Education in Iran
“O, Ahuramazda, endow me with an educated child” (Arasteh, 1962, p.2).
“After more than 35 invasions over a 2,500 year period” (Postiglione and Mak, pg. 117), Iran has survived as one of the worlds oldest and most enduring cultures/civilizations. Despite being overrun by some of the most brutal rulers in history, Iran has repeatedly regenerated itself and began anew. Evidence from early Iranian cultures, such as the Achaemenids and Sassanians, to the current Islamic Republic of Iran demonstrates the priority given to education, how education over the centuries has contributed to the survival of Persian culture, and repeatedly contributed to the economic fortunes of Iran, both good and bad.
Greek soldier and philosopher Xenophon’s first-hand exposure to Achaemenid society and culture in the 5th Century BCE as he accompanied and later took command of a mercenary army seeking to overthrow the existing Achaemenid ruler, is chronicled in The Anabasis where he undoubtedly became familiar with the legacy of legendary Persian king, Cyrus the Great from his fellow soldiers many of whom were Persian. His classic, The Education of Cyrus, still debated as whether written before or after Plato’s The Republic, provides a panoramic view of contemporary Achaemenid society and chronicles the rise and influences on disputably one of the greatest kings of all time through his intellectual development under the essential guidance of scholars in preparation for his inheritance of the throne. It provides an early example of education as an essential part of the cultural foundation of Achaemenid/Zoroastrian Iran.
Little evidence exists of an educational structure in Iran prior to the Sasanid dynasty (224-657 BCE). It should be noted that many modern scholars asserted that most evidence of Parthian civilization and culture was destroyed by the Sasanians after their rise to power. According to (Soylemez, ND), during the Sasanian era Shapur l, after defeating the Roman Emperor Valerian and his army at the Battle of Edessa in 260, established the city of Gondeshapur, translated as the “army of Shapur” or “weapons of Shapur” in present day Khuzistan for the captured Romans. Contrary to a questionable early Christian source which stated that Valerian, along with being used a horse mount for Shapur l, was executed by having molten gold poured down his throat, and in another account of his death that he was flayed alive and stuffed, modern historians argue that Valerian along with his troops resided there and brought Roman engineering to bear contributing in construction of numerous public works projects such as: dams, bridges, temples. Declared the Sasanian capital during the reign of Shapur ll, Gundeshapur became the administrative center for the Sasanids. Over the centuries, Gundeshapur became a center of culture and science as scholars gravitated there. Over time different ethnic and religious groups emigrated there and made additional contributions. Branded as heretics at the Council of Ephesus (431) and Council of Chalcedon (451), Nestorians, expelled from Constantinople and then from their new settlement at Edessa, settled in Persia and eventually found their way to Gundeshapur. With the closing of the academy of Athens in 529, western scholars fled and relocated to Gundeshapur. “The Academy reached its peak from 531-579 bringing together Hindu, Greek, Judaic, Syriac, Alexandrian, Christian, and Persian Learning and translating significant Greek classics in science and philosophy into the Pahlavi (Middle Persian) language.” (Postiglione and Mak, pg 116.). A translation bureau, library, observatory, and one of the first medical schools were also located there.
By the time of the Islamic Invasions of the 7th century ACE, the Sassanian government’s use of scribes, or dabirs, with their training centers, called dabirestans, had implemented such an integral and successful chancery system to administer the state that the newly arrived Arabs from the peninsula readily adopted many aspects of the system and enlisted its secretaries and the dehgans, landed gentry who served as provincial governors, to administer the new domains further reinforcing the cultural value of education within Persian society. Dabirs covered a wide range of administrative functions during Sassanid times such as: official correspondents of the government performing translation duties and correspondence between governments, accountants, tax collectors, judicial secretaries, copyists, and as chroniclers who recorded daily events. Ultimately providing a means to exercise increasing influence resulting in the de-Arabization of Islam and its evolution to a religion respecting a multitude of different cultural, ethnic and racial composition, Persians while not in direct control of the state, progressively increased their influence on policymakers and administrative decisions regarding Umayyad and later Abbasid Islamic Caliphates and furthered their own interests.
Limited to a small proportion of the population, the dabirestans were not the only educational system available. Many of means also participated in the maktab system which was, in fact, the primary educational system available. Organized by Muslim clerics, the makhtab,whose origins are traced back to the 10th century, encouraged male-only students to memorize the Koran, taught basic reading and writing, and provided instruction for basic arithmetic skills. Further religious training was available for advanced students in religious colleges, or madresehs, established in 1066 BCE by Nizam al Mulk, grand vizier during the Seljuk rule (1037-1194) where the interpretation of the Koran, religious law, and religious philosophy were taught. Until the mid-nineteenth century, maktabs, madresehs, the dabirestans, and the bazaar guilds with their apprenticeship system were the providers of formal education in Iran.
At the beginning of the 19th Century, the Russian Empire, seeking to increase its holdings, invaded from the north and the entire territory of the Caucasus, then part of the Saffavid Empire, fell in two separate wars which resulted in The Treaty of Gulistan (1813) and the Treaty of Turkmanchai (1828). Demonstrably far behind the superior military and diplomatic prowess of the Europeans, English and French as well as Russians, and recognizing the need for change, the underpinnings of many institutions came under review, and in response, Qajar Crown Prince Abbas Mirza initialized a program of sending select candidates to Europe for education. Although still reserved for the chosen elites who eagerly vied for candidacy for their progeny, modern ideas from Europe began to flow into Persian society.
Although dying before assuming the throne, Abbas Mirza had sown the seeds of change which were nurtured by the next shah’s chief minister Amir Kabir whose legendary acumen and intelligence led to further modernization within the country and the foundation of the first state supported institution for higher education, Dar al Funun or Abode of Learning in 1852 where among other subjects geology, chemistry, pharmacy, mineralogy, engineering and mining, and medicine were introduced.
Shortly thereafter, American missionaries whose work had been previously limited in the 1830’s over objections to their religious agenda, opened a series of schools among them the first high school which was to become the first college, Alborz High School, and the first formal medical school founded by Dr Joseph Cochran in Tabriz in 1878. “By 1895, in northwestern Iran alone, the American Mission had 117 schools, enrolling 2,410 students. By the late 1890’s it operated 147 schools throughout Iran” (Keddie and Mathee, p. 186) including the first girls’ school, Iran Bethel, which in 1898 was allowed to enroll Muslim girls where foreign language instruction and the bible were taught.
With the arrival of the 20th century and Iran’s foreign educated elite striving against the Qajar monarchy for a constitutional republic government which faltered after Russian machinations in support of the deposed Shah Mohammad Ali and the world wide upheaval of the first world war, centralized authority was not established again until Persian Cossack Commander, Reza Shah Pahlavi assumed power. Emulating his mentor Turkish statesman Mustafa Kemal Ataturk whose program of secularization and modernization served as a model for state building, Reza Shah began the arduous process of creating a state infrastructure previously neglected by the sybaritic indulgences of Qajar rule. Over the next decade, numerous schools were established: law, political science, arts and sciences, theology, war, agriculture, and veterinary medicine which were combined into a single institution in 1934, the iconic University of Tehran which to this day remains the country’s most prestigious university.
Pressured by Allies during early WWll for his expressed sympathies and connections with Germany, Reza Shah Pahlavi forcibly abdicated in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Shah, who at the age of 22 began his reign as titular head of state under the aegis of the Allies who accessed the southern Iranian ports and traipsed across the country to ship food and supplies to the Soviet Union until the end of the war.
Picking up where his father left off, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi continued apace with modernization and made education available to the middle class and following WWll, universities were founded in many major Iranian cities, such as Esfahan, Shiraz, Meshed and Ahvaz. Unable to meet the demands for education, many students attended higher education institutions abroad with the United States being the most popular destination. Just prior to the Islamic Revolution of 1979, of the approximately 100,000 Iranian students abroad, over 30,000 were enrolled in American institutions of higher learning.
Following the revolution from 1980 to 1983 all universities were closed and
de-secularizing Islamic reforms were implemented resulting in many faculty being replaced and when many universities reopened enrollment experienced significant reduction such as the 75% reduction registered at the University of Tehran. However, the system retained the basic organization of 1 year of pre-school, 5 years of primary education, 3 years of middle school, and after aptitude assessments, students were directed to either college preparatory, university preparation for engineering or medicine or a vocational technical curriculum for an additional 3 years, followed by 1 year of Pre-Univesity studies.
University entrance is determined by the Konkurs, a comprehensive 4 1/2 hour long exam which tests for knowledge and assesses academic achievement. Due to the stringency of the exam and the low acceptance rate of student applicants contributed to by limited space availability, many students take a year off and engage in a cram program, a thriving secondary educational industry, in preparation for the exam. As part of the Islamization of the universities, students are assessed on Islamic studies, as part of the Konkur, as well as traditional academic subjects such as math, science, Persian language, and foreign language. Historically dominated by urban centers, a quota system was developed in the 1980’s allowing access for more students from rural environments. Criteria for acceptance has changed since the Islamic Revolution, along with the addition of assessment of Islamic studies knowledge in the Konkurs exam, a student’s acceptance may be influenced by their social and political and loyalty to the Islamic government. In attempts to further integrate Islam into the educational arena, the Islamic Republic has recently promised that all students who memorized the entire Koran a free education, including a university education (Iran to Provide Free... 2011). In 2007, out of the 1.4 million students taking the Konkurs exam only 150,000 were accepted (Harrison, 2007). With an admission rate of approximately 11 percent of all applicants, limited opportunities have created significant psychological and social pressures contributing to the phenomena known as Brain Drain or a mass exodus of the educated and those aspiring for a better education for their children. Harrison reports (Harrison, 2007) “according to the IMF more than a 150,000 of the best young minds in Iran are leaving every year.” Additionally, the gender make up of students has changed;
almost 60 percent of accepted applicants were women, as the participation of women in higher education has doubled over the last two decades.
Madrassehs, since the Islamic Revolution, have been revitalized. With the addition of social sciences, political science, history, education, mathematics, foreign language, and computer science, they have integrated an array of new subject matter in attempts to buttress the institutions. Whereas in most academic settings learning is heavily dependent on memorization in traditional model employed by secular authorities , in the Madressehs the historic tradition of religious education which incorporates discussion, debate, and critical thinking are now being employed in the new subjects added.
The Islamic Republic of Iran now boasts one of the highest literacy rates in the Middle East with 98% of all 15-24 youth (male and female) literate, 15 years old and above men 89% and 15 years and above women 80% as of 2008 (Index Mundi). The enormous population boom in post revolution 1980’s has slowed due to government reproductive education but still provide challenges for the government to provide the promised universal education and post graduate placement.
In recent events, apparently in response to the vociferous protests after the 2009 election, enrollment by women at over 30 universities of over 80 different academic programs has been restricted from “a bewildering variety of subjects from engineering, nuclear physics and computer science, to English literature, archaeology and business” (Sahraei, Fariba 2012). Despite objections voiced against the new strictures, the government has cited that the vast majority of programs are still available and also called for a return to traditional values and for more children. With the upcoming election where a new President will be selected, the new candidates and their platforms will have one more issue to discuss.
Since the imposition of the latest round of ever tightening sanctions, the Islamic Republic of Iran has shown remarkable resolve in the face of mounting political, economic, and social pressures. Based on Iran’s historical ability to endure tremendous hardships, it is not surprising. Time and time again, Iran has demonstrated an ability to endure, adapt to new realities however harsh, and reconstitute itself with an integration of cultural influences and remain uniquely Iranian.
Since the revolution, Iran has survived one of the worst wars of the 20th century, lost substantial intellectual and financial assets from the brain drain and weathered its international pariah status and accompanying sanctions because of its nuclear program, It has seen its economy severely handicapped by these sanctions and still managed to survive and strengthen its resolve for self sufficiency. Apparently the “big push” in education is producing results. After the Brain Drain of the 1980‘s and the loss of students each year because of the inability to absorb them into the educational system, Iran is still managing to make progess in education and is producing results. “Although starting from a lower point with roughly 1,300 papers in 2000, has displayed a similar trajectory following a notable surge after 2004. By 2009, Iran’s output approached 15,000 papers” (Global Research Report, 2011). Iran’s history it is no surprise that regardless of the tribulation the country faces, it will renew itself and push forward just as happened so many times in in the past. Looking at the history of Iran, it is apparent that education is a cultural cornerstone for its survival and growth.
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