Education Ministry: Continuation of workforce reorganization measures in schools starting Sunday

- A comprehensive review of school data reveals disparities in staff numbers.

- Priority for transfer is given to the most recently appointed teachers in cases where the number of teachers exceeds the school’s prescribed quota; similarly, priority for promotion in the transfer of supervisory staff is given to the most recently promoted.

The Ministry of Education announced the continuation of measures to reorganize the workforce in schools starting on Sunday, October 4, in implementation of the Minister of Education’s directives, Sayyid Jalal Al-Tabatabai, to achieve a balanced distribution of staff according to the actual needs of schools. This aims to direct energies and competencies to the sites most in need, enhance the stability of school operations, and place the learner’s interest and educational needs at the forefront of priorities.

The Ministry of Education stated in a press release that administrative reform measures in the educational field are proceeding along two parallel and integrated paths. The first involves redistributing male and female teachers among schools according to the actual need for educational specializations. The second involves reorganizing and assigning educational supervisory positions in accordance with the new organizational structure of school administrations and the approved job titles, based on a comprehensive review of workforce data and its actual distribution in schools.

It was clarified that these measures followed a series of meetings and reviews addressing the reality of the distribution of educational and supervisory staff, which revealed disparities in the number of teachers and some supervisory positions between schools due to previous organizational accumulations. This necessitated reorganizing the distribution according to unified criteria linked to the actual needs of each school, the number of learners and classrooms, as well as the requirements of the approved organizational structure.

The Ministry pointed out that a review of actual data on the number of teaching staff in schools revealed a clear disparity in the distribution of staff among some schools compared to their actual needs, while other schools had a need for the same specializations.

The Ministry continued, noting that among the cases identified, it was found that one middle school had 66 Islamic education teachers, while its actual need was only 11. Additionally, one school had 22 fine arts teachers, while its actual need was only 4 teachers from the same specialization. Data also showed a similar disparity in one kindergarten, where there were 30 teachers for only 4 classrooms. This underscores the importance of aligning the distribution of educational staff with the actual needs of each school, ensuring that available competencies are directed to the most needy sites and achieving balance among schools.

The Ministry of Education explained that, in light of these indicators, the current phase of the first path involves redistributing male and female teachers among schools according to the actual need of each school across various educational specializations, in proportion to the number of classrooms, learners, and capacity, with the aim of achieving balance in the number of teaching staff and making optimal use of available resources, paving the way for the second phase of the surplus management plan.

The Ministry added that the redistribution of teachers is carried out according to clear controls and criteria, whereby priority for transfer is given to the most recently appointed teachers in schools where the number of teachers exceeds the prescribed quota, calculated based on the number of classrooms and learners, while taking into account proximity to the school of origin.

In the second track, the Ministry of Education clarified that the measures include reorganizing and assigning supervisory educational positions in accordance with the new organizational structure of schools. This follows a data review that revealed the presence of more than one department head for the same academic specialty in certain schools, with some cases having two or even three department heads for the same subject, alongside some schools having up to four assistant principals for educational affairs. Meanwhile, other schools have a genuine need for such personnel, necessitating redistribution to achieve balance among schools.

The Ministry emphasized that addressing disparities in the distribution of supervisory positions and assigning incumbents will be based on the organizational structure and actual needs of schools. Priority in transfers will be given to those most recently promoted to supervisory roles, while considering the proximity between the school of origin and the destination school to ensure optimal use of human resources and maintain job stability for employees.

The Ministry of Education noted that the new school organizational structure includes assistant principals for educational and student affairs, drawn from teaching staff progressing within the academic cadre, as well as an assistant principal for administrative affairs, selected from administrative staff advancing through the administrative track. Vacancies will be announced later to facilitate their assignment to school administrations in accordance with approved procedures and regulations.

The Ministry further explained that the new organization stipulates one department head per subject per school, thereby clarifying responsibilities and jurisdictions, aligning with the numbers prescribed in the organizational structure, and redistributing any surplus incumbents to schools with genuine needs to ensure balanced distribution of supervisory personnel across schools.

The Ministry stressed that these measures are part of a comprehensive administrative reform, not aimed at transfers per se, but rather at addressing disparities and previous organizational accumulations, achieving equity in human resource distribution, and establishing sustainable solutions to ensure fair teacher distribution in the future based on actual school needs. This enhances the capacity of school administrations to perform their duties efficiently and supports the stability of the educational process.

The Ministry also affirmed that student welfare is the primary objective of the workforce reorganization measures. The distribution of personnel is directly linked to student, classroom, and specialty needs, ensuring that each school has the appropriate number of teachers and supervisory leaders. This contributes to enhancing the stability of the school environment and improving the efficiency and quality of the educational process, within a comprehensive vision for developing institutional performance and achieving optimal use of human resources in the educational field.