“در این تصویر، یک گل سفید روی پس زمینه سبز قرار دارد”

In this image, a white flower is placed on a green background.
Javad Lal Mohammad

May God have mercy on Abdullah Mostofi. They considered his war of goldsmithing as a metaphor for pretending in arguments and conflicts, which I believe is for the sake of deceiving and manipulating a third person.

What the reporters are reporting about the bitterness of compulsory payments to public schools by members of the Education Commission of the Parliament and the Ministry of Education, is indicative of this very dispute and I feel that all this language of analysis and argument and even the accusation and condemnation of taking these payments, is a violation of the custom of decency and the hands that want to unjustly exploit the parents and students.

Perhaps such statements may be perceived as careless and not conducive to a scientific and compassionate discussion; however, they hold wisdom and their mercy is even greater, and they will absolve the criticism from any bias.

Please allow me to first bring up some of the discussions and talks of certain members of the commission and officials of the Ministry of Education and then I will go into detail about some of the overall issues.

Mr. Ghomi, representative of the honorable people of Pakdasht and member of the Education Commission of the Parliament, stated in an interview: “Unfortunately, there are still some government schools that receive a fee for student registration, which imposes additional costs on families. Due to the lack of awareness among parents, some of these individuals pay the requested amounts by the managers. Education officials must provide appropriate information in this regard so that individuals become aware of their basic rights.”

And Mr. Assadollah Abbasi, another member of the commission, while criticizing the mandatory fees collected from parents during registration, said: “Unfortunately, the repetition of this issue every year shows the weakness in the Ministry of Education and improper performance of supervisory tools is another reason for the recurrence of this issue. The Ministry of Education does not seriously deal with offenders… We hope that the Minister of Education, with proper planning and maximum allocation of funds, will provide timely funding for schools so that we do not witness such issues again.” (1)

“این عکس یک منظره زیبا از کوهستان است که در آن آسمان آبی و ابرهای سفید وجود دارند.”

“This photo is a beautiful landscape of a mountain where there is a blue sky and white clouds.”
A sick student with a swollen face and mouth, unable to speak clearly, holds this bill and says they didn’t give me my report card. They have to pay this bill… Someone said they are certain that their parents, after three major surgeries, do not have the ability to pay even this small amount.

In this context, Mr. Alireza Salimi, a member of the Education Commission, also mentioned the concern of parents these days regarding enrolling their children in schools, saying: “Unfortunately, every year the issue of receiving money from parents is raised; a matter that, despite the Education Ministry’s confrontations with corrupt managers, still continues… When managers are focused on generating income and their minds are preoccupied with covering expenses such as water and electricity bills, the improvement of educational quality in schools is neglected.” (1)

And another member of the commission has stated, “If the parents of students encounter a situation where they are forced to pay money for obtaining a report card or registering in government schools, they must report it to the monitoring headquarters in each region or the education and training inspection office so that necessary actions can be taken.”

If we were to pass over the color and description of the words of esteemed gentlemen such as Mr. Abdi, Mirzadeh, Lashaki, Karen Khanlari, Davood Mohammadi, Kuchakinejad, and other members of the Education Commission of the Parliament, the emphasis of the Director General of Evaluation and Performance of the Ministry of Education and Training and their permission and will in front of the camera of the national television, completes the argument and they speak in such a way that it seems like the seal of truth is upon every lie, deceit, and rightful argument.

According to their statement, if a school manager commits a mistake [meaning taking compulsory money], we will refer them to the administrative offenses department to have their case investigated.

Although these denigrating words may take away from the blessed moments of dear readers, I would like to ask for permission to add a part of the Deputy Minister of Education’s speech for the sake of fairness and not neglecting the meaning. He stated: “A budget of 3 million and 300 thousand tomans has been allocated per student… But this amount is still not enough to cover the current expenses of schools.” (4)

What do you think is the meaning of this proverb?

Why is the past and present of educational programs not firmly established with the words of the officials and the esteemed members of the education commission of the parliament?

“این تصویر یک منظره زیبا از کوهستان است که در آن درختان سبز و زیبا قرار گرفته اند.”

This image is a beautiful landscape of a mountain where green and beautiful trees are placed.
This student is angry and says, “The school only has four desks and chairs from 10 years ago. It has no facilities; none. Why do I have to pay for gas?”

There is not a day that you do not read news about this in the newspapers and authorized and unauthorized media, and do not face criticism from wounded people. Perhaps a system of these humorous words has provoked the saints to write unanswered letters and with repeated obligations to pay these unjustified amounts, it has created more bitterness in their hearts than ever before.

“Please allow me to express my astonishment at the fact that, as the esteemed deputy of the Minister of Education has stated, the per capita cost for each student is 3 million and 300 thousand tomans. I cannot believe that in the past 40 years, not even a quarter of this amount has been allocated to students and instead, it has been completely removed from the education budget. Meanwhile, European countries, with a dollar equivalent of 1000 tomans, have a per capita cost for each student between 35 to 57 million tomans per year, and some neighboring countries have even higher amounts. So if the per capita cost for students is as much as the esteemed deputy has claimed, then what is the reason for all the promises, glory, martyrdom, arguments, and commitments?”

Why have the owners of high positions in the parliament and Ministry of Education never paid any attention to the humble requests of those passionate about transparency in the field of education, and this pain continues to repeat?

It is interesting that the “seven decision-making authorities for the Ministry of Education” in a symbolic superiority, present the tree of pure justice with criteria of educational equality and non-class-based schools and mention the following examples:

All schools should allocate the same amount of money for each student in similar academic levels.

2- Schools should be equal in terms of size, equipment, and facilities in similar educational levels.

3- In all schools, the number of subjects offered should be the same.

And…

This is a picture of a beautiful garden.
The per capita cost for one academic year of high school education in a deprived area with a capacity of 80 students is 200,000 Tomans.

These same authorities, as decision-makers and decision-makers, create more than 20 types of schools (6) and contribute to the commercialization of education, and no word is spoken except through media silence.

What should I say? If the invitation and reason are to pay attention to the third season and article 19 and paragraph 9 and also article 30 of the Constitution and the indicators and components of justice and free education, then what is the purpose of these ambiguous and mysterious words?

And if it is for the purpose of privatizing education, then why all this fuss?

Notes:

1. “Founders, Mohammad Javad, bitterness of receiving compulsory payment from schools on parents’ shoulders, Parliament, September 17, 2016.”

2. Taking money in exchange for providing report cards or enrolling students in public schools is against the law, ISNA, July 16, 2018.

3. But if mandatory assistance is provided to schools during registration, the Young Journalists Club, June 20, 2017.

4. Heydari Mo’ini, Masoud, the educational allowance per student is 3 million and 300 thousand tomans, Quds newspaper, 17 Bahman month 1395.

5. Hosseini, Gholamali, An Analytical Study of Teachers’ Struggles from the Tobacco Movement to the Present, Iranian News.