Commission of National Education
Because of its vast authority and autonomy, it is considered the first education ministry in European history and an important achievement of the Polish Enlightenment.
[3] Its main mastermind and chief figure was a Catholic priest, Hugo Kołłątaj; other notable supporters included Ignacy Potocki and Adam K.
[3] Initially, the governing body consisted of four senators and four members of the Sejm, half of them representing the eastern "counties" voivodships of the Commonwealth (from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania).
Although the other members were mostly magnate politicians, the main founders of the body were the prominent writers and scientists of the epoch: Franciszek Bieliński, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Feliks Oraczewski, Andrzej Gawroński, Dawid Pilchowski, Hieronim Stroynowski and Grzegorz Piramowicz.
They were joined by Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, the secretary of the king of Poland (and father of the founder of the DuPont company).
Despite the fact that, initially, the KEN had to face a strong opposition in the Sejm, it was supported by both the monarch and the Familia party, which accorded it almost complete independence in management of its affairs.
During the Sejm Wielki the Reformers had to sacrifice many of those privileges to gain support for the strongly reformist Constitution of May the 3rd which aimed to strengthen the country against further partition in 1791.
Ultimately, after the victory of the Confederation of Targowica, in 1794, the KEN lost control over most of the schools in the Commonwealth and many of its members were banished or had to defect abroad.
In addition, the 27 elementary textbooks and manuals, published by the commission, laid the foundations for the Polish language terminology in chemistry, physics, logics, grammar and mathematics.
It is often argued, with quite some force, that because of the efforts of the Commission of National Education, the Polish language and culture did not disappear into oblivion, during the Partitions of Poland – heavy Russification and Germanisation notwithstanding.
