Approval of the Comprehensive Regulatory Framework as the Single Reference for the Educational Process
- Al-Tabtabaee: The regulation lays the foundation for a new phase of role clarity and stability in educational and teaching work
- Ministry of Education: Comprehensive review and updating of educational systems and regulations at varying rates across different educational stages
- 22 chapters covering all components of the educational process, from kindergarten through secondary and religious education
- Integrated regulatory provisions that take into account the characteristics of educational stages and support children’s rights and partnership with families
Minister of Education, Engineer Sayed Jalal Al-Tabtabaee, has officially approved the comprehensive regulatory framework for education in the Ministry of Education in its final form. Implementation of its provisions will begin from the date of issuance of the relevant ministerial decision, establishing it as the unified and sole regulatory reference for all aspects of the educational process. This follows the completion of its preparation, review, and consultation phases, incorporating feedback and observations from specialists and professionals working in the educational field.
The issuance of the regulation caps a comprehensive institutional effort that included reviewing existing systems, regulations, and documents; studying their practical implementation in the field; holding consultative and specialized meetings with relevant sectors and entities; leveraging the expertise of specialists and educational practitioners; presenting the initial draft to educational professionals for comments and suggestions; and soliciting their opinions via the Ministry’s website during June last year. The feedback and proposals received were utilized to refine the regulation’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 Engineer Jalal Al-Tabtabaee stated that issuing the comprehensive regulatory framework in its final form marks a new phase in organizing educational and teaching work, reflecting the Ministry’s direction 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-Tabtabaee added that the regulation is the product of a collective and institutional effort involving work teams, specialized sectors, and field practitioners, through continuous technical, legal, and educational reviews, consultative meetings, and specialized discussions aimed at testing proposed provisions against the actual reality of schools and the needs of their staff. He emphasized that the Ministry ensured that field observations were an essential part of the regulation’s development process, leading to its final form.
He affirmed that the Ministry of Education was keen to transition from multiple documents, regulations, and instructions governing the educational process to a single, comprehensive, and integrated regulatory reference. The new regulation will serve as the sole reference for educational institutions in organizing their operations, with all 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-Tabtabaee noted that the learner is at the center of the development process targeted by the regulation, through the improvement of assessment and evaluation systems, strengthening school discipline, organizing the educational environment, safeguarding rights and defining duties, as well as enhancing partnership between schools and families and activating educational, social, and psychological roles within the school community.
He noted that the clarity of the regulatory framework extends its impact beyond administrative aspects to various stakeholders within the school community, ensuring that learners know their rights and duties, parents understand their roles, teachers are aware of their responsibilities, and administrations know their authorities and procedures. This contributes to building a more just, stable, and efficient educational environment.
Al-Tabatabai also clarified that the extensive work undertaken for the regulation reflects the Ministry’s commitment to comprehensively developing the organizational 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 commended the significant efforts made by working groups, 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 is not the end of the development project, but rather the beginning of a phase of implementation, follow-up, and impact assessment in the field. This aims to ensure that its provisions are translated into actual practices within educational institutions, enhancing performance efficiency and strengthening discipline, responsibility, and educational quality. He affirmed that the success of the regulation is measured by its reflection on school reality and its improvement of the educational process.
In this context, the Ministry of Education clarified that the preparation of the regulation involved a broad review and update of existing educational systems and regulations. The update rate reached 100 percent for the kindergarten stage, 87 percent for the general regulation, 70 percent for the primary stage and religious education, and 65 percent for both the middle and secondary stages. This reflects the extent of development undergone by the regulatory framework governing the educational process.
The Ministry pointed out that the regulation shifts educational work from a multiplicity of documents, regulations, and directives to a single, integrated regulatory framework. Previous documents and regulations that the new regulation replaced have been abolished, making its provisions the official regulatory reference for organizing various aspects of the educational process. This eliminates regulatory duplication and enhances the clarity of procedures, jurisdictions, and responsibilities.
The Ministry of Education explained that the regulation consists of 22 chapters covering all components of the educational process. These range from the principles and rules 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 noted that the regulation provides specific regulatory provisions for each educational stage, taking into account their characteristics and nature. It addresses the kindergarten stage in terms of 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.
Regarding the secondary stage, the Ministry of Education stated that the regulation includes a comprehensive development of the assessment and grading system. A student’s grade in each semester is now distributed between 40 percent for classwork and continuous assessments, and 60 percent for the end-of-semester examination.
The ministry noted that student performance assessments are distributed across 25 points for learner activities and 15 points for short tests, while the final exam accounts for 60 points. It clarified that the 25 points allocated for learner activities include 6 points for participation, 6 for assignments, 6 for behavior, and 7 for the project. It further specified that controls for school projects are linked to learning outcomes, independent work, creativity, innovation, source documentation, presentation, and discussion.
The ministry also explained that the regulation adopted a digital points and verbal description system (GPA), which converts student grades into achievement levels and digital points, starting from 4 points for an A+ grade, corresponding to scores between 97 and 100.
The Ministry of Education clarified that among the key developments approved by the regulation is the implementation of a cumulative grade point average for the secondary stage. The tenth-grade result accounts for 10 percent, the eleventh-grade result for 20 percent, and the twelfth-grade result for 70 percent of the final average. It added that if a student fails any grade in the secondary stage but passes it in a subsequent year, the cumulative average is calculated based solely on the year of passing, with no impact from the previous failure on the cumulative average.
Regarding school discipline, the Ministry of Education affirmed that the regulation reorganized the system for handling student behavior within a clearer and more graduated framework. Behavioral violations were classified into four levels: minor, moderate, severe, and serious, with each level linked 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 measures, justice, equality, verification of the violation, and viewing sanctions within an educational, preventive, evaluative, and therapeutic context, while avoiding corporal punishment and hurtful language.
The ministry stated that the regulation included a comprehensive chapter on the preventive and developmental role of social and psychological services. It organized the operational mechanisms for social and psychological researchers, as well as procedures for 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 teams, enhancing the clarity of roles 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 for distance education that defines its objectives, commitments, and implementation guidelines. This reinforces its place within the educational regulatory framework and supports the continuity of the educational process. It also outlined standards for classrooms and the educational environment, and established rules for school uniforms and the general appearance of teachers, students, and staff within educational institutions.
In conclusion, the Ministry of Education reiterated that the comprehensive regulatory framework represents an integrated organizational structure that unifies reference points, facilitates access to and application of the rules governing the educational process, and provides greater clarity regarding rights, duties, and responsibilities for all parties 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.
