Nahid Hosseini: The Iranian Government Has Adopted the Approach of Religious Schools

The TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) recently published its results evaluating fourth-grade students in 64 educational systems and eighth-grade students in 45 educational systems. The score given to Iranian students in fourth-grade mathematics in 2023 is 420, down from 443 in 2019. In the 2023 TIMSS results, Iran ranked 54th out of 64 countries in fourth-grade mathematics, compared to 49th in 2019. The international average score in fourth-grade mathematics in 2023 was 500. In fourth-grade science, Iran ranked 49th out of 63 countries, also a decline from 2019. Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan topped the rankings in most subjects and grade levels. Among Iran's neighboring countries, Turkey has shown significant progress in both mathematics and science, achieving an average score of 553 in fourth-grade mathematics, an increase of 40 points from 2019. Digitalizing education, diversifying teaching methods, and innovating curricula to create a more dynamic and interactive learning environment for students are among the reasons Turkish educational experts cite for the recent progress of students. Meanwhile, the decline in the performance of Iranian students has also been reflected in domestic media. Dr. Nahid Hosseini, an expert in education and women's issues, stated in an interview with VOA that Iranian students used to achieve international rankings in mathematics competitions, but the weakening of mathematics education in the TIMSS results indicates that "as the role of ideology in Iran's politics and education has increased, the quality of our education has decreased." She added that the Islamic Republic has directed the educational system towards a model resembling "religious schools" in recent years, with one-third of learning time in elementary school devoted to religious education. The decline in students' academic performance at various levels is a topic acknowledged by Islamic Republic officials, although they deny the existence of a crisis in education. The Ham-Mihan newspaper reported in September under the title "The Illiteracy Catastrophe" that there is a "wave of illiteracy" among students, especially in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, South Khorasan, and Khuzestan. This report states that the "very severe educational decline" across the country is such that in provinces like Sistan and Baluchestan, Kerman, Hormozgan, Fars, Bushehr, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Lorestan, Ilam, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, West Azerbaijan, Gilan, Golestan, North Khorasan, and Khuzestan, the average final exam scores for all theoretical fields are below 10. The Deputy Minister of Education stated in December 1403 (2024) in an interview with the Shargh newspaper that 40% of students attending school suffer from learning poverty, meaning they do not acquire basic skills such as reading, writing, arithmetic, and speaking properly. The average grades of various schools in Iran in the final exams of Khordad 1403 (2024) showed that the average of public schools is 8.96 and non-public schools is 10.37. However, the head of the Evaluation and Quality Assurance Center of the Ministry of Education stated that this average does not indicate a crisis situation. Nahid Hosseini explained: "There are about 1,800 container schools in Iran, we have about one million illiterate people in Iran, and our schools suffer from a shortage of trained teachers. The reality is that in recent years, the educational situation has deteriorated to the point that education officials say a grade of 10 for students does not indicate a crisis." Another reason for the decline in educational quality in Iran, according to Nahid Hosseini, is the lack of sufficient budget allocation for education and the failure to utilize new scientific technologies that advanced countries pay special attention to. She stated that the effort to "commercialize education" in such a way that the general public cannot access private education, along with the economic problems faced by teachers and families that lead to decreased motivation for work and attention to students, are other reasons contributing to the decline in educational quality in recent years. This education researcher emphasized that as long as an ideological religious government is in power in Iran, one cannot expect qualitative changes in the educational system. She suggested that the current solution to exit this crisis is for families not to remain silent about this situation and for the continuation of the teachers' movement. Hosseini's reference is to the protests by teachers against the educational system in the Islamic Republic, who have repeatedly called for the de-ideologization of curricula and for free and quality education in schools in recent years. Nahid Hosseini stated that in today's world, education is not limited to the classroom, and through learning in virtual spaces and educational applications, educational backwardness can be somewhat compensated. The TIMSS evaluation, conducted every four years, collects information related to curricula, the use of available technologies in schools, teacher preparedness, and other school-related criteria. The 2023 results mark the eighth round of evaluation by this group. In mathematics, fourth-grade students are assessed based on their skills in numbers, simple expressions and equations, fractions and decimals, as well as measurement, geometry, and reading and interpreting data. The eighth-grade test covers similar topics at more advanced levels. The student density in classrooms in Tehran has reached 48; a classroom shortage crisis. The Deputy Minister of Education: 40% of children suffer from learning poverty. According to the Ministry of Education, 216,000 children have dropped out of school. The Ham-Mihan report on the "illiteracy catastrophe" in Iran; many high school students do not know the multiplication table. The new school year is approaching with a shortage of 80,000 teachers. Discovery of 1,600 student violations in final exams.