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Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979
in Iran, the educational system of
the country has gone under
qualitative and quantitative
changes. As far as quantitative
changes are concerned, this
education profile provides an
overview of the Iranian education
system. A critical assessment of the
strengths and weaknesses of the
Iranian education system requires an
in-depth analysis of its structure,
which goes beyond the scope of this
profile. According to the Iranian
Ministry of Culture
and Higher Education, there are
approximately 50,000 Iranian
students currently studying abroad.
The Persian Language
The Old Persian of the Achaemenian
Empire, preserved in a number of
cuneiform inscriptions, was an
Indo-European tongue with close
affinities with Sanskrit and Avestan
(the language of the Zoroastrian
sacred texts). |
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After the fall of the Achaemenians
the ancient tongue developed, in the
province of Pars, into Middle
Persian or Pahlavi (a name derived
from Parthavi - that is, Parthian).
Pahlavi was used throughout the
Sassanian period, though little now
remains of what must once have been
a considerable literature.
Later the Arab conquest a knowledge
of Arabic became necessary, for it
was not only the language of the new
rulers and their state, but of the
religion they brought with them and
-later- of the new learning. Though
Pahlavi continued to be spoken in
private life, Arabic was dominant in
official circles for a century and a
half. With the weakening of the
central power, a modified form of
Pahlavi emerged, with its
Indo-European grammatical structure
intact but simplified, and with a
large infusion of Arabic words. This
was the Modem Persian in use today.
The structure of the education
system in Iran which is basically
divided into five cycles namely,
pre-school, primary, middle (or
guidance), secondary and
post-secondary. Three outstanding
characteristics of the Iranian
education system must be mentioned
at this point. First, elementary
education is mandatory under the
Iranian constitution. Secondly, due
to increasing number of applicants,
admission to post-secondary
institutions is through a
nation-wide entrance examination and
thus only the most talented students
can enter universities. Finally, in
general, education (in primary,
secondary, and post-secondary
levels) is free of charge though
private schools and universities
authorized by law are allowed to
charge tuition fees.
Through a description of the
structure of the Iranian education
system, this profile first describes
in detail the pre-school, primary,
intermediate, and secondary cycles.
Secondly, it focuses on
post-secondary education and
provides extensive amount of
information about the Iranian
universities and colleges, various
fields of study at universities, and
different courses which are
currently offered. Finally, some
data in the form of tables and
graphs will be provided which
demonstrate the number of students
(male and female) currently studying
at various post-secondary
institutions as well as the
distribution of students along
fields of study and universities.
Furthermore, by means of a graphic
illustration, the number of students
as well as education staff before
and after the Islamic Revolution
(1969 to 1990) are compared. |
