Education Profile of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Education System in Iran is centralized. Primarily there are two segments; 1. Education from Class 1 to 12 and 2. Higher Education. The elementary education and secondary education which covers Class 1 to 12 is taken care by Ministry of Education and Higher Education. 

The Iranian Government spends 5% of its GDP on education which sums up to 20% of government’s spending budget. 50% of education spending goes for secondary education and 21% of the annual state education budget for post-secondary education.

Children of Iran start to go school at the age of 6 for Primary education called Dabestan. Here they study for 6 years i.e. Class 1 to 6 and then move to Junior high school called Dabirestan also referred as Middle school to study for Class 7 to 9. The Senior High school (Dabirestan) includes Class 10 to 12 which is not mandatory. For Senior High school (Dabirestan) students can select study streams like theoretical, vocational/technical or manual fields. High school diploma is awarded after completion of Class 12.

Higher Education in Iran starts after completion of 12 years of school. In addition students also require appearing for entrance examinations. The Universities, institutes of technology, medical schools and community colleges, provide the higher education.