Education Minister Approves New Amendments to the Organizational Structure
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Approval of structural amendments at the Ministry of Education to reduce positions and merge departments
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
Minister of Education M. Sayed Jalal Al-Tabtabaee issued a decision approving amendments to the organizational structure of the Ministry of Education, encompassing a package of administrative and organizational changes aimed at curbing administrative bloat, redistributing competencies and responsibilities, and merging several departments and organizational units with similar nature. These measures seek to achieve optimal utilization of human resources and enhance the efficiency of administrative and institutional performance.
The Ministry of Education clarified that the new structural amendments include reducing the number of General Director positions from 14 to 10, a decrease of approximately 28.6 percent. Additionally, the number of Department Manager positions was reduced from 72 to 63, and Administrative Inspector positions from 260 to 197. The number of Section Head positions also declined from 482 to 331.
The Ministry added that the total number of positions outlined in the organizational structure will decrease from 845 to 613, a reduction of 232 positions, representing a cut of approximately 27.5 percent. This reflects the Ministry’s direction toward building a leaner administrative structure based on rationalizing supervisory levels, distributing workloads and responsibilities more evenly, and enhancing the efficiency of organizational units.
The Ministry pointed out that the amendments are not limited to reducing numbers and supervisory posts; they also include reorganizing competencies and merging similar units. This contributes to simplifying procedures, reducing administrative workflow steps, accelerating decision-making, unifying competency references, and minimizing overlap and duplication among departments, thereby positively impacting the quality of educational and administrative services provided.
Regarding the most significant amendments to the sector of the Assistant Undersecretary for General Education, the Ministry noted the reduction of the sector’s affiliated General Departments to five: the General Department of General Education, the General Department of Private Education, the General Department of Measurement and Evaluation, the General Department of Supporting Educational Services, and the General Department of Guidance, Research, and Curricula. This aligns with a strategy aimed at unifying educational and supervisory competencies and enhancing integration among departments involved in the educational process.
The Ministry clarified that the new structure includes merging Religious Education and Special Education under the umbrella of the General Department of General Education. This achieves unified administrative and organizational supervision, strengthens coordination among various educational models, and returns the monitoring of examinations and student affairs to the sector within educational districts across their various sections and competencies. This enhances the connection of these tasks to the educational field, facilitates the follow-up of student and examination matters, and unifies work procedures in educational districts.
The Ministry further stated that the amendments also included redistributing certain competencies related to supporting educational services. Specifically, the monitoring of activity guidance, library guidance, and educational technology guidance were transferred to the General Department of Supporting Educational Services. This enhances the integration of services provided to schools, unifies supervision over areas supporting the educational process, and improves coordination among entities responsible for implementing educational programs and activities.
Regarding the sector of the Assistant Undersecretary for Administrative, Financial, and Technical Affairs, the Ministry of Education stated that the amendments included reorganizing the sector and reducing the number of its general directorates to five: the General Directorate of Facilities and Projects, the General Directorate of Financial Affairs, Supplies, and Warehouses, the General Directorate of Human Resources and Services, the General Directorate of Development, Planning, and Quality, and the General Directorate of Technology and Information Systems.
It clarified that the reorganization involved merging financial affairs, supplies, and warehouses into a single general directorate, with the aim of unifying the financial and administrative system related to procurement, supplies, and inventory management, and enhancing oversight and coordination among these functions, thereby contributing to improved efficiency in managing financial and material resources and streamlining procedures for disbursement, supply, and storage.
The amendments also consolidated human resources and services functions under one general directorate, thereby strengthening integration in the management of employee affairs and related services, facilitating the harmonization of procedures, and developing mechanisms to monitor job and service needs. Additionally, development, planning, and quality functions were merged under a single administrative umbrella, supporting the linkage between strategic planning, development initiatives, and performance quality measurement, and ensuring that efforts are directed toward achieving institutional objectives according to clear priorities and measurable performance indicators.
The Ministry of Education noted that retaining the General Directorate of Facilities and Projects and the General Directorate of Technology and Information Systems within the new structure aligns with the institutional focus on developing educational infrastructure, overseeing projects and facilities, and continuing the digital transformation and updating of technical systems, which are considered fundamental pillars supporting the development of the educational and administrative system.
It emphasized that redistributing functions among general directorates and various sectors aims to achieve greater clarity in supervisory and reporting lines, enhance responsiveness to operational requirements, avoid duplication of tasks, and enable directorates to fulfill their responsibilities within defined and integrated mandates, thereby raising the level of institutional coordination and strengthening performance effectiveness.
