Iran

Iran (pronounced ee-RAHN), formerly known as Persia, is situated at the crossroads of Central Asia, South Asia, and the Arab states of the Middle East. It shares a border with seven countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Iraq, Turkey, and Turkmenistan. The name “Iran” means “land of the Aryans.” This country has been officially known as the Islamic Republic of Iran since the overthrow of the Shah in 1979. It is a Shiite Muslim country, but most of its people are Persian, not Arab.
The schooling system in the Islamic Republic of Iran consists of one year of pre-primary education at age 5, five years of primary education (from age 6 to 11), three years of lower secondary (from age 11 to 14), and three years of secondary school (from age 14 to 17). Students who wish to enroll in a university must take one year of pre-university training and pass the National Entrance Examination. Secondary vocational and technical education is also available. Ministries of Education and Higher Education specify a national course of study for all subjects, publish textbooks, finance the education and design, and make tests. Education is uniform throughout the country. The language of instruction is Farsi and foreign languages (English and Arabic) are taught in secondary schools. The grading system through all levels of education is based on a 20-point scale. Education is highly centralized, and All levels of education culminate at the end of the year testing which determines the students’ promotion to the next level; if students fail the end of the year testing, they must repeat the entire year. Konkur (university entrance examination) is a comprehensive test to enter universities. Instruction is content-centred, and students are required to acquire a great deal of factual knowledge.