The 1404 University Entrance Exam Will Be Held Without Changes, As Before

The Secretary of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution of the Islamic Republic has announced that the university entrance exam (Konkur) in 1404 will be held in its current format and stated that the amendment to the Konkur regulations has not yet been discussed in the council. Abdolhossein Khosrowpanah had previously emphasized that some proposals for changing the Konkur regulations have been raised. Khosrowpanah also pointed out that the current university admission quotas are unfair and lead to the acceptance of students with weak academic performance in popular fields such as medicine. Meanwhile, the government spokesperson, Pezeshkian, stated on Thursday, November 3, that "the specialized authority in this area is the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution" and that "the 1404 Konkur will not change." The murmurs of changes in the conduct of the Konkur and the admission process for applicants have faced many reactions. Sakineh Sadat Pad, assistant to the former government president in pursuing "social rights and freedoms," wrote on social media platform X about this: "Following the demands of a large number of students regarding the Konkur regulations of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution […] I have corresponded with the esteemed secretary of the council. I suggest that the council, without rushing to implement, review the regulations more thoughtfully." This comes as earlier media reports had quoted the secretary of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution stating: "This regulation will be implemented for the next year." He had mentioned that the Minister of Education stated: this "is a council regulation, and the Ministry of Education cannot intervene [in it]." The regulation in question was issued on July 16, 2022, by Ebrahim Raisi, the then president, under the title "Single Article for Completing and Amending Certain Policies and Regulations for Organizing the Assessment and Admission of Applicants for Higher Education." According to this regulation, the weight of the Konkur score will gradually be reduced from the final results of applicants, and instead, the academic records of candidates will play a more significant role in admissions. This plan has fierce critics who argue that the conditions of all schools in the country for conducting final exams are not uniform, and the quality of education varies among different schools, and the definitive impact of academic records could lead to "injustice." Protests have occurred in front of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution to abolish the impact of GPA on the Konkur, from the increase in non-exam admissions of Hashd al-Shaabi members at the University of Tehran to demands from Mobina Nematizadeh. The head of the Assessment Organization resigned after the return of cheaters to universities; reactions to reports of expelled students returning to universities; Amir Kabir Newsletter: "It is propaganda." The government bypassed the parliament; Raisi issued a regulation separating the "Assessment Organization" from the Ministry of Science and attaching it to the presidency.