September 25, 2012 is the day when the law of the Supreme People’s Assembly “On Enforcing Universal 12-Year Compulsory Education” was promulgated at the 6 th session of the 12 th Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Right to education is the most basic and important right among all the rights that people are given by the state and society.

However, on the worldwide scale, this right is not fully ensured yet.

Several countries are said to introduce “compulsory education”.

But this does not include all children across the society as it has many restrictions.

Satellite communication-based and Internet-based tele-education is being applied as the study-while-working system - a form of higher education is developing.

But it aims at commercializing education and pursuing profits, thus, the working masses cannot share in the benefit.

In our country, under the warm care of peerless great men, all people including the preschool children are fully provided with their rights to education.

As early as in the time of anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle, President Kim Il Sung provided precious experience and tradition of unique free education system.

Based on this, he saw that the people-oriented educational policies are implemented after the liberation of the country.

Thus, he set a brilliant example of universal free education system.

In our country, under the tender loving care of President Kim Il Sung , compulsory primary education was introduced for the first time in 1956.

Compulsory secondary education was introduced in 1958 and free education was introduced in all educational sectors since 1959.

The Party allowed no delay in posterity work even during tough times when state expenses would be vast.

Thus under its warm benevolence, the universal compulsory nine-year technical education and the universal 11-year compulsory education systems were established in 1967 and 1972 respectively.

And on September 1, 1975, these were put into effect full-scale all across the country.

All expenses for primary education including preschool education, secondary education and social education are entirely covered by the state, therefore students here study without knowing any form of “registration fee” or “school expense”.

Herein lies the advantage of the compulsory education system in our country.

On September 25, 2012, at the 6 th session of the 12 th SPA, the law of the SPA “On Enforcing Universal 12-Year Compulsory Education” was proclaimed again.

This was another expression of great love for the coming generation - the great pride and hope of the country.

UNESCO analyzed that a one-year increase in the education period would bring a great increase in the economic growth rate as the annual growth rate of scientific and technical knowledge continues to rise in the present era.

In light of such facts, it would be easy enough for everyone to guess about how much more powerful our country would become with the implementation of the universal 12-year compulsory education system.

As we hold in high esteem respected Comrade Kim Jong Un who set up the one and only socialist education system with a noble view of love for the future, the world will witness the appearance of the DPRK which would shine as a socialist education power and a strong country with many prodigious talents in the near future.