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October 24, 2024

The budget for public education has been reduced in 1997 / Mohammad Habibi.

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Mohammad Habibi

As we approach the final months of 1396 (Persian calendar), the budget bill for 1397 has been presented to the parliament and is currently being approved by representatives.

The proposed budget for 1397 (2018-2019) does not have a positive outlook on education, similar to the past five years. In fact, compared to previous years, the budget for education has even decreased.

In these circumstances, some of the most important disadvantages of the proposed budget for public education in the coming year can be categorized as follows:

1 – .

Reduction of education budget from the general budget of the country.

Over the past ten years, the education budget has allocated an average of 10% of the country’s general budget. This has consistently been a source of protest for teacher unions and media activists in this field. In developed industrial countries, this percentage can reach up to 30%, while in developing countries it ranges from 15% to 20%. However, in the proposed budget for 2018, the share of education from the general budget has dropped to less than 9%. This is despite the fact that the education budget for this year has reached a debt of 6 trillion tomans to teachers, which is expected to overflow into the next year.

On the other hand, just like the past five years, more than 95% of this budget will be allocated to paying the salaries of education and training employees. As a result, only less than 5% of the budget will go towards educational and developmental sectors.

With these characteristics, predicting a budget deficit for education in the coming year is not unexpected and we must continue to see a decrease in school resources and, as a result, a continuation of the decline in educational standards in schools.

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2. Repentance

Reduction in infrastructure budget and school renovation organization.

According to members of parliament, nearly 35% of schools in the country are in dilapidated condition. Due to the increase in natural disasters such as earthquakes in the country, these schools have become dangerous places for students. However, in the 2018 budget bill, the government has reduced the budget for school renovation by around 35%, according to the head of the School Renovation Organization. This is while in the sixth development plan, which was formulated by the Rouhani government, approximately $3 billion has been allocated for school resilience and renovation from the National Development Fund, but the government has cut its annual share in the 2018 budget bill.

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3. We

Repeated delay in the ranking of teachers plan.

The first phase of the teacher ranking plan was implemented in order to reduce the protests of educators from 1394 (2015). This is while in the sixth development plan, the government is obligated to fully implement this plan. However, despite various promises, the implementation of the second phase of this plan is still uncertain and has not been included in the proposed budget for 1397 (2018).

4.

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Continuation of the policy of commercializing education.

According to the proposed government budget for the next year, it is conceivable that the policy of commercializing education will continue, as it has been on the agenda of the twelfth government for the past five years. This is because it is clear to everyone that this proposed budget does not cover the expenses and costs of the current and developmental activities of the Ministry of Education.

It is in this same direction that, like previous years, the transfer of educational facilities to private sectors for the purpose of generating income and commercial use, as well as the policy of purchasing educational services, will be on the agenda of the country’s educational authorities.

The transfer of government schools to private individuals and institutions, as shown by statistics in recent years, provides the grounds for a widespread decline in the quality of education in the country.

In addition, the efforts of the Ministry of Education in these years have been to provide the budget for public schools through collecting fees from students’ families. In fact, what is referred to as voluntary public participation is actually mandatory payment for public education, which is clearly against Article 30 of the Constitution.

5.

Continued wage gap.

The wage gap between teachers and other government employees has been one of the main concerns of educators in recent years. This gap has been on the rise since the early 1970s with the implementation of economic adjustment policies, and currently the average salary of teachers is about 50% of the average salary of other government employees.

In the 97 budget, no attention has been paid to this wage gap and the increase in teachers’ salaries – like other government employees – is only 10%. Considering the additional benefits that all government employees receive annually, in addition to their salaries, it is natural that we will still see an increase in this wage gap in the current year.

Created By: Mohammad Habibi
January 24, 2018

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