Reduction in Education Standards Instead of System Improvement; Government's 'Single Subject' Approach in Education

The decrease in pass rates and low scores among students in the country has led the government of Ebrahim Raisi to lower the quality of education instead of improving the educational system, raising the overall average to 10 and allowing 'single subject' for 4 subjects; an action that experts have termed the government's 'single subject' in the education sector. The state news agency IRNA quoted the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Education as saying that 'students can use the single subject for 4 final subjects with a score of 7 and above to graduate.' Mahmoud Amani Tehrani emphasized that this occurred after a resolution from the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council and the finalization of all secondary school exams. Previously, to maintain the quality of education, the single subject option was only available for 2 final subjects and 2 non-final subjects, but with the removal of the single subject condition, students can now use it in 4 final subjects that are the main criteria for assessing educational standards. Some experts believe this government action aims to increase pass and graduation statistics and have warned about the noticeable decline in educational quality. In this context, the Fars news agency also reported on January 15, 2024, that the decline in the quality of the country's educational system is a crisis that experts and 'concerned advocates of the education system' have been discussing and expressing concern about for years. These concerns arose after the Ministry of Education published a report on the national average scores of 12th-grade students in the final exams of June 2023. The official report from the Ministry of Education stated: 'The national average scores of students in the final exams of June 2023 were 11.23 in experimental sciences, 10.79 in mathematics, 8.75 in humanities, and 10.56 in religious studies.' These developments occur while it seems the government has no plan to improve the quality of the country's education system and, contrary to expectations, is simultaneously seeking to enhance religious and ideological issues during the education of children and adolescents. In this regard, the Minister of Education of the 13th Islamic Republic government stated that from the beginning of October 2024, education in the first grade of elementary school will be conducted with new textbooks. Reza Morad Sahraei emphasized that the noticeable effect of the changes in textbooks will also be observed in 2025. It is worth mentioning that the changes in textbooks were initiated at the request of Ali Khamenei, and the Ministry of Education officials have been instructed to implement them. In this context, the Director General of 'Witness and Veterans Affairs' of the Ministry of Education announced in February 2023 the new approach of this ministry in education, stating that 'the promotion of martyrdom culture in schools has begun, and the content of textbooks will also change accordingly.' The alteration of textbook content has long been a concern for the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. Ali Khamenei has repeatedly shown sensitivity to the content of textbooks and has called for a review of the content of educational subjects. In May 2022, during a meeting with a group of teachers and educators from across the country, he stated that 'useless content in textbooks should be eliminated.' Khamenei's demand for changes in educational content began in the 1990s. In one of his speeches in 2000, during a meeting with 'seminarians,' he called for planning for transformation in the curriculum and textbooks of major educational centers, especially in education. In May 2014, the Supreme Leader also stated during a meeting with teachers and educators that changes should occur in this system both in terms of form and content. The Minister of Education stated that 'revised' textbooks will be taught from October, and the new program of the President of the Islamic Propagation Organization for students is to bring the Quran into their daily lives. The Deputy Minister of Education stated that women cannot be managers of male teachers. Education is in a dangerous area; ineffective content leads to student demotivation. Ebrahim Raisi has mandated the teaching of 'Defensive Sciences and Religious Studies' in schools and universities. The decline of education in Iran; a severe drop in student academic performance. The Ministry of Education and the 'Fashion and Clothing Working Group' have collaborated to promote hijab.