The Number of Gifted Schools Will Decrease

The High Council of Education in Iran states that with a gradual reduction in the number of schools under the National Organization for the Development of Exceptional Talents (Sampad), gifted students will be returned to regular schools. Navid Adham, the Secretary-General of the High Council of Education, mentioned in an interview with ISNA on February 1 that from now on, only students with 'superior talents' will be separated from other students and schools. This official stated that the return of gifted students to regular schools will have 'multiple educational and training reasons.' He did not provide further details on this matter. The return of gifted students from the so-called 'Sampad' schools to regular schools is based on a new resolution from the High Council of Education, which, according to Mr. Adham, is 'inspired by the principles of the Fundamental Transformation Document of Education, which emphasizes the principle of not separating these students from other students.' The organization known as the National Organization for the Development of Exceptional Talents has been active in Iran, abbreviated as 'Sampad.' In a resolution from the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council in 1988, the affairs related to 'exceptional talent' schools were entrusted to this organization. In 2010, the Iranian government merged the National Organization for the Development of Exceptional Talents and the Young Researchers Club, creating the 'National Center for the Development of Exceptional Talents and Young Researchers.' Over the past years, reports have been published regarding the growth of the so-called 'Sampad' schools in Iran, indicating that according to statistics from the Ministry of Education, these schools grew by more than 100% from 2009 to 2013. Alongside criticisms of the growth of these schools, there have also been criticisms regarding the methods of student recruitment and their quality. However, the reduction of these schools also has its critics; for example, the Jam-e Jam newspaper quoted educational expert Hossein Ahmadi, stating that the growth of other schools should not be restricted, but rather the quality of regular public schools should be improved. The Tehran Governorate's information website reported before the start of the current school year that Sampad schools could charge up to 4,900,000 tomans in tuition for secondary and pre-university levels, while the tuition for these schools at the middle school level was set at 2,900,000 tomans. Nevertheless, there have also been reports of violations regarding the amount of tuition charged.