Reaching the marginalized: EFA global monitoring report, 2010; 2010

PROGRESS TOWARDS THE EFA GOALSYouth and adult skills — expanding opportunities in the new global economyBox 2.12: Training, skills and youth exclusion in the Islamic Republic of IranThe Islamic Republic of Iran’s experience demonstratesthe challenges facing policy-makers across the MiddleEast. Over the past twenty years, the country has maderapid strides in education. Participation at secondary levelhas increased, average years in education have nearlydoubled and gender inequalities have narrowed, especiallyin urban areas. Vocational education, however, reinforcesa mismatch between skills and jobs that perpetuates highyouth unemployment.The education system in the country is heavily orientedtowards the university entrance exam, the concour,which parents and students see as a route to secureemployment, usually in the public sector. Compulsoryeducation ends at around age 15, when students areevaluated and directed on to three separate tracks: theacademic curriculum (Nazari), technical and vocationaleducation (Fanni-Herfei) and basic skills through on-thejobtraining (Kardanesh). The aim of the latter two isexplicitly to focus on job skills, but the system fails onseveral fronts.Tracking brings high levels of attrition. Of the femalestudents who began their secondary education in2003/2004, nearly one-third dropped out after tracking(Figure 2.27). Most students pursue the Nazari track witha view to passing the concour, spurning the vocationaltracks because of their low perceived status and quality.But of the nearly 1.5 million who proceed each year tothe concour, 1.2 million fail and leave school lackingqualifications and job skills.Iranian policy-makers increasingly recognize the problemswith the current system. Of particular concern are themisalignment of education and labour markets, and thepoor quality of vocational education, which operatesthrough a network of highly centralized public trainingcentres. Many of these lack equipment and well-trainedinstructors, and they produce qualifications thatemployers see as having limited relevance.The concour system creates further problems. Most ofthe exams are multiple choice, and teaching methodsemphasize rote learning. Students other than thoseentering elite engineering and medical schools oftenemerge ill prepared to enter productive enterprises.The mismatch between education and employment isbecoming increasingly stark. Steady economic growthhas reduced overall unemployment, but youthunemployment remains over 20%. Those who completedupper secondary education have the highest level ofunemployment (Figure 2.28). Measured in terms ofemployment, the benefits of education are dwindling,along with the skills base of the Iranian economy.Education is only part of the story. Labour market rigidityand discrimination also play a role. Gender barriers toFigure 2.27: In the Islamic Republic of Iran, vocational trackingcomes with high dropout ratesCohort tracking at lower secondary level, students entered in 2003% of the cohort100806040200100Grade 1(2003)AttritionFemale211358Grade 2(2004)Grade 3(2005)Kardanesh(basic skills throughon-the-job training)Source: Salehi-Isfahani and Egel (2007).8employment appear to be rising, with unemploymentrates among women aged 20 to 24 now twice the levelfor men of that age group.Whatever the underlying causes, the skills mismatchis a pressing political concern. The rising proportion ofyoung people in the population means the labour forceis expanding by almost 4% a year, or nearly 1.2 millionpeople. Many of them will face social exclusion if theIslamic Republic of Iran fails to create enough jobs andgive its people the skills they need to fill them.100Sources: Salehi-Isfahani and Egel (2007); Povey (2005).2912752806040200100Grade 1(2003)Fanni-Herfei(technical andvocational education)Male35Grade 2(2004)Figure 2.28: Unemployment increases with level of education,but Iranian women are especially penalizedUnemployment rates by educational attainment and gender, 2005Unemployment rates (%)6050403020100MaleFemaleIlliterate Primary LowersecondarySource: Salehi-Isfahani and Egel (2007).% of the cohortSome uppersecondaryUppersecondary361613Tertiary44141229Grade 3(2005)Nazari(theoretical/academiccurriculum)Total85