Chapter 4: Educational Issues
"What news, Jaid?" Faiza asked.
"Milady, I am afraid that Kerson accuses you of caring only about public security and corruption. He challenges you to find a solution to the lack of access to elementary education in the city"
"Jaid, so public education is under municipal jurisdiction… I'd have the city rent some spots that are currently unrented to house communal schools. Thabes may be attractive to arms merchants, or even arms makers, but the quarters affected by the shortage of school spots would be revitalized in the longer run, or at least keep its current residents"
"This is a plan that would not fly very well with the majority of the residents. Could you imagine how noisy or smelly would classrooms in such settings be? And how hard it will be to get teachers for that sort of areas?" a passerby asked.
"There is a glut of teaching personnel on the market for elementary-level education; the educational access problems stem from a lack of infrastructure more than a lack of qualified personnel. Magic-users in the military can be used, in peacetime, for that purpose, hence the proposed supply"
And then Kerson got out of his stand to go to Faiza's stand. The guy sported a staff, a long beard, as well as white hair. However, for some reason, Faiza recognized him. He was looking elderly, and he wasn't going to get any younger. Yet, Kerson was ready to get out of his stand and confront Faiza at the market. The people in the market that actually lived in the city limits got closer to the candidates, while the merchants that didn't live in Thabes didn't notice the verbal joust about to get underway.
"I remember you, Kerson. You were the mercer that repaired our uniforms back in the day where I was knighted. You aged faster than your shadow! Is there a reason why mages at the employ of the military couldn't educate the children of the city properly?"
"How would you be able to have enough mages in the city garrison to cover all the meducational and accountability needs of the city? Your accountability plan will require several mages… True, we are not at war, but would this plan stretch the forces too thin?"
"There are 500 mages in the city garrison. Do you think that 500 mages are not enough to cover all the needs of the city? If the school-aged population is about 10,000 and that the coverage expected is about ~50%, averaging 25 children a class…"
"50% coverage? That seems awfully high… perhaps too high for the city's good. Many, many kids will have little or no use for an education, 50% is too high" Kerson replied.
"You, who ages faster than his shadow, seem to think of an education as mostly a specialized tool in a person's toolbox. I might have not been a scholar or a magic-user, but 50% can make use of some education, albeit basic. They could keep track of accounting ledgers, plead cases in court, act as town criers… and prepare them for the more advanced education, be it as a librarian, a book vendor, or even as an architect, among others"
To Faiza's eyes, she envisions that a well-educated population could lead to increased productivity and less taxes in the long run, through technological advancement that would result. However, one has to plan the curriculum carefully for that to happen, because Faiza heard tales from wandering magic-users that pertained to poorly-designed education systems. Kerson had to think a little bit in order to get Faiza to debate a little further, because he didn't want Faiza to get away unopposed.
"Faiza, why do you assume that the curriculum would be so broad as to prepare people for such a wide variety of apprenticeships?"
"Of course, I would need some care in order to build one such curriculum. Lefcandith is universally acknowledged as a failure in that regard" Faiza responded.
"Yet Lefcandith has a literacy rate that rivals that of Khadein…"
"And Lefcandith doesn't have an army filled with magic-users to show for it, or is otherwise a kingdom that supplies specialized workers. Instead there are some people that study for years on end in order to achieve nobility through a test, acting as social parasites"
And the ambassador of Lefcandith arrived at the scene. Lefcandith is the capital of a kingdom of the same name that only covers a tiny parcel of land, even compared to Gra or Talys. However, while Lefcandith was treated as an equal by the Marmotord government, Lefcandith's diminutive size rendered it as a territory ruled by a mere kinglet. The other kingdoms, Gra, Grust, for example, did not treat it as Marmotord did. But both eagerly awaited the explanations from the Lefcandith ambassador.
"My name is Colza, Ambassador of Lefcandith to Marmotord. Just to clear things up, I feel compelled to defend the Lefcandith educational record. Yes, it is true that there are people who try every year to gain nobility through testing, but only a minority could actually study for years on end. In fact, only the children of richer merchants could do so."
"Your Excellency, perhaps we drifted a bit off-topic in our debate about educational issues. I do wish for Thabes to return to its former glory of a millennium past; only that will have to be done with educational care" Faiza answered.
"Excuse me, but how much is that plan going to cost?"
"It will perhaps cost thousands of gold, if only because of the supplies, but, on the longer term, it will reduce criminality to a more manageable level. We will have to spend more on the short term for long-term benefits. Even if it will take five to ten years to materialize, it's better than nothing. We will also introduce provisions for adult learners, as budgets permit" Faiza added.