When talking about teachers, the conditions of teachers in the country, their problems, the process of change and developments, the ups and downs of education and learning, facilities, and different perspectives in different times and governments are discussed; but on the eve of World Teachers’ Day, our unintentional focus turns towards teachers in different parts of the world, their varying conditions, and their influential social status, and our minds automatically turn to examining and comparing this profession globally.

From this perspective, the conditions and situation of teachers can be examined in two areas.

a) The current situation of teachers in Iran.

“In the first section of this article, we will discuss an overview and a list of the current situation of teachers and the education workforce within the country; as this topic has been repeatedly addressed in various forms and by many individuals, including our predecessors.”

1- It seems that if we don’t consider these days of the new government, which have a scent of change – although partial – (although it is still too early to judge and we only hope that the basic rights of teachers will be restored), we can easily say that we have experienced the darkest days of culture and education in recent years!

The shocking and contradictory legal and administrative regulations against education officials and members of educational guilds, who were operating with legal permits, were some of the most bizarre and conflicting behaviors that we could witness from a ruling regime.

The new president of Iran, on the first day of Mehr, speaks about “not using violence against students”, while a number of teachers in society have become victims of violence, discrimination, and inappropriate treatment by the government, and some also have various judicial sentences in hand and are ready to be summoned and executed.

“من دوست دارم که به تو پیام بفرستم”

I want to send you a message.

One of the most important issues in the field of education and training, which has a widespread impact, is the use of experienced, planned, and solution-oriented forces for management at both macro and micro levels. Unfortunately, in the first step of the new government, Iran’s education system was deprived of having such a manager for this ministry by the country’s parliament.

3- Having well-organized associations with clear bylaws and objectives is another necessity of the education system that unfortunately is severely lacking in our country. Not only does it limit the activities of these groups, but as we have seen, the license for the Teachers’ Guild was not renewed during the last days of the previous government, causing it to lose its legal status.

4- Living conditions and welfare facilities are still on a downward trend, and the imbalance between salary increases and inflation is making the situation more difficult and restrictive day by day.

5- Teachers, in terms of their position and status at work, do not spend good days; because they have been treated with indifference in various ways by the authorities and it can be said that in some cases, these issues have been institutionalized or are heading towards institutionalization.

One of the notable responses from Hamidreza Hajibabaee, the former Minister of Education, to reporters about their salaries is: “It is none of anyone’s business how much teachers make and why they make less! Do we ask you how much you make?!” This is while different countries, based on available statistics, officially announce the salaries and incomes of their teachers.

b) Conditions of teachers in the global arena.

By making a simple comparison of the living and economic conditions of teachers in other parts of the world, we can determine our position in the world in terms of the importance given to the education system. For example, the salary of a teacher in Iran is about forty times less than their counterpart in England!

“When the education system is at the center of development in all developed countries, and always prioritizes the allocation of resources, facilities, and desirable living conditions, it is the educators and human resources who have been at the forefront. In fact, the average income of a primary school teacher in England reaches up to 180,000 pounds annually, which is 20-30% higher than the annual salary of average government employees. It can be expected that the country will progress based on standard indicators.”

As an example, the level of salary in America varies in different states. For instance, in Washington, a teacher’s salary starts from 36 thousand dollars per year and can go up to around 52 thousand dollars, while in New York, the highest salary is around 72 thousand dollars. The salary also varies according to different levels, but currently, the average salary for teachers in America can be considered to be around 50 thousand dollars.

And these are under conditions where if we look optimistically, the average salary of teachers in Iran is about 3 thousand dollars per year!

At the end, it can easily be reminded of the role of the education system in the progress of different countries and also search for the reason for the backwardness of countries in this organization.

The amount of teachers’ salaries in Iran and England, World News website, October 11, 2010.

2- Comparison of Iranian Teachers’ Salaries with Their Foreign Counterparts, Fars News Agency, 17 Ordibehesht 1392.