Higher Education in Iran: Exaggerations, Realities, and Crises

Higher education after the 1979 revolution became a football: everyone wanted to possess it, but a few powerful spectators suddenly came onto the field with weapons and claimed it for themselves. At the same time, everyone wanted to have higher degrees, even those who could not even obtain their diplomas. Higher education was so in demand that it was awarded as chocolate and prizes to participants in the war and revolution and the families of the deceased. Beyond filling the gap, by the 1990s, the gap between supply (university seats) and demand (studying at university or obtaining a degree) had not been filled. However, in the 2000s, despite the existence of millions of eager young people for education and degrees, private higher education institutions grew so much that this gap was completely filled. In the 2010s, two developments reversed the previous funnel of supply and demand: the decrease in the youth population and the increasing unemployment rate of university graduates (even with master's or doctoral degrees): "All candidates in mathematics and humanities fields pass the entrance exam." (Deputy Minister of Education, Tabnak, July 19, 2016) In 2016, 773,000 people attended the national entrance exam, while the capacity of state universities was 750,000. (Tasnim, August 16, 2016) For this reason, universities and higher education institutions allocated part of their acceptance capacity in various fields to admissions based on academic records and without exams. Those who were absent in the 2016 entrance exam can register for admission in non-exam fields. Although the demand for higher education is still greater than its supply, given the current trend of unemployment among graduate students, it will not be long before empty seats will also appear in higher education. The reduction of free university seats has not only been a source of prestige for government officials and support for the regime but has also become a cash cow for officials in the form of the Islamic Azad University and seemingly non-profit educational institutions. If you look at the trend in the number of free university seats, it becomes clear that the government is gradually eliminating public higher education. The acceptance capacity in the 2016 national entrance exam shows that admissions to daily and free courses have significantly decreased, while tuition-based courses have taken up about four-fifths of the acceptance capacity. In the 2015 national entrance exam, the acceptance capacity in the field of mathematical and technical sciences was 280,247, which decreased to 253,042 in the 2016 exam. The Payame Noor University also saw a decrease in the mathematical and technical sciences group, from 110,449 in 2015 to 82,814 in 2016. In the 2015 national entrance exam, the acceptance capacity in the experimental sciences group was 227,220, which decreased to 155,472 in the 2016 exam. Payame Noor University also faced a severe decline in the experimental sciences group, from 116,101 in 2015 to 68,042 in 2016. The acceptance capacity for tuition-based programs in the humanities group has also decreased. (Mehr, August 18, 2019) It is true that the number of students is generally declining, but officials are reducing more free seats than tuition-based ones (like evening courses). The job market is closed to graduates. Higher education in Iran has no connection to the job market. Neither those who become specialized can operate in the private sector (because the private sector does not exist with a need for specialized labor), nor can the best students access the core of expertise and management in the public sector (these positions belong to the close associates of the rulers). The total active population is estimated at 28,343,000, of which 18,684,000 lack higher education and 9,692,000 have university degrees. The Iranian job market will not have the capacity to absorb this number of university graduates in the coming decades. Given the country's nearly zero economic growth in recent years and about 2 million unemployed graduates over the past five years (only accounting for 42% of unemployed graduates) and about five million students in the next three years, the number of unemployed university graduates will exceed 5 million. In recent years, only 5,000 people have been absorbed into the government, and among them, a very small share goes to graduates of the country's top universities like Sharif University, Amirkabir University, Shiraz University, Tabriz University, and Isfahan University. In contrast, elite forces who see no place for themselves inside decide to emigrate. In 2015, about 11,300 elite students emigrated from Iran, indicating a 16% increase in the emigration of elites from the country compared to 2014 (Tabnak, July 31, 2016). The growth of theses and the alleged growth of science. In 2015, more than 66,000 theses were registered in the database of thesis and dissertation information in the country, marking a 22% increase from the previous year. Of this amount, more than 47,000 theses were approved by universities. With the addition of over 66,000 theses in 2015, the number of registered theses in the IranDoc database reached over 273,948 titles. Among the theses approved by universities, more than 43,000 were at the master's level, and the rest were at the doctoral level. The highest number of registered and approved theses in the thesis and dissertation registration database belonged to the humanities group with 20,307 records. (Mehr, May 16, 2016) This increase is not due to the growth of science in Iran but rather due to the increase in unemployment among university graduates who turn to graduate studies to escape unemployment. These theses are mostly a combination of translated foreign texts and repetition of existing materials in other books and theses. Some of the authors of these theses are not even students themselves. With a few million tomans, one can order a thesis in Iran. Many theses, especially in the humanities field, are taken with individuals who do not have educational qualifications. Most government officials, military commanders, and clerics teach at universities. They obtained their degrees using political influence and found positions in universities with the same political influence. Illegal downloads and violations of intellectual property rights. In 2015, Iran topped the list of academic thieves worldwide with over 2.6 million illegal downloads of scientific articles from relevant illegal sites. Millions of copies of books have also been downloaded by Iranian students and users (Tabnak, May 15, 2016). These downloads are often not for reading and use but for keeping for a day when they might be useful. Higher education has also become a platform for abnormal practices such as violations of intellectual property rights. The quantitative growth of students has apparently not helped the rational and moral growth of society.