The Government's War on English Language in Primary Schools

Mehdi Navid Adham, Secretary General of the Supreme Education Council, has announced that teaching English in public and private primary schools during official or unofficial hours is prohibited, and violations will be addressed. Saeed Piyvandi, a sociologist and university professor in Paris, answered Radio Farda's questions regarding this decision by the Ministry of Education. Why has the Ministry of Education decided to ban English language teaching in primary schools? The official reason provided by the Secretary General of the Supreme Education Council to justify this decision is to strengthen the Persian language and Iranian-Islamic culture among students. He also stated that foreign language education at the primary level is not recommended at all. However, this statement is not entirely accurate, as Arabic is currently taught from the first grade within the framework of Quran lessons. Although officials view Arabic as the language of the Quran and do not consider it 'foreign,' for a significant portion of students and their families, Arabic is indeed a foreign language. Thus, it can be understood that, from the perspective of the Ministry of Education, it is English that hinders the learning of Persian or Iranian-Islamic culture. How widespread is English language learning in Iranian primary schools? English is not part of the official curriculum for the six years of primary education in Iran. However, various private, semi-private schools, or a small number of public schools offer English as an extracurricular subject, and these classes are not mandatory. Therefore, it can be said that English is taught in a limited number of primary schools in Iran. Can learning a foreign language hinder the learning of the mother tongue or the primary language of instruction? No, there is no relationship between learning a foreign language and the mother tongue or primary language of instruction. If there are issues in learning Persian, the focus should be more on the methods and quality of teaching, as well as the type of training teachers receive and the content of textbooks. In many countries, foreign language education begins very early, as educational research has shown that children up to the age of 11 or 12 have a great capacity for learning different languages, and learning a language other than the primary language of instruction helps expand and enrich children's cognitive and metacognitive abilities. Furthermore, deep and effective learning of a language is also related to the age of the learner. For example, learning a foreign language very well without an accent is much easier before the age of 14. So, can we say that the main motivation of the authorities might be non-educational reasons? It is possible that the reason given for banning English in primary schools is more of a pretext, as not only is Arabic taught from the first grade, but about one-third of the primary curriculum is related to religious education. Therefore, if there were a genuine intention to give more importance to Persian language learning in both quantitative and qualitative aspects, the volume of all this religious content, which has little appeal for children and is even difficult for younger ages to understand, should be reduced. In my opinion, the main obstacle to effective learning of Persian is the difficult and retrogressive content of primary school textbooks and the qualitative poverty of education, which demotivates and disheartens children. The Quran lessons and the book 'Heavenly Gifts,' which is the religious lesson, resemble propaganda pamphlets for brainwashing the youth, and some of their lessons are even counter-educational and counter-educational from a psychological perspective. If something is to change in education, the first step should be to address these tedious, heavy, and incomprehensible books and lessons for children. How do politics and ideology interfere in educational matters and decisions that should be more expert-driven? Political power views education as a tool for promoting its culture and value system among the youth and controlling society. In democratic countries, civil organizations, key players in the education system, especially teachers, and representatives of the people and researchers have gradually succeeded in removing the education system from government control and exercising more oversight so that governments cannot do whatever they want with education and the youth. Governments are responsible for financing education from public budgets, and their intervention should be minimal because educational methods and discourse are issues that relate to the upbringing and lives of future generations and the culture and scientific capabilities of a country, and society should reach a national consensus on them. Perhaps the most significant ailment of education in Iran is the limitless interference of the government and the imposition of a religious and ideological policy from above on the education system. In Iran, the government has a monopolistic view of education and sees it as a tool for brainwashing and training the youth according to its value system and ideology. The banning of English language teaching is a symptomatic example of an authoritarian and political approach to education. Symbolically, this ban may be seen as a form of resistance against 'cultural invasion' and the West, and this approach has greatly harmed the quality, credibility, legitimacy, and attractiveness of education. Can the ban on English teaching in primary schools be the beginning of new restrictions on the English language, especially since Ayatollah Khamenei recently criticized English language education and considered it a remnant of the previous regime? I hope this is not the case. Currently, over 60% of scientific content in the world is published in English, and this language has become the primary means of international communication, both spoken and written. Limiting English language learning undermines our dynamic connection with the contemporary world and Iran's presence in today's global community. In my opinion, English should remain the primary foreign language in schools, and its educational quality should be improved. At the same time, the Iranian education system should also pay attention to other languages. Why shouldn't our students learn other languages used in Iran from the primary level? Why shouldn't children who do not speak Persian learn their mother tongue alongside Persian in school? Why can't other important languages like Chinese, Spanish, and French be taught in schools? Even children do not learn Arabic well due to its intertwining with religious and ideological education. How many young Iranians do you know who can speak a few words of Arabic after 12 years of Arabic education? The Iranian education system is very poor and underdeveloped in terms of language learning (Persian and other languages), and the solution to improve the situation is not to ban English. Considering the material difficulties many families face, will these bans in schools not lead to increased educational discrimination in society? Those with resources can take private classes, while the rest of society is deprived of foreign language learning. Educational discrimination in Iran is increasing day by day as the quality of the regular public sector declines, and lower-class families have no access to private or elite public schools. Children from impoverished families often prematurely abandon their education, and some become child laborers. In contrast, there are families who can provide other learning opportunities for their children even if English is removed from schools. What is regrettable in this situation is that with the advancement of new technology, learning languages through lively, diverse, and attractive methods has become possible at a very low cost. However, it seems that our education system is very far removed from this world. Saeed Piyvandi is a sociologist and university professor in France. You can follow Mr. Piyvandi's writings, including on his personal Telegram channel.