Iran launches 10-year reform of school educational system
Education Minister Alireza Kazemi said on Friday that Iran will overhaul its student pastoral and character education framework to align it with the needs of a new generation, unveiling a 10-year reform plan with annual operational targets.
Speaking at a ceremony in Tehran, Kazemi said existing structures were no longer fit for purpose as pupils grow up in a vastly different social and technological environment from previous generations, IRNA reported.
He said the ministry would redesign methods, content and organizational structures within schools’ pastoral departments to address students’ intellectual, cultural and social needs in what he described as a rapidly evolving digital era. Schools must move beyond purely academic instruction and place structured character development alongside formal teaching, he added.
Kazemi confirmed that new approaches would incorporate digital tools and online platforms into pastoral activities under defined educational frameworks, signaling a shift towards regulated use of technology in student development rather than blanket restriction.
The most concrete measure outlined at the event was a decade-long program for what officials termed a “modernized pastoral system”. Deputy Minister for Cultural and Pastoral Affairs Sadegh Hosseinzadeh Maleki said the plan sets a 10-year horizon with annual implementation phases, designed to raise the quality of non-academic education and increase structured student participation in school and community life.
The program will be rolled out through teachers, counsellors and school administrators nationwide. Officials did not provide budget figures but described the reform as a systemic redesign rather than a pilot initiative.
Iran’s pastoral education units, embedded in schools after the 1979 revolution, operate alongside the formal curriculum and focus on social skills, identity formation and civic engagement. The new blueprint seeks to recalibrate that model for a generation shaped by social media, digital communication and shifting cultural norms.