Education Mandate of 1391

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The Education Mandate of 1391 is chiefly important not because of what it says, because it is a long, tedious document, but rather due to its impact. The Akaeia Empire managed to do so well during the Reconquest largely thanks to a well-trained, knowledgeable, and effective bureaucracy that kept power out of the hands of the Houses and provided a strong basis of support for government policy. Akaeia's policies throughout this time remained, by and large, consistant, as generation after generation reviewed the ways common issues had been dealt with, and the effects of such measures as had been taken. Those worth their while continued in use, while those not worth the effort were recorded and preserved as examples of what failed before. Akaeian policy therefore drew from historical precedent the best possible solution to any problems which had been dealt with before.

Prior to the mandate, all members of the civil service had to achieve high scores on a nation-wide entrance exam, and only a certain percentage of the total civil servants employed could be from Houses. All members of the civil service spent 4-6 years studying and learning in the Academy of Civil Service. Deciding, however, that the strict regulations limiting civil servants to graduates of the Academy was an injustice, Crown Kallen Iardaneios passed the Education Mandate of 1391. This ended the practice of favoring Academy graduates over average citizens, lowered the necessary scores for entrance examinations, and removed the limitations on the employment of persons from the Houses. This would cause the nearly complete degeneration of the civil service and the swelling of House membership. As the Iardaneian dynasty lost steam, the Houses used their increasing numbers in the Civil Service to gain more and more power in the government. This would have important ramifications for the Empire as time went on.