Non-state actors in education in Iran: select issues and contributions

Historically, non-state actors have been an essential partner in the development of modern education in Iran, from kindergarten to higher education and various forms of adult education. However, a turning point was observed after 1979 and the advent of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The central and dominant role of the Islamic State and the very ideological and exclusive discourse of the curriculum inevitably leaded to a limited and supervised presence of non-state actors. Despite the initial reticence of the Islamic State, the various formal, informal and non-formal education sectors gradually expanded their activities from the 1990s. The pressure of social demand for education and the inadequacy of Public sector have led to allowing the activities of the non-state sector. In 2019, the non-state sector comprised the majority of pre-schools, almost 15%of pupils in primary school, 12% in secondary school and41% in higher education. The participation of non-state actors is also very important in the various independent civil initiatives for the benefit of disadvantaged groups (street children, immigrant children, etc.) or around social and cultural issues(ecology, literature, gender, languages and foreign cultures, sport, professional training, non-violence, freedom, childhood, health, human rights...). ICTs have contributed to the development of distance education, widely used by the non-state sector. This is particularly the case of the institutions set up by the Iranian diaspora abroad to develop an independent and alternative education.