Statistical Account by a Member of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution on Top Rankings; University Also Became the Share of the 'Wealthy'

The Farhikhtegan newspaper, affiliated with Azad University, has reported on the entrance exam statistics as quoted by a member of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, stating that the share of schools and different income deciles from the rankings below 3,000 in the entrance exam shows that the 'wealthy deciles' benefit from a significantly better situation. According to statistics published by this newspaper, citing Mansour Kabganiyan, 2% of the rankings below 3,000 belong to the first, second, and third deciles, while 80% belong to the 8th, 9th, and 10th deciles, which are wealthier. In this context, the share of the first decile, representing the weakest segment of society, is 0.2%, and the share of the tenth decile, representing the wealthiest part of society, is 48%. The report also indicates that 2.3% of the accepted candidates came from public schools, while 80% came from private schools. The entry rate in medical and dental fields for the first decile is reported at 1.3%, while for the 8th, 9th, and 10th deciles, it is 86%. The situation is significantly worse for accepted students in Sharif University of Technology, where the share of the first, second, and third deciles is zero percent, and the share of the 8th, 9th, and 10th deciles exceeds 87%, with the tenth decile alone accounting for 60%. In psychology, the situation is similar, with the share of the impoverished decile being 2.9% and the affluent decile 80.4%. Ahmad Tavakoli, the chairman of the Board of Directors of the 'Watchdog for Transparency and Justice', warned in a letter sent to Ebrahim Raisi on July 31, 2022, about the institutionalization of class gaps by the educational system and its consequences. Tavakoli emphasized that the diversity and multiplicity of schools in the current education system have reached 23 types, each offering different educational quality to students. According to Tavakoli's letter, poverty in the education sector has manifested in its harshest form, with one student studying in a hut in Sistan and Baluchestan and another in a school in Tehran's first district. The educational conditions of public and private schools in one area also differ significantly, and even between two public schools in the same area, there are educational disparities. Farhikhtegan newspaper previously reported on the situation of entrance exam candidates, noting that the entrance exam in 2023 saw a 24% decrease compared to 2022, equivalent to a reduction of 369,786 candidates. The newspaper attributed the declining trend in the number of candidates over recent years to the country's demographic window and emphasized that the issue of graduate employment cannot be overlooked in this context. The author of this report believes that the challenge of graduate unemployment, which has become one of the serious problems in the country in recent years, is now reflected in the reluctance of candidates to pursue undergraduate studies. Nasser Babakhani stated that the discrepancies in conducting the entrance exam are the result of parallel policies existing in all branches of the government. Internet disruptions did not prevent the leakage of entrance exam questions; several individuals were arrested again. The extensive dimensions of a systematic corruption: a thousand 'exam offenders' became medical and engineering students in Iranian universities. Disputes over the right to 'legislation'; the secretary of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution stated that the entrance exam resolution is not related to the parliament. Internet disruptions also did not work; reports indicate the leakage of entrance exam questions. New facilities for a 'specific class'; the Minister of Communications stated that the internet is like air and cannot be cut off.