Waqf-based Strategies for Reforming and Developing the Iranian Educational System

Endowment or waqf has a long history and has been emphasized in Islam as a good tradition. One of the main strategies for using the Waqf entity is to link it with the scientific system of the country. Due to the centralized and state-oriented policies governing the scientific system, the progress of education and research in the country faces many problems. Endowment as a long-standing traditional and popular institution in can be one of the main capacities for reforming the scientific system. The purpose of this research is to explore the foundations for the reform of the scientific system. The method of data collection and analysis is the library and thematic analysis method. Based on the results of this research, five main themes and organizers which are derived from the analysis of the content of written literature related to the central and comprehensive content of "the relationship between the endowment and the institution of science" are Economic dimension, International dimension, Technology dimension, human dimension, and Capital distribution dimension. Based on the results of this research, the investment of endowments in the use of world-class technologies in education and research, livelihood support of professors and students, decentralizing and popularizing the management of scientific centers, scientific diplomacy, endowment fundraising, preservation of scientific and historical centers, the establishment of independent libraries and research institutes, the creation of international publications and scientific databases based on endowment strategies, are the basis for the reform of the scientific system of the country.