Majlis Considers Funds for Education Equity

EghtesadOnline: Lawmakers discussed a bill about financial and administrative regulations for the Education Ministry and voted to allocate one percent of revenues earned by state-owned banks and firms as well as affiliated for-profit institutions to help promote educational equity, improve teachers’ livelihood, increase spending for education and reimburse teachers' overdue payments.

News ID: ۷۸۴۳۵۱

24 November 2018

The government is obliged to pay at least one twelfth of the total one percent of its income in the last fiscal to the Education Ministry on a monthly basis and settle accounts with the relevant banks and institutions by the yearend (March 2019).

MPs also explored the establishment of a new institution that could be named as ‘Educators' Bank’ and the deputy Majlis speaker, Masoud Pezeshkian, said the details of the plan need to be studied in more detail. The plan was sent to the Majlis Plan and Budget Commission for further review.

Basd on the plan, Teachers Investment Funds Co. could establish the new bank in collaboration with the Central Bank of Iran within the framework of law and by drawing on the resources of the funds, Financial Tribune reported.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development defines educational equity as a measure of achievement, fairness, and opportunity in education. Equity in education has two dimensions.

The first is fairness, which basically means making sure that personal and social circumstances – for example gender, socio-economic status or ethnic origin – should not be an obstacle to achieving educational potential.

The second is inclusion, in other words ensuring a basic minimum standard of education for all.

The Education Ministry has for long complained that its scarce resources do not allow for wider education programs especially in the remote and underprivileged regions.