P erspective and Challenges of Privatization of General and Higher Education in Iran

Reviewing the composition of government expenditure on education, we found  that the proportion of non-wage expenditures has been continuously decreasing indicating the growing efforts at privatization of education in the country. This attempt is mainly aimed at transferring the burden of education expenditures from government to the families. However, privatization of education system in Iran means nothing more than leaving the responsibilities of education to unknown market forces. This approach to education system in Iran, we believe, is counter-productive, especially when taking into consideration, the low quality of private education and inability of families to pay the fees and bear the burden of such expenditures. It is, therefore, imperative for the government to improves the quality of education and reduce its costs in such a way that it would be affordable by the families. The government must make the necessary changes in education system by subjecting it to a better supervision and control on the one hand and directing education system towards job oriented training to fulfill the market requirements on the other hand.