Peace Line – Based on psychological and educational experiences and studies, the early years of a child’s life play a fundamental role in their growth and development. This is because eighty percent of a child’s personality is formed in the first six years of their life. Therefore, preschool education is of special importance. Preschool education, through environmental enrichment, enables children to engage in new cognitive and mental experiences that may not be possible in their usual family environment. Research has shown that children who are deprived of preschool education have a lower chance of adaptation compared to other children in school, and are more likely to experience academic failure and ultimately, lack of success in other stages of life. As a result, given the importance of preschool education, many efforts have been made by governments in most countries around the world to provide free access to these programs for children, in order to ensure equal opportunities for all in the future. (1) However, in our country, attention to preschool education by the government has been on a

Before discussing these signs, it is necessary to clarify how the protests of preschool teachers took shape and how they got to this point. In 1379, the Ministry of Education of the then government decided to develop preschool education. As a result, a part of the space in some urban schools was allocated for preschool education and teachers were hired on temporary contracts to teach, and efforts were made to encourage families to send their children to preschool education. In some cases, there were even talks of making preschool education mandatory before students entered primary school. Until 2006, the financial management of preschool centers was directly under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, but from 2006, the responsibility of financial management of preschools was entrusted to contracting companies, which were required to insure preschool teachers. As a result, the tuition fees paid by families were divided between the Ministry of Education and the contracting companies, and only a small portion of the financial benefits went to preschool teachers. In fact, the working conditions

One of these coaches, in discussing the situation of pre-school coaches in recent years, tells the website Bidarzani: “During the years that we were under the government’s supervision, the tuition fees were divided in a way that sixty percent went to the Ministry of Education and forty percent to the coaches. We didn’t have insurance during those years. Then, when we were handed over to contractors, we were insured but faced problems with the contractors. All of our income went to the contractor and the administration, except for the hardworking coach who carried all the burden. Our insurance now only covers 15 days per month. This means that even if we work for 10 years, I don’t think our insurance will last for three years.”

Acceptance of such working conditions by pre-school coaches in recent years was only in the hope of employment by the Ministry of Education. This hope was diminished with the implementation of the new educational policy and the addition of a weak sixth grade. Coaches hoped that pre-school would become mandatory and be added to the elementary level. Ultimately, due to the uncertain situation of these coaches in the future and as a result of protests, two years ago, members of parliament passed a bill that obligated the government to determine the employment status of these coaches within two years. With the start of the new government and the adoption of contractionary policies, the first action of the Rouhani government was to ban any employment in government offices, especially the Ministry of Education. As a result, over the past two years, despite widespread protests by pre-school coaches and pressure from members of parliament, the Ministry of Education has repeatedly cancelled employment exams for these coaches. The main justification for this obstruction is the government’s ban and lack of

On the other hand, according to the statements of the Director General of Education in Tehran at the Young Journalists Club, the shortage of personnel in elementary schools in the current year has been compensated by rehiring retired teachers on a contract basis. This is while many education experts believe that utilizing experienced pre-school instructors is the best and most efficient solution to compensate for the shortage of personnel in elementary schools in recent years. However, the profit-oriented approach in education in the government of “Tadbir and Omide” has hindered any proper decision-making in education. In this regard, the Minister of Education, while acknowledging the shortage of human resources in the education system, proudly talks about saving 9 trillion rials in this ministry. Fani, in an interview with Fars in November of this year, says: “Despite the shortage of 42,000 human resources in the Ministry of Education, there is no new plan for employment. The shortage of human resources in this ministry has been

It seems that for the country’s educational decision-makers, there is sufficient economic justification for any decision. The use of elementary school teachers in two shifts, the transfer of secondary school teachers to elementary school without the necessary training, and the use of retired teachers after thirty years of exhausting work can all lead to a worse situation in the country’s elementary education, issues that seem to be overlooked by the Minister and his deputies. However, perhaps pre-school teachers will be the first victims of the new government’s contraction policies, but they will certainly not be the last. There are signs of plans to remove another group of teachers from the country’s education system for various reasons, which sounds the alarm for teachers and the entire education system. Plans in line with the government’s contraction policies are underway, which will result in more economic savings without considering the quality of education and its consequences. The exit of two hundred thousand teachers from the country’s education system, the widespread adjustment of staff, and the increase in required hours

Mohammad Habibi

Active category

Sources

1- Morvati, Mohammad, The Necessity of Preschool, Preschool Children’s Blog

2- Young Journalists Club, 2 Shahrivar 1393

Fars News Agency, September 1st, 2014