A Survey on the Inter-Relationship of Education and Higher Education Systems

This research studies the inter-relationship of systems of 'education' and 'higher education', and delineates the unknown aspects and layers of this inter-relationship. An investigation of the history of education system shows that Ministry of Education had been in charge of the management of our education system from primary school to university up to year 1346. From that year on, the management of the higher education is separated from Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Higher Education is formed and takes charge of higher education system. After the victory of Islamic Revolution, a new ministry called "Ministry of Culture and Higher Education" was formed, and has recently been renamed to "Ministry ofsciences, researches and technology" which is in charge of higher education. An investigation of the inter-relationship of two education systems, i. e. the general education and the higher education, shows that there is no structural and procedural interaction between them. From the viewpoint of a systemic approach to educational system of our country, this system seems not to be in concordance with some of the educational trends and processes. The lack of a systematic and meaningful structural and procedural relationship between different educational sections and levels is one of the factors showing the lack of a comprehensive and holistic approach to education in Iran. Therefore, we may consider the lack of an ideal relationship between "general education" and "higher education" as one of the challenges facing the education system in Iran.