Minister of Education Approves Comprehensive Regulatory Framework for Education as the Sole Unified Reference for the Educational Process
Minister of Education Eng. Sayed Jalal Al-Tabatabai officially approved the comprehensive regulatory framework for education in the Ministry of Education in its final form, with its provisions to take effect from the date of issuance of the relevant ministerial decision. This framework serves as the unified and sole regulatory reference for all aspects of the educational process, following the completion of its preparation, review, and consultation phases with experts and professionals working in the educational field.
The issuance of the framework caps a comprehensive institutional effort that included reviewing existing systems, regulations, and documents; assessing their practical implementation in the field; holding consultative and specialized meetings with relevant sectors and entities; and leveraging the expertise of specialists and educational practitioners. Additionally, an initial draft was presented to educational professionals for feedback and suggestions, and their opinions were solicited via the Ministry’s website during June last year. The insights and proposals received were incorporated into the development of the framework’s content, culminating in its final approval as a comprehensive regulatory reference that addresses school needs and tackles challenges identified through actual implementation.
In this regard, Minister of Education Eng. Sayed Jalal Al-Tabatabai stated that the issuance of the final comprehensive regulatory framework marks a new phase in organizing educational and pedagogical work, reflecting the Ministry’s orientation toward building a clearer and more stable system based on unified rules that precisely define roles, responsibilities, rights, and obligations within the school community.
Al-Tabatabai added that the framework is the product of a collective and institutional effort involving work teams, specialized sectors, and field practitioners, through continuous technical, legal, and pedagogical reviews, as well as consultative meetings and specialized discussions aimed at testing proposed provisions in light of the actual reality of schools and the needs of their staff. He emphasized that the Ministry ensured that field observations were an integral part of the framework’s development process, leading to its final form.
He noted that the Ministry of Education was keen to transition from a multiplicity of documents, regulations, and instructions governing the educational process to a single, comprehensive regulatory reference. The new framework will serve as the sole reference for educational institutions in organizing their operations, with the repeal of previous documents and regulations superseded by it. This move eliminates regulatory duplication and enhances the stability of decisions and clarity of procedures during implementation.
Al-Tabatabai pointed out that the learner is at the center of the development process targeted by the framework, through the improvement of assessment and evaluation systems, strengthening school discipline, organizing the educational environment, safeguarding rights and defining duties, as well as enhancing school-family partnership and activating pedagogical, social, and psychological roles within the school community.
He highlighted that the clarity of the regulatory reference extends beyond administrative aspects to encompass all stakeholders in the school community, ensuring that learners know their rights and duties, parents understand their role, teachers are aware of their responsibilities, and administrators recognize their authorities and procedures. This contributes to building a more equitable, stable, and efficient educational environment.
Furthermore, Al-Tabatabai clarified that the extensive work undertaken on the framework reflects the Ministry’s commitment to comprehensively developing the regulatory system. The preparation process involved a broad review and update of existing educational systems and regulations, going beyond merely adding new provisions to establish an integrated framework that responds to developments in education and the needs of the field.
Minister Al-Tabatabai praised the significant efforts made by working teams, relevant sectors, and field participants during the various stages of drafting and reviewing the regulation. He emphasized that consultative meetings, specialized reviews, and field observations contributed to refining many of its provisions and reaching the final version, expressing his appreciation for everyone who participated in this institutional effort.
In conclusion, Al-Tabatabai stressed that the issuance of the regulation does not mark the end of the development project, but rather the beginning of the implementation, monitoring, and impact assessment phase in the field. This aims to ensure that its provisions are translated into actual practices within educational institutions, enhancing performance efficiency while strengthening discipline, responsibility, and educational quality. He affirmed that the success of the regulation is measured by the extent to which it reflects on and improves the school reality and the educational process.
In this context, the Ministry of Education clarified that the drafting process involved a comprehensive review and update of existing educational systems and regulations. The update rate reached 100% for the kindergarten stage, 87% for the general system, 70% for the primary stage and religious education, and 65% for both the middle and secondary stages. This reflects the scale of development undergone by the regulatory framework governing the educational process.
The Ministry noted that the regulation transitions educational work from a multiplicity of documents, regulations, and directives to a single, integrated regulatory reference. Previous documents and regulations superseded by the new regulation have been abolished, making its provisions the official regulatory reference for organizing various aspects of the educational process. This eliminates regulatory duplication and enhances clarity regarding procedures, jurisdictions, and responsibilities.
The Ministry explained that the regulation consists of 22 chapters covering all components of the educational process. These range from the principles and provisions governing educational work and the kindergarten stage, through primary, middle, and secondary stages, and religious education, to registration, transfers, school discipline, social and psychological services, activities, school media, distance learning, the educational environment, examinations, behavior, and professional discipline.
It was further stated that the regulation provides specific regulatory provisions for each educational stage, taking into account their characteristics and nature. Regarding the kindergarten stage, it addressed objectives, developmental characteristics, identity building, admission and transition to primary school, geographic scope and density, inclusion of students with disabilities, teaching staff and schedules, as well as assessment, absenteeism, school discipline, children’s rights, the role of families, and distance learning.
The Ministry also clarified that provisions for the primary, middle, and secondary stages covered curricula, standards, assessment tools, grade distribution, projects, attendance, absenteeism, and examination violations, alongside general and specific provisions for religious education.
Regarding the secondary stage, the Ministry of Education reported that the regulation included a comprehensive development of the assessment and grading system. A student’s grade in each semester is now distributed between 40% for classwork and continuous assessments, and 60% for the end-of-semester examination.
The Ministry explained that classwork is allocated 25 marks, comprising 15 marks for short tests and 10 marks for student work, while the final examination accounts for 60 marks. The 25 marks allocated for student work are broken down as follows: 6 marks for participation, 6 for assignments, 6 for behavior, and 7 for projects. Regulations for school projects have been established, linking them to learning outcomes, independent work, creativity, innovation, source documentation, presentation, and discussion.
The Ministry also clarified that the regulation adopted a digital points system and verbal description (GPA), which converts learners’ grades into achievement levels and digital points, starting with 4 points for an A+ grade for scores ranging from 97 to 100.
The Ministry of Education explained that one of the key developments introduced by the regulation is the implementation of the cumulative grade point average for the secondary stage, whereby the tenth-grade results account for 10%, the eleventh-grade results for 20%, and the twelfth-grade results for 70% of the final average. It added that if a learner fails in any grade of the secondary stage but subsequently passes it in a later year, the cumulative average will be calculated based solely on the year of passing, without the prior failure affecting the cumulative average.
Regarding school discipline, the Ministry emphasized that the regulation reorganized the framework for addressing student behavior within a clearer and more graduated structure. It classified behavioral violations into four levels: minor, moderate, severe, and serious, linking each level to corrective measures appropriate to the nature of the violation and the educational stage.
It noted that the new organization is based on the principles of graduated sanctions, fairness, equality, verification of the violation, and viewing penalties within an educational, preventive, evaluative, and therapeutic context, while avoiding corporal punishment and hurtful language.
The Ministry also stated that the regulation organized the roles of the behavioral discipline committee and the school governance council, as well as the mechanisms for referring cases to them, thereby ensuring the integration of the roles of school administration, teaching staff, social and psychological researchers, and parents in addressing behavior and protecting the school environment. The Ministry further mentioned that the regulation included a comprehensive chapter on the preventive and developmental role of social and psychological services, organizing the operational mechanisms of social and psychological researchers, handling special cases, learning difficulties, and health conditions, thereby supporting the provision of a more inclusive and stable school environment for learners. It also established provisions for governing administrative and educational work within the school community, including councils, committees, and working groups, enhancing the clarity of competencies and responsibilities and improving institutional efficiency within schools.
The Ministry clarified that the regulation included provisions for organizing school media as part of daily educational life within the school, alongside a dedicated chapter on distance learning that defines its objectives, obligations, and implementation guidelines, thereby consolidating its place within the educational regulatory framework and supporting the continuity of the educational process. It also outlined standards for classrooms and the educational environment, and included specific rules regarding school uniforms and the general appearance of teachers, learners, and staff within educational institutions.
The Ministry further noted that the regulation included provisions for managing examinations, grading, appeals, and exam violations, alongside a code of educational conduct, professional discipline, professional ethics, and governance in the field of education. It also addressed violations by teaching and administrative staff, types of leave and their conditions, partial reduction of workload, partial absence, assignment, and permission-seeking procedures, concluding with relevant forms, decisions, and regulations.
In conclusion, the Ministry of Education reaffirmed that the comprehensive regulatory framework represents an integrated organizational structure that unifies reference points, facilitates access to and implementation of the rules governing the educational process, and provides greater clarity regarding the rights, duties, and competencies of all stakeholders in the school community. This supports institutional efficiency and the stability of the educational environment, while enhancing the capacity of the educational system to keep pace with development requirements and future needs.
