moira had the idea of using the young students to tutor the others in the evening.

The Ministry offered a small payment for all students who learned enough and wanted to come back in the evening to help others. Besides solving the shortage of teachers, the idea ended up stimulating the young students. Though they still didn’t have a practical measurement, the teacher could tell the students were improving.

The technical studies covered crafting, finances, management, and health. These classes were still being structured, but their aim was clear, to prepare people for better performance in their future jobs. The idea also came from the Democracy, but AK was still struggling to establish a curriculum and arrange teachers. For now, they could only count on Marlen and Omero to teach management and finances and Said for health. Since these elders had their own obligations, this couldn’t go forever. Hopefully, a few students would learn enough to become teachers themselves.

Right now, Moira was discussing with her staff ideas to improve attendance in the optional classes. The problem wasn’t only low interest. The workers didn’t have time to study. Even so, her job as the Minister was to improve attendance as much as possible.

One of the young teachers spoke:

“How about extending the age for mandatory study?”

The other young employees also nodded to the idea, but the elders disagreed. Like them, Moira understood AK’s situation. They couldn’t afford to worsen the shortage of workers in other areas. So, they continued to discuss how to attract tired and overworked citizens. Fortunately, coming up with creative ideas was the reason why she was chosen as for the position in the first place.

“What if we ask the Council to value the basic studies? They could give extra crystals for those who learned or use them as a requirement for promotions… We would need to find a way to test if people really learned, but that could be easily arranged.”

They continued to polish the idea until they had something to propose to the Council. Soon, evening came, and it was time for the evening classes. Moira looked out of the window concerned expression. She wondered if Ernest would pick their daughter at the right time. However, before she got lost in her fears, the students and tutors started to arrive.

The classroom was becoming dark as the sun disappeared on the horizon, but nobody in the room seemed to care. Suddenly, a glow appeared on the ceiling, and bright light spread through the room. They still didn’t have enough light crystals to install the lighting system inside houses, but as a government facility, the Ministry would enjoy this privilege.

At this time, one of the helpers entered the room carrying a tray with stuffed bread and some black tea. The simple evening meal was another idea Moira had to attract more people for the class. Though they didn’t have a big budget, the incentive was important for the hungry and tired workers. She counted the students again and smiled after realizing that their number had almost doubled.

After helping the tutors separate the groups with similar knowledge and distribute the studying material, she left to check the other room. When she entered the second room, she was surprised by a bigger number of students. Fortunately, she repressed a cheer and didn’t ruin her acting as a respectable Minister.

After years of being scorned and mistreated by her inlaws, Moira finally recovered her self-confidence. Now, she could be proud and fully enjoy the feeling of doing an excellent job.