This is an open letter to His Excellency, the Engineer, Minister of Education... With Greetings
Your Excellency, Minister of Education, Mr. Jalal Al-Tabtabaei,
You have assumed the Ministry of Education at a time when the educational system faces significant challenges requiring radical solutions and decisive measures. Among the most pressing of these challenges is the phenomenon of cheating in examinations, which has escalated in recent years to become a problem that directly threatens the credibility of the educational process and undermines the core educational values that should be instilled in students. Cheating is no longer a mere individual transgression by some students but has evolved into a phenomenon fueled by gaps in the system, including weak supervision, lack of strict accountability, and collusion by some responsible parties.
The current measure adopted by the ministry, which involves rotating school principals during exam periods, has proven limited in addressing this phenomenon. Rather than tackling the problem at its roots, the approach relies on superficial measures that do not yield the desired results. The real solution lies in establishing a strict monitoring system that ensures thorough oversight of examinations and enforces accountability for anyone found negligent or complicit, whether principals or administrative staff.
Additionally, the criteria for selecting school principals need to be re-evaluated so that seniority is not the sole decisive factor. Candidates for this position should be chosen based on high competence, integrity, honesty, and the ability to manage the educational process with firmness and transparency. Years of service alone are insufficient to guarantee performance quality; they should be supplemented by a proven track record of achievements and effective contributions to improving the educational environment.
Your Excellency, Minister of Education, Mr. Jalal Al-Tabtabaei,
Another pressing issue currently facing the ministry is the crisis of supervisory positions, which has cast a shadow over the stability of the educational field and significantly affected the workflow within schools. The sector suffers from a large number of vacancies in supervisory roles, including leadership positions, technical supervisors, and department heads. This shortage has placed additional burdens on school administrations, leaving some schools without the necessary guidance or supervision to ensure the efficient running of the educational process.
What is even more concerning is that these vacancies have not been filled with the required competencies. Instead, some parties have exploited these gaps to serve personal interests. Individuals who lack genuine practical experience in the educational field have reached decision-making positions. These individuals are neither sufficiently aware of the challenges schools face nor deeply understand the daily problems teachers and students encounter. Rather than providing effective solutions, they have used their positions to build power bases and control administrative decisions in ways that create conflicts of interest and hinder many vital procedures.
This situation has led to educational disasters over the past two years, negatively impacting education quality and school stability. Administrative decisions have become disconnected from the needs of the field and directed towards narrow agendas, exacerbating tensions between educational staff and higher administrations.
Therefore, Your Excellency, there is an urgent need to establish a clear and fair mechanism for filling supervisory positions, with competence and practical experience as the primary criteria. All current supervisory staff should be re-evaluated to ensure that those in these positions possess a clear educational vision and field experience that enables them to effectively support schools and work towards improving the educational process in a manner that serves both students and educational staff alike.
Your Excellency, Minister of Education, Mr. Jalal Al-Tabtabaei,
The organizational structure of the ministry represents one of the fundamental issues that require serious and swift attention, given its direct impact on the efficiency of work in the educational field. The current structure suffers from significant ambiguity in the distribution of tasks and powers among various departments, leading to overlapping roles and creating an unstable work environment. This overlap complicates the implementation of educational plans, as ministry and field staff often find themselves uncertain about their responsibilities, negatively affecting overall performance quality.
One of the prominent issues in this regard is the current state of technical supervision within the organizational structure. Technical supervision is considered a key element in supporting and developing the educational process. It provides pedagogical guidance and supervision for teachers, aiming to enhance their skills and performance. Unfortunately, however, technical supervisors face ambiguity regarding their position within the ministry’s organizational structure. Are they directly subordinate to school administration, or are they an independent entity reporting to higher administrations within the ministry?
This ambiguity creates conflicts of authority. At times, a technical supervisor may find themselves at odds with a school principal, where the principal might perceive the supervisor’s actions as interference in their duties, while the supervisor believes it is their right to guide teachers and provide feedback on the educational process. Such tensions weaken the role of technical supervision, which should be an effective developmental tool.
Moreover, technical supervision suffers from a lack of clear plans defining their scope of work and coordination mechanisms with other departments. In the absence of such clarity, their role becomes limited and fails to achieve the desired impact on improving education quality. This issue not only affects the performance of supervisors but also impacts teachers and students, as the technical supervisor is supposed to play a supportive and assisting role in creating a stimulating and productive educational environment.
Therefore, Your Excellency, we recommend revisiting the ministry’s organizational structure and clearly defining the position of technical supervision. Effective coordination mechanisms between technical supervisors and school administrations must be established, granting supervisors the necessary powers to perform their duties without conflicting with the authorities of other departments. There should also be a clear plan ensuring ongoing and organized communication among all relevant parties, contributing to achieving the ministry's goals and comprehensively improving the educational process.
Your Excellency,
The burden is immense, and the challenges facing the ministry are great, but our trust in your ability to confront them is greater. We believe that with your strong will and clear vision, you will be able to make the necessary changes to elevate the level of education. The educational field looks forward to your decisive decisions to bring about positive change, enhance the stability of the educational system, and improve its outcomes, contributing to building a better future for our children.
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