The Council for Education (Kresi: Savjet za Obrazovanje) is the federal executive department responsible for the management of the public school system, the oversight of higher education, and the regulation of all media and information dissemination within the Divine Republic of Kresimiria.
While its primary mandate is the “intellectual and spiritual cultivation” of the citizenry, the Council functions as the state’s primary instrument of information control. It determines the national curriculum, manages the Federal Archive, and holds the sole authority to issue broadcasting licenses. Consequently, it acts as the direct overseer of state-owned media giants like Tele-Radio Kresimiria (TRK) and the Kresimirian Herald, and enforces strict censorship protocols under its “Moral Guidance” doctrine.
Mandate and Powers
The Council’s authority is derived from two key articles of the 1921 Constitution:
- Article 38: Mandates that all education must “align with the Divine values of the Republic,” giving the Council the power to veto university appointments and rewrite history textbooks.
- Article 39: Grants the state the right to “regulate the flow of public information to prevent moral decay and sedition.” This article provides the legal basis for the Council’s media censorship and internet filtering operations.
The Council faces frequent legal challenges from the charity Republic For All, founded by Senator Drazen Horvat. The organization provides legal counsel to journalists and students targeted by the Media Licensing Authority, acting as a significant check on the Council’s censorship powers.
Structure
The Council is massive, employing over 60,000 civil servants. It is divided into three primary directorates:
1. The Bureau of Curriculum
Responsible for the Kresimirian school system. It enforces the standardized teaching of the Kresi language and the Books of Kresimir.
This bureau has a contentious relationship with the University of Pulma and Brod Moravice District University, frequently threatening to withhold funding due to the universities’ regionalist curriculums and their refusal to strictly adhere to the Sinj-centric historical narrative.
2. The Media Licensing Authority (MLA)
The censorship arm of the Council, established in 1933 under the Media Licensing Act. No newspaper, television station, or radio frequency can operate in Kresimiria without a license from the MLA.
- State Media: The MLA acts as the board of directors for TRK and the Kresimirian Herald, ensuring their editorial lines support the government.
- Independent Media: The MLA aggressively polices independent outlets. It has repeatedly attempted to shut down Northfocus by revoking press passes and issuing “Technical Non-Compliance” fines.
Several prominent politicians began their careers within the MLA bureaucracy. Senator Zoran Pesic served as a senior licensing officer in Ravna Skrad during the 1990s, where he was responsible for monitoring the output of the Early Bird Chronicle.
The MLA had a contentious relationship with the director Zarko Zaki. While the Council frequently censored his films for depictions of violence and sexuality that violated “Moral Guidance” protocols, it simultaneously funded his historical epics as tools of national myth-building. Following his assassination, the Council retroactively engaged in a “cultural canonization” of his work, airing his films uncensored on TRK as a tribute. The MLA maintains a “grey list” of cultural acts deemed disruptive to public order. One of the most prominent permanent fixtures on this list is the band The Black Lungs, whose music is frequently purged from state-run streaming services for violating “Moral Guidance” protocols regarding respect for state institutions. The MLA frequently clashes with the Early Bird Chronicle, a satirical weekly. While the Council tolerates the paper’s existence to maintain a façade of free expression, it regularly issues “Stop Orders” to confiscate specific editions deemed too critical of the Divine Chancellor or the state religion. The Council’s censorship powers were most visibly exercised in the 2009 banning of Osman Hamzic’s novel The Empty Altar for blasphemy. The ban was partially reversed in 2015 by Chair Ari Stov, who allowed a sanitized version of the text to be sold, demonstrating the Council’s shift from total suppression to managed curation of culture.
3. The Federal Archive
See main article: Federal Archive The repository of all laws, judicial rulings, and historical records. While theoretically a neutral library, the Archive is managed by the Council, leading to accusations that sensitive documents—particularly those regarding the Unification War and the early Bosken insurgency—are “misplaced” or classified to protect the state narrative.
History
The Standardization Era (1921–1950)
In the early years of the Republic, the Council’s focus was on nation-building. Under the guidance of the RPP, it established a unified school system to eradicate regional dialects and promote Standard Kresi. It also nationalized the radio waves in 1933 under the 1933 Media Licensing Act to create Radio Kresimiria.
The Council’s control over the university system was solidified by the 1948 University Standards Bill. This legislation gave the Council the power to accredit degrees and veto appointments, allowing it to force the newly founded MUV to adhere to the state’s ideological curriculum despite its private funding.
The “Moral Shield” (1950–2000)
During the height of the Bosken insurgency, the Council militarized information. Under Chancellor Kresimirovic II, the Council banned foreign literature and jammed radio signals from Boskenmark.
The Council faced its greatest crisis in 1960. Following the Bombing of Karlovac University, the Council ordered a media blackout to prevent panic. This backfired, causing widespread rumor-mongering and confusing the emergency response. The failure led to a modest reform under Chancellor Kresimirovic III, establishing slightly more transparent protocols for disaster reporting.
The Digital Fortress (2000–Present)
In the 21st century, the Council adapted to the internet age. Working with KresCom and YakaSys, it developed the “Moral Guidance” protocols. These protocols dictate the rules for the “Divine Firewall,” the filter that blocks foreign internet traffic. The Council maintains a “Blacklist” of prohibited websites, which includes foreign news, pornography, and platforms that host “anti-Republican sentiment.” Since the 2015 Digital Vigilance Act, the Council has the automated authority to flag citizens who attempt to bypass these filters for investigation by the Council for Internal Affairs.
Controversies
Historical Revisionism
The Council is frequently accused by the Bosken Liberation Front (BLF) and Northern Power of whitewashing history. Textbooks issued by the Council often portray the Eastern Pravoslavic Confederacy as “foreign puppets” rather than a domestic movement, and downplay the atrocities committed by Kresimirian forces during the 1920s.
The “Northfocus” War
The Council has been locked in a decades-long game of cat-and-mouse with the regional media group Northfocus. Because Northfocus originally operated via decentralized pamphlets and later via online streaming (bypassing terrestrial licenses), the Council has struggled to ban it legally. Instead, the Council often throttles Northfocus’s bandwidth via KresCom or denies their journalists access to press conferences.
The MLA employs a strategy of Managed Dissent regarding the Civic Post.
The Curriculum Disputes
There is an ongoing political battle over the religious education curriculum. The Sons of Kresimir lobby the Council to increase mandatory prayer hours, while the Civic Renewal Front (CRF) advocates for a secular “Civics” option. Currently, the Council maintains a strict Kresimirianist line, enforced by the Diviners who run local schools.