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November 6, 2024

Aman Gholich Shadmehr; The Solution to Today’s Education Dilemma in the Country is Localization/Conversation with Siamak Malamahmoudi

The representative of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and member of the Education and Research Commission of the Parliament talks about the situation of virtual education in the country and Shad network, saying that “my evaluation is somewhat negative and students have not been able to benefit enough from the Shad system.”
He is Aman Ghlich Shadmehr, representative of the Gonbad-e Kavus constituency in the Islamic Consultative Assembly. We sat down with him to discuss virtual education and the Shad network, and he also shared his criticisms with us in this regard. He says that he has had several meetings and negotiations with the executive officials of the country. He even says, “I have corresponded with the Minister of Communications. I have also had face-to-face conversations with him about the problems of lack of internet access in our province.” But when I finally ask him to rate the performance of the executive branch in this area from zero to twenty, he gives a score of “around ten to twelve

As a representative of the parliament and a member of the education commission, how do you evaluate the status of virtual education in the country and do you think the government has been successful in implementing it in the current academic year?

Education officials themselves say that a portion of students still do not have access to virtual education and the Shad network. You also know that the Shad program is not equally accessible everywhere. We have bandwidth issues. We have internet coverage issues in some areas of the country. We have the issue of the price of smartphones and the inability of many households to afford them. We also have the problem of producing electronic content. There are many issues. The speed of the Shad software is low. Children in some areas, especially border areas, have to climb hills to get reception, especially in the cold. My evaluation is not very good. In my opinion, centralized management in the country has also contributed to this situation. If provincial management is given authority, it will reduce some of the social damage it has caused. The problems in the virtual space are also a contributing factor. In any case, my evaluation is somewhat negative and students have not been able to fully benefit from the Shad system.

Has the council activated its monitoring tools in this area to oversee and resolve these issues?

Yes, we always discuss the issue of access in our meetings. We have allocated several meetings of the Education and Training Committee to the Shad system. We have also discussed the topic of the internet and related software, as well as other issues. They have been investigated and reported on. The Education Committee of the Parliament has had various meetings with the research or educational deputies of the Ministry of Education. The Minister of Education himself has prepared a report on the virtual space and presented it to the committee. Many letters have been written, highlighting the shortcomings, deficiencies, and damages. They have also issued a call for action on how to reduce the level of concentration in this area.

We have many solutions in this regard. For example, the issue of indigenization, meaning the production of educational content based on the needs of provinces. The provinces themselves should conduct needs assessments and provide educational programs through their local television channels. We should also make use of the free tablets and delegate authority to the provinces, moving

As you mentioned, some areas of the country have not been able to connect to the network. Has the Parliament summoned the Minister of Information Technology to ask him to expand internet and access to the virtual space to the farthest corners of the country?

In the places where we ourselves and each of the representatives of the Education Commission have been, we have informed the Minister of Communications of the existing blind spots and problems. I have also corresponded with the Minister of Communications. I have also had a meeting with him in person, where we discussed the problems of lack of internet access in our province. Places where Hamrah-e-Aval (mobile network) is available, places where Irancell is available, and places where there is no telephone connection. We have addressed these issues, but there are still many problems, especially in the border areas of our country. All border areas that are difficult to access and mountainous. It can be said that we have this problem, whether in Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, or Khorasan. There are many areas that do not have internet coverage.

Your statement is completely correct that many areas do not have internet coverage. On the other hand, according to the constitution, education is free in Iran. Virtual education also requires resources. Many families are poor and cannot afford to provide these hardware. Some students have committed suicide due to lack of access to smartphones. What do you think should be done and how can the parliament and government solve this issue?

The council, which can request ministers and ask them questions. It can ask for reports from them. These are issues. But it does not have executive power. Now the prices of hardware such as smartphones have increased significantly. Impoverished families also do not have the purchasing power and are struggling financially. Some rent out Android tablets and smartphones. It means a space called rental Android phones and tablets has opened up. The Relief Committee also provides these tablets, but says that first they must pay 700 to 800 thousand tomans. If a family had this amount of money, they could buy it in installments! What problem does this solve for the Relief Committee ?! From the beginning, families cannot afford 700, 800 thousand tomans or even 500 thousand tomans. They pay for these in installments. Or they give a loan of one or two million. This puts families in trouble and makes struggling families even more desperate. This has made it impossible for free education to be

The country is in a state of emergency in dealing with the pandemic. The need for free education is also being discussed. Is there a solution to this particular situation we are facing?

I said the only solution is to localize the educational content for each province. They should use local radio and television stations. This means teaching through provincial networks. This is the best solution for everyone to have access. Anyway, all households have televisions today. At least in areas where we don’t have internet coverage, they should do this so that it can be effective and practical.

Has the solution you mentioned been discussed and have the implementing devices been considered?

Researched but not paid much attention to. On one hand, the national broadcasting company does not cooperate. On the other hand, it demands money. I don’t know the main issue, but it has been discussed. They said that the educational content should be based on the needs of each region and province, taking into account its specific aspects and moving away from a centralized approach. The authority should be delegated to the provinces. The provincial network should be utilized. But it has not been implemented. What challenges and issues exist, I am not aware of them in detail.

We don’t know how long this pandemic will continue. Has there been any discussion about the education budget of the country so that we don’t face many of the issues we faced this year again next year?

The educational, research, and scientific budgets have always been very limited. This has been an issue every year. These funds and budgets have always been low. From the first week of December, these issues are separated and discussed in detail by the commission.

If you were to rate the executive devices of the country in the field of happy network and the state of the virtual space of the country in the conditions of Corona from zero to twenty, what score would you give them?

Something around ten to twelve. It is not a perfect match and today’s situation has many damages. Despite their efforts, the Minister of Information Technology has said that we are working on improving the situation, increasing bandwidth and covering weaknesses. However, nothing has happened yet and there are still many problems.

You are the representative of Gonbad-e Kavus County from Golestan Province. What is the status of educational coverage in your province?

Whenever I go to a different area, I visit two or three schools and sit down with their teachers and talk to them. The students who are not in school, but the teachers are sitting in their offices and doing their online work and content creation and teaching. They have been able to make some progress in terms of education. However, they have complaints about many issues. Especially the internet, which is not responsive during peak working hours. Internet outages and the same issues we mentioned, such as bandwidth and slow upload speeds. Teachers are complaining about these issues. But in border areas, there is no such thing. There are no tablets or smartphones. In areas like Dashli Borun and the border, students don’t even know what an Android phone or tablet is!

So what do students do in these areas now?

They have divided the 25 to 30 person classes into two groups of 12 or 13 people, who come in person and spend two to three hours studying and taking their lessons before leaving. If there is a video projection, they use it, but if not, they sit in person in some areas and study while their teachers teach them.

Thank you for the time you have given to the peace process.

Created By: Siamak Molamohammadi
November 21, 2020

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Aman Gholich Shadmehr Children Corona School Coronavirus crisis Deconcentration Education and training Indigenization Monthly Peace Line Magazine Number 115 peace line Siamak Malamhamedi Students Virtual education پیمان صلح ماهنامه خط صلح ماهنامه خط صلح