The latest reshuffle in President Ahmadinejad’s administration came into effect at the weekend and saw the departure of his minister of education, Mahmoud Farshidi.
He has been replaced by the head of Payam-e Nour University, Alireza Ali Ahmadi. If and when he makes it through the Parliament and is able to convince the 290-member chamber of his credentials, Ali Ahmadi will become the second person to head the sensitive ministry of the incumbent government within two years.
With over a million on its heavy payroll, including teachers and administrative staff, the Education Ministry is the largest executive body in the country. It is responsible for teaching and training close to 14 million children in our primary, secondary and high schools.
It is obvious that today the job of educating children is not an easy enterprise. All over the world teachers, educators and experts are grappling with new challenges of learning and letting learn. After all, the classroom is the place where all our future scientists, innovators, managers, engineers, teachers, leaders and experts are in.
Without doubt, investing in the education of our children means investing in our future and that of our nation.
So, the monumental task demands direction, strong management, proper planning and money. Weakness and inefficiency in any of these sectors will bring in its wake losses and consequences that even the most powerful and mighty rulers cannot afford.
Our education sector has been plagued with poor planning, insufficient funding and scores of other deficiencies that go back to the years before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Add to that the omnipotent problem of mismanagers.
With the victory of the revolution came a major leap forward. The literacy campaign was effective in that it resulted in major breakthroughs in education and training, plus reducing to a large extent adult illiteracy.
As per available data, Iran is among the top ten countries in promoting literacy and its gigantic efforts are underpinned by strong national will. But problems have existed that must be addressed with equal determination so that intellectuals run our affairs and meritocracy becomes the only game in town.
Needless to say, the 1980-88 Iraqi-imposed war sapped the nation’s ability a willingness to lift the standard of education as billions of dollars went to defend the country from the western-backed military aggression. After the conflict, post-war reconstruction took away the lion’s share of successive national budgets development spending as major infrastructure and entire cities and towns had been destroyed by Saddam’s Iraq and had to be rebuilt.
Like it or not, education was one key area that suffered in those years albeit for unavoidable reasons.
Moreover, the baby boom and unacceptably high fertility rates during the 1980s became a big part of the problem. To say the least, in less than a quarter century the country’s population almost doubled while funds and facilities to meet their overgrowing needs in all spheres did not increase in tandem.
Education ministers in the past hardly missed the opportunity to make their valid case vis-a-vis lack of funds for the huge sector. It is reported that the Education Ministry has long been in the red and is now at least 22,000 rials ($2.3 billion) shy! Plugging such disturbing budgetary holes will be a gargantuan task.
It seems Farshidi pulled out due to the continuation of such structural problems with no early light at the end of the tunnel. His departure could and should set the stage for the long-awaited for qualitative and quantitative improvement in education and affiliated institutions.
Last but not the least, when it comes to macro management, efficiency and effectiveness of ministers and senior managers is what counts. Therefore, cabinet reshuffles in the present government should neither be surprising nor unexpected.