Education System

According to the British council, "primary education in Iran is

compulsory under the Iranian constitution. As a general rule,
primary, secondary and higher education is free, although private
schools and universities do exist and are permitted to charge
tuition fees.
According to government figures, over 95% of Iranian children
currently receive primary and secondary education.
All schools are single-sex. English as a second language is
introduced from grade 7" in Iran.The academic year runs for 10
months (200 active days) from September to June.There are three
terms: September—December, January-March and AprilJune".
School Education
The structure of the school education system in Iran is
based on five cycles and special provision is made for
gifted and special needs children, as well as for minority
groups, refuges and for non-formal education.
I) Pre-school (l year cycle, children aged 5)
2) Primary (5 year cycle, children aged 6-10)
3) Middle (Guidance) (3 year cycle, children aged 1 1-13)
4) Secondary (3 year cycle, students aged 14-l )
5) Pre-university (l year cycle, students aged 18)
 School Education cycle

Feature: A one-year program for five years old children, children receive the
basic notions, no exam at the end and children proceed automatically to the
next cycle.
Primary Education cycle
Feature: covers grades 1-5 for children 6 to I I years old, free and compulsory,
exams at the end of each year, at the end of the grade 5 nation-wide
examination, only qualified students precede to the next cycle.
Middle (Guidance) Cycle
Feature: covers grades 6 to 8 for children I I to 13 years old, general education,
abilities as well as the interests of students are recognized, students prepared
to decide which branch (academic or technical/vocational) they intend to
choose next, At the end students take a regional examination under the
supervision of provincial boards of education. Those who pass the
examination are eligible to proceed to the next cycle i.e., secondary cycle
Secondary Education cycle

Feature: covers grade 9 to Grade 12, from age 14 to 17. Secondary education is divided
into two main branches namely. a Academic/general b Technical/vocational.
The selection of branch is up to the students themselves.
According to Iran-embassy (2010) "the academic branch, also known as the
"theoretical branch" is divided into four mainstreams namely.
literature and culture. socio-economic, physics-mathematics,and finally
experimental sciences.
The technical/vocational branch is particularly designed to train technicians for the
labor market.This branch covers three mainstreams namely. technical,
business/vocational. and agriculture.There are specific subject and performance
requirements for admission to some secondary programs". National examinations
are conducted at the end of each grade during the secondary cycle. students
complete a number of units during their three years of secondary education. and
must obtain 96 units within this time in order to be awarded the High School
diploma (Diplom-e Mottevasseteh).
Pre-University education

Those students who have wished to enter Higher

Education must take a one-year pre-university course,
at the end of which they obtain a 'Pre-University
Certificate'. This certificate then qualifies students to
sit for the highly competitive National Entrance Exam
(Konkur), success in which is imperative in order to
gain a place at university.
Higher Education

Admission to state universities is based on successful placing in the

competitive National Entrance Exam (Konkur). (There is a separate Konkur for
entry into the private university system).
The first degree (Licence/Kar-Shenasi) usually takes four years and is awarded
on a credit system (153 units and an overall score of 12 or more out of 20).
Masters degrees usually take two years to complete, and Ph.D students may
study fora minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 6 years (British Council,
2010).
There are currently well over I million students pursuing courses in Iranian
universities, over half of these at private universities. Iran has 52 state
universities and 28 medical universities, as well as a significant number of
government research institutes.There are 25 private universities, including tile
IslamicAzad University, which has branches all over the country (British
council, 2010).
Curriculum Development

The Ministry of Education supervises some educational researches

and curriculum development. It has also the responsibility for
providing textbooks for all pre university educational courses and
prints 747 titles in 00 million copies a year (Iran-embassy, 2010).
The Centre for Educational Technology, part of the Organization for
Research & Educational Planning, produces and distributes
supplementary audio and visual materials for schools.
The CET is also responsible for developing the Roshd national
intranet for schools.
The administration of the curriculum and facilities within Medical
Universities is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health (British
Council, 20 PO).