Answering any questions about university education and the future of young people in Iran, if it is not just a description of the situation of university students or non-students, is at least the first step in answering questions in this area. This note is an attempt to describe this situation or initial sketches of a map of the current situation of universities and students in Iran.

What is university for?

If we ignore what we all know as “Konkur Industry” and only talk about “university”, it must be said that according to the report of ISNA news agency (1) in Khordad 97, out of a total of 2569 higher education centers in the country, only 141 educational centers belong to the Ministry of Science (equivalent to 5% of centers), meaning that 95% of other centers, including Payam Noor, Islamic Azad, technical and vocational universities, scientific and applied universities, and other non-profit and non-governmental institutions, are centers that charge tuition from students. Of course, the universities of the Ministry of Science have allocated more than 5% of students to themselves: 687036 students out of a total of 3794420 students in the country (meaning that approximately 18% of students, if we calculate the number of evening students based on the information in the university selection booklet for the 99 Kon

Another point is gender quota in the university entrance exam; although many consider “gender quota” as a policy of the Ahmadinejad government. However, even after Ahmadinejad, gender quota has never completely stopped. For example, in a report published in November 2019, “Sara”, who ranked 3500 in the experimental field in region one, is quoted as saying: “My hope was to study dentistry or optometry at Shahid Beheshti University campus, last year, students with a rank of 8000 were also accepted in this field and university. I don’t know the reason, but I heard that boys had better results in acceptance. In my opinion, this is discrimination. How is it possible for a boy with a rank of 3000 to study physiotherapy, but I fail?” Also, “Zahra, who ranked 96 in the counseling field in the graduate entrance exam, says: “The capacity for acceptance was 120

Although in recent years, the keywords of centralization and imbalanced development have become clichés due to their overuse, especially in these days when the current situation of water in Khuzestan and Sistan is better than any other surrounding provinces, the issue of geographical distribution of universities is still a concern. Out of 141 higher education centers affiliated with the Ministry of Science, 29 centers (equivalent to one-fifth of the centers) belong to Tehran province. This means that, like all other cultural and economic opportunities, the majority of higher education opportunities are also concentrated in Tehran. However, the issue is not just the concentration of universities in Tehran province. The more important issue is the local selection of students. The instructions of the university entrance exam booklet state: “In fields where the selection method is local (regional, provincial), approximately 20% of the capacity is allocated to free applicants and the rest is allocated proportionally to the number of participants in each of the three

This means that even in these 14 highly demanded fields, less than half of the capacity will be available for non-native applicants. Although Masoud Rafiei Talagani wrote in an editorial in the Afarinesh newspaper on May 13, 2009 that “although the creative minds of Iranians are not unlikely to find ways around many laws, this time they may also come up with a way to bypass the issue of native selection, which if it happens, given the concentration of top universities in Tehran, we will witness a large number of Iranian families migrating to Tehran during their children’s high school years.” However, this time, the housing policies have blocked the way to bypass the law of native selection.

The website of the conservative newspaper “Esoolgarayan-e Farhangian” writes in an article dated 15/05/99 (3): “Recently, the online database Numbeo, which is a reputable source for international statistics, has compared the purchasing power of citizens in 106 countries around the world based on calculations from data from the International Monetary Fund. The results are very concerning… According to this report, there are also countries where citizens have to save their entire income for 30 to 60 years in order to become homeowners. In this regard, the ratio of housing prices to household income in Syria is 63.4, in Hong Kong 43.5, in Cambodia 39.9, in Kenya 36.3, in Sri Lanka 35, and in the Philippines 29.9. But in the seventh rank of this classification, among countries where it is very difficult for citizens to become homeowners, our country Iran is placed, with a ratio

Based on what has been said so far, it must be said that in Iran today, the majority of universities are for affluent men who can easily afford the costs of entrance exams and potential tuition fees after acceptance. In other words, it can be said that as universities have become more accessible for affluent men, access to higher education for women, rural and non-central residents has become more difficult. This means that the path to higher education, which is one of the most common ways to improve people’s lives, is more narrow and challenging for groups that need it the most. (This is only considering the crisis of COVID-19 and assuming that Iran will be out of the crisis by the end of 2022, according to some predictions. Taking into account COVID-19 means remembering that with delays in vaccination and the prolongation of virtual education, that 20% of students who have managed to overcome the barriers of local selection and gender quotas are still confined to their cities and do not have the

Tomorrow after graduation

The youth unemployment rate in Iran, without taking into account the conditions of the coronavirus period which has significantly led to unemployment in certain sectors of the workforce, especially in the service sector (tourism, hospitality, education, etc.), has been between 26 to 29 percent over the past 10 years. However, according to statistics from the International Labour Organization (ILO), the average global youth unemployment rate in 2019 was around 13.6 percent. The ILO estimates that the number of unemployed youth aged 15 to 24 in the world reached 67.6 million last year.

Although the reason for this situation can be attributed to deregulation, temporary policies, and cost-cutting of the workforce, and in short, the relentless and indifferent policies of all post-war governments. However, the purpose of this writing is not to investigate these causes. In any case, it is clear that in such a situation, the most likely fate after graduation is to have very low-paying, menial jobs that are often unrelated to their university education. Graduates who end up in these conditions are a precise example of what Asaf Bayat calls the “lower middle class.” The “lower middle class” is both theoretically and in reality a hybrid and in a conflicting social situation. Many members of this class are educated and have university degrees. They have a relatively high understanding of the situation, are well-informed about technology and the functioning of communication networks and the internet, and have the interests and aspirations of the affluent middle class. However, these same individuals have joined the lower class economically,

On the other side of the coin, there is no moral anger, which is the Kafkaesque despair. A despair that whispers to itself: “Oh, how much hope, hope in the sea; but not for us.” This despair is actually the natural reaction of young people and graduates who, due to their macroeconomic policies, see themselves in a situation similar to the character of “Kerim Samssa” in the novel The Metamorphosis. A dehumanizing and suffocating situation in which a person becomes helpless to do anything, resorting to various part-time and temporary jobs such as producing Instagram content or driving for companies like Snapp and Tap30, which at best is nothing but learning to walk with the delicate legs of a cockroach-like body. But what will this despair lead to? In fact, when Asef Bayat speaks of the anger of the middle class, it is clear what function he has in mind for this anger. In Ase

Becoming worthless and insignificant in the future is always accompanied by becoming valuable in the present moment. In fact, someone who knows they have no future prefers to count the moment as a blessing and enjoy the maximum pleasure possible today without fear of what may happen tomorrow. At first glance, this statement is not only not bad news, but it also has some similarities to the motivational and positive speeches of promoters of happiness and positivity. However, contrary to what it may seem, this statement gives us one of the most terrifying news possible. Counting the moment as a blessing and being happy in action is nothing but indulging in drugs, stimulants, and extramarital sexual relationships. But this is only bad news and there is even worse news: that such a painful and regretful fate is not only one step away from us, but it is now upon us. As Naser Aslani, the deputy of the fight against supply and international affairs of the headquarters for the fight against drugs

Although what has been said so far can be considered a report on the relationship between non-centralized public and foreign universities, this is not the whole story. This half-full glass also exists. There are still students in Iranian universities who, despite being non-centralized and foreign, manage to overcome obstacles and attend classes at Tehran, Sharif, Polytechnic, and Allameh universities. But the truth is that the wine of Yas has also been distributed and selected among this group of seven-course drinkers. Of course, the Sharif drinkers do not reach the level of alcohol bottles and rolling flowers. Instead, they grab their suitcases and head to the airport, leaving their homeland behind.

Sources:

According to statistics and figures, Iranian universities, ISNA, Khordad 1397.

2. Did Geni contribute to the results of the Konkur exam?, Khabaronline, November 2020

3. Tehran, the fifth most expensive city in the world for housing, Farhikhtegan newspaper, August 2020.

R.K: Mashregh News Agency: 1133039

5. Asghar Bayat in an interview with Iran Farda magazine

Statistics on the number of addicts in Iran, Economy News, Mehr 1398