The Iranian Supreme Council of Education: Shaping Education and Society

Introduction

Iran's education system is a complex and multifaceted entity, influenced by historical, political, and religious factors. The Supreme Council of Education plays a central role in shaping the educational landscape. This article explores the structure, functions, and impact of the Supreme Council of Education in Iran, examining its role in curriculum development, oversight of educational institutions, and the broader socio-political context in which it operates.

Historical Context of Education in Iran

Prior to the mid-19th century, education in Iran was primarily associated with religious institutions. The clergy were responsible for instructing youth in basic literacy and religious fundamentals. Education was not considered necessary for the entire population and was generally limited to the sons of the economic and political elite. These students would attend a maktab, and could then continue in a religious college, or madraseh, where all fields of religious science were taught

Primary education was introduced in Iran after the nation's first constitution was drafted in 1906, and the Ministry of Education was established in 1910 to create a system of public education. The first secondary education was established in 1925. Women were first admitted to centers of higher learning in 1935, and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education was established in 1967.

Structure and Oversight of the Education System

The Iranian education system is highly centralized, modeled on that of Napoleonic France. The Ministry of Education administers and finances schools at the primary and secondary levels. The ministry specifies a national course of study for all subjects, stipulating the content to be covered and the number of hours to be taught. Textbooks are also carefully controlled to ensure they meet the standards set by the Ministry's textbook authorization system.

Several bodies approve and oversee education policies, including Iran's parliament and the cabinet of ministers. The Supreme Educational Council, an autonomous legislative body, plays a significant role in school programming: adopting and mechanizing executive educational policies, improving education structures and processes, and monitoring the implementation of educational programs.

Read also: UT: Education & Influence

The Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution (SCCR)

The Khamenei-run Supreme Council for Cultural Revolution (SCCR) is the highest authority over education and culture and directly appoints all university heads. The declared goal of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution is to ensure that the education and culture of Iran remains "100% Islamic" as Ayatollah Khomeini directed. Formed in December 1984, the SCCR substituted the Cultural Revolution Headquarters. Its ratified bills are valid as approved laws.

Following the formation of the SCCR, it declared itself the highest body for making policies and decisions in connection with cultural, educational, and research activities within the framework of the general policies of the system and considered its approvals indispensable.

Levels of Education in Iran

The Iranian school system can be divided into two primary levels: primary education and secondary education. Many families, however, also opt to enroll their child/children in pre-primary education, with about 64.4 percent of children attending pre-primary care at the age of 5. In Iran, primary education encompasses a 6 year long period of schooling, which begins at the age of 6 for most children. Primary education is compulsory and free, and as a result, 99.8 percent of Iranian children ages 6-12 are enrolled in primary schools.

After completing primary education, Iranian students enter into secondary education, which is divided into two phases: lower secondary education and upper secondary education. Lower secondary education encompasses a 3 year period from 7th-9th grade and is also compulsory for all students. However, once students have completed lower secondary education, the 3 additional years of upper secondary education are optional. Despite this, upper secondary education remains free to all Iranians, and most children continue in school to complete upper secondary education, with 95.7 percent of students continuing enrollment in school after primary education.

In Iran, the upper secondary level of education is divided into three unique paths: an academic path, technical path, and vocational path. A student's academic branch is determined by the results of examinations taken at the end of lower secondary education. All three branches encompass a period of 3 years, with completion of any of the pathways leading to the attainment of a high-school diploma. Additionally, those students who complete either the technical or vocational pathways also receive a Technician’s Certificate.

Upon completion of secondary education, all students who intend to continue onto tertiary academic education are required to take a national standardized admissions exam known as the Konkur. In the past, students were required to take a “Pre-University” year to study and prepare for the Konkur. However, in 2013, reforms to the Iranian education system phased out this requirement, leaving it as an optional choice to be taken by students. The Konkur itself is a highly rigorous exam, assessing a comprehensive spread of general knowledge, Persian language, history, math, and a foreign language. The exam is known to be extremely challenging, with only about 10 percent of test takers finding placement at a public university.

Curriculum and Ideological Influences

In primary education, Iranian students are taught a wide-reaching curriculum encompassing Farsi, mathematics, science, social studies (including history and geography), art, physical education, and religious education and Qur'anic studies. Once students progress to lower secondary education, they are exposed further to the physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, and art. Additionally, all students can receive foreign language instruction in English, French, or German. Students are also able to access vocational or defense training-though defense training is only accessible to male students.

At the upper secondary level, students are able to choose which of the academic, technical, or vocational tracks they want to follow. Those who pursue the academic path are prepared for higher education; students are able to select pathways focused on mathematics, physics and chemistry, natural science, or the social sciences and humanities. The students who opt to follow the technical or vocational paths are prepared to join the workforce straight out of high-school, following a very different curriculum from students on the academic course.

While Iran’s national education curriculum is highly comprehensive and strives to meet the needs of the modern Iranian economy, its high degree of government control also leaves it vulnerable to many religious and political influences. As such, it has been documented in the past that Iranian textbooks and curriculum have included teachings that are strongly pro-Islam and anti-West. These teachings tend to emphasize Islam as a means of national unity and mask the shortcomings and oppressive actions of the Iranian government.

The Professor Basij Organization (PBO) and its Impact

The Islamic Republic has used various institutions to suppress and silence dissent across universities in Iran, including the Harasat, a branch of the intelligence ministry, and the IRGC’s Student Basij Organization, sanctioned by the European Union in May.

Read also: Empowering Student Voices

Formed in early 2001, the PBO was established as one of the special branches of the IRGC’s civil militia, the Basij, with the strong support of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The PBO was initially created to organize pro-regime professors nationwide and infiltrate all universities, operating as the IRGC’s eyes and ears across campus.

As the 2009 post-election protests known as the Green Movement erupted, the PBO intensified its suppressive activities. PBO members began actively controlling and cracking down on students, most of whom opposed Ahmadinejad and viewed his “election” as fraudulent. Raisi’s presidency has turbocharged the PBO’s activities to unprecedented levels. The PBO supported Raisi’s presidential campaign and many of its members joined his administration when he formed his cabinet, much like the IRGC and the Basij.

The suppressive activities of the PBO can roughly be broken down into three categories. The first relates to conducting surveillance against professors and students to identify dissenting voices. As well as getting fast-tracked for senior university positions, Basji professors are also prioritized for state-funded scholarships to study abroad, not least at prestigious universities in Europe and the United States. Those who reap the rewards of such scholarships are expected to use their fast-tracked admissions to Western universities to infiltrate and penetrate academic institutions in the West on behalf of the regime.

Challenges Facing the Education System

Despite the advancements made in education, Iran's education system faces several challenges:

Poverty: Adverse economic conditions across the country, in particular Iran’s rural regions, continue to force many students to drop out of school in order to join the labor market. According to Iranian officials, 53 percent of all school dropouts occur due to financial difficulties.
Infrastructure: Across Iran there are an estimated 32,000 schools (one-third of all schools in the country), that are in need of razing and reconstruction due to their present state of disrepair.
Over-Education Crisis: Persistently poor economic conditions in Iran have created an “Over-Education Crisis”, whereby Iranian schools have produced significantly more college graduates than the domestic Iranian economy can absorb.
Brain Drain: Many Iranian graduates (especially those coming from top universities) are seeking employment in other countries. This has led to a significant loss of expertise, innovation, and productivity in Iran.

Women's Education

The education of women in Iran is a challenging topic. On the one hand, there remains unquestionable institutionalized gender inequality within Iranian schools that actively damages the quality of education that women receive. All Iranian schools are segregated by gender, both in regards to students and teachers. Iranian textbooks have been known to contain images and writings that discriminate against women in favor of men. Further, it is reported that there are 3 times as many school-aged girls who are deprived of an education as school-aged boys.

On the other hand, Iran has made truly immense strides in the areas of female literacy, primary educational enrollment, and higher education. Female enrollment in tertiary education increased nearly twenty-fold between 1978 and 2018. At times, Iranian women even outnumbered men two to one at the university level. Additionally, 70 percent of the 233,695 STEM graduates in Iran are women, a sharp contrast to the dominant gender norms of the United States, where women make up only 27 percent of STEM workers.

Higher Education

Tertiary education remains a very popular pathway in Iran; 58.2 percent of Iranians aged 18-22 are currently enrolled at a post-secondary education institution. In Iran, tertiary education takes place in a combination of public and private institutions. Iran has 46 universities, 60 post-secondary technical institutes, about 200 colleges and professional schools, and a handful of teacher training colleges. The cost of tertiary education varies across schools, with free college education being guaranteed at most public institutions while private institutions typically charge a low price for enrollment.

Those students who followed the technical or vocational pathways through upper secondary education typically go on to pursue a Technician Associate Degree (Kardani), which is completed in approximately two years. The students who choose to follow an academic path can typically obtain a Bachelor’s Degree (Karshenasi) after 4-5 years of study, with a Master’s Degree (Karshenasi Arshad) taking an additional 2 years of study. Those interested in higher academia are then able to attain a Doctorate (Doctora) after 4 or more years of additional study.

Private Education

Today Iran’s university system includes both public and private universities. Universities are composed of largely autonomous faculties (daneshkadeh). The vast majority of programs at private institutions are at the undergraduate level, and Iran currently faces a shortage of educational opportunities at the graduate level, a factor that has contributed to the out-migration of academic elites.

The number of private higher education institutions in Iran has increased drastically since then. Nurtured by former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, IAU was established in 1984 as the first non-governmental higher education institution to address the unmet and escalating demand for higher education. “Azad” means free in Persian and refers to the fact that the university provides “open access” compared to the highly competitive public universities. Admission to IAU is much easier than gaining entry to Iran’s public universities. IAU charges high tuition fees. Despite this funding structure, the university is, however, not a purely private institution.

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