Following the EFA world conference (Jomtien, Thailand, 1990), in which the strategies were set forth for the 1990s, the countries undertook to prepare a mid-decade and final EFA assessment for the period 1990-2000. The indicators related to education in the mid-1990s assessment (1996) showed that it was ahead of the assigned program in the majority of the indicators.

1. Pre-Primary committee
2. primary education committee
3. Adult education committee

To make the provinces more involved in this assessment, a National EFA assessment Workshop was held in Tehran in 1997 in which the head of education’s deputy in planning and a senior expert on statistics and planning from each province participated. During the workshop, a booklet which covered a brief and simplified description of indicators was distributed among the participants. The participants were asked to prepare all of the tables separately for their own province. This procedure made the way smooth for both educational tables and manpower assessment in provinces and the participants admitted to provide the statistical tables based on the proposed indicators. Each of the provinces was obliged to complete the concerned tables. This effort was also considered as a training for the staff of the provinces to prepare the statistics according to the new indicators and standards.

In general, this assessment involves all public and private sectors’ programs, activities and services whose goals are to supply the basic learning needs of children and young adults.

In fact, in this assessment, effort was made to consider the following.

4. The main activities of the country since 1990, carried out to meet the basic learning needs.
5. The status of the country’s performance on the six aspects of the objectives adopted by the Education for All world conference, 1990.
6. The way of administering the methods and programs of Education for All throughout the country.
7. The ways of mobilizing the financial and non-financial resources to Education for All program in the 1990s.
8. The analysis of the results of one decade of activity on the Education for All program in the country.
9. This assessment also aims at identifying the achievements and failures of this decade as well as setting careful strategies based on the actual needs and conditions.

Although the Ministry of Education is fully responsible for basic education, other governmental and non-governmental sectors, mass media, etc, involved in education, also participated in this assessment. Among the offices within the Ministry of Education which effectively cooperated with EFA committees are:

- Bureau of International scientific cooperation

10. Office for Coordination and Integration of the Plans
11. Bureau of higher technical & vocational Education
12. Office of General Education
13. Office for Cooperation and Social Security
14. Center for Intellectual Development of the Children and Youth
15. Organization of Special Education

Other ministries, governmental and non-governmental organizations which contributed to the project are:

16. State Welfare Organization
17. UNICEF Representative Office in Iran
18. UNESCO Representative Office in Iran
19. Iran Statistics Center
20. Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
21. Ministry of Construction Jihad

1. There is no Education Management Information System (EMIS) in the Ministry of Education. So in collecting data on the 18 core indicators for the last 9 years we faced many problems. Furthermore, except for the years 1991 and 1996 in which students were enrolled by age-group, the statistics for all the other years are estimate.
2. Due to the existence of different centers being responsible for pre-school education, there is no specific center for collecting information. So there was no registered data to complete tables 1 and 2.

Introduction

I: Socio-economic background

1. Physical Geography: The Islamic Republic of Iran with an area of 1,648,195sq km is located in the northeastern hemisphere, southeast of Asia and lies in the Middle East region. It is bordered in the north by Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Caspian Sea, in the south by the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea, in the west by Iraq and Turkey and on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The country is divided into 28 provinces. The total number of the provinces was 24 in 1990. In 1993 Ardabil, in 1995 Qom, in 1996 Qazvin and in 1997 Gholestan provinces were separated from East Azarbaijan, Tehran, Zanjan and Mazandaran provinces respectively and each became a separate province.

2. Demography: According to the 1996 census the population is about 60 million, 50.24 % of which is male and 49.76% female.61.31% of the population lives in urban areas and 38.34% in rural areas.

The population growth rate had some variations during the last two decades. The rate was 3.2% during the period 1976-1986. Since high population growth is considered an obstacle for social progress and sustainable development, efforts were made to bring about a decline in the rate during the past decade Available data indicates that the rate has declined to 1.5% in urban and 2% in rural areas. The average population growth rate was 1.47% in 1998.

More than half of the country’s population is within the age group 15-64, while about 39.5 % of the total population are under 14 years of age. Thus, considering the age composition, the population of Iran is one of the youngest in of the world.

Table 1: Population and its percentage in different age groups (1986-1996)

3. Religion and Language: The political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, established in 1979 under the leadership of the late Imam Khomeini ( Peace be upon him) is the only ruling system in the world where politics and religion are intertwined. (Supreme leader is the highest political and religious figure in the country).

Considering the Islamic nature of the political system, both the Constitution and civil laws are based on Islam.

According to the latest census, 99.55% of the population are Muslims, 0.17% Christians, 0.07% Zoroastrians, 0.05% Jews and 0.16% are followers of other faiths. The official language is Farsi Persian and in some provinces Azari, Lori, Kurdish and Gilaki dialects are spoken.

4. Economic Geography: Iran is one of the major oil and gas producers in the world. It has also underground resources of iron, coal, copper, manganese, nickel, aluminum, cobalt and precious stones. Gross National Product (GNP) per capita was U.S. dollars 1780 in 1997 and the per capita income is U.S. dollars 5,718.

1.1: In the I.R. of Iran, the responsibility of formal education is undertaken by the following three ministries:

- Ministry of Education is responsible for pre-primary, primary, lower secondary, upper secondary and adult education.

- Ministry of Culture and Higher Education is responsible for academic and higher education.

- Ministry of Health and Medical Education responsible for medical academic and higher education.

1.2: The education system is structured on the following five tiers:

a) Pre-primary Education: is a one-year course for five-year old children. Education at this level is optional and the purpose is to prepare the children to enter primary education.

b) Primary Education: This is a five-year course for six-year old children and continues up to the age of 11.

c) Lower Secondary Education: This is a three-year course for students between 11 and 14 years of age.

d) Upper Secondary Education: This is a three-year course divided into three branches of study: theoretical, technical-vocational and skill education (kar-danesh)

3. Theoretical branch

Those students who select this branch of study should pass 96 units in order to be awarded high school certificate in one of the following three fields:

3. Literature and Humanities
4. Mathematics-physics
5. Experimental science

- Technical-vocational branch

Those students who select this branch, will study in one of the following groups of study:

Industry, agriculture, service, electricity, materials, marine industry, agriculture, art, management, home economics , finance and administration.

At the end of the three-year period and upon passing 96 units the students will acquire skills necessary to hold a job. They will also be awarded a technical-vocational high school certificate in their related field of study.

- Skill Education branch (Kar-Danesh)

Students who study in this branch need to pass 49 general units to be awarded a first class skill certificate. Upon successfully passing 96 units they will be awarded a skill education high school certificate in their related field of study.

The aim of this branch of study is to train semi-skilled and skilled, manpower masters and supervisors for agriculture and service sections.

Skill education course graduates observing other related rules may enter pre-university course or integrated associate degree post secondary education .

5. Pre- university Course: This is a one-year course for students who complete their upper secondary education and seek to enter universities or other higher education institutions. (Diagram)

2.1: In the I.R of Iran several ministries, governmental and non governmental organizations impart non-formal education.

One of the crucial aspects of the Islamic Revolution in Iran was to implement extensive cultural and educational reforms based on Islamic principles. High ranking leaders and officials have already taken several measures in connection with providing Education for All. In this regard, a few months after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, a decree was issued by Imam Khomeini (Peace be upon him), the leader of the revolution, to establish the Literacy Movement Organization (LMO), with the primary objective of providing literacy courses for the illiterate population through a vast mobilization program. In his decree, the leader noted:

According to the decree, literacy was noticed by all sectors in society and the commitments made in 1990 EFA world conference in Jomtien, Thailand expedited the activities.

2.2:All over the country, mosques are not only considered as the venue for performing religious rituals but also the place to hold educational classes on cultural and religious issues. Thus mosques play a major role in providing non- formal this education to people of different age groups.

Additionally, mosques are used as a base to hold classes of the Literacy Movement Organization. Furthermore, municipalities have taken measures to establish and run some cultural centers and culture houses throughout the country. These centers are equipped with libraries, study halls, meeting halls and classrooms to teach educational, cultural and artistic courses. The Ministry of Education takes action to issue the license for establishment of language institutes in order to promote and facilitate teaching of foreign languages to learners of different age groups.

Presently, a large number of these institutes are actively conducting foreign language courses under the supervision of the Ministry of Education.

1.1: The first independent center for early childhood education was established in 1924 in the country which was considered as an optional rather than a compulsory course in formal education system. Owing to this, pre-primary education centers were being run by different sectors, and considering their children’s interests and needs, parents used to register their children in such centers.

During the 1980s, these centers were established within each of the state organizations or ministries under different titles such as "Day care center", "Kindergarten" or "pre-primary school" to take care of pre-school children whose mothers were employed in the concerned organization or ministry. These places were private day- care centers acting under the supervision of the state welfare organization, as a primary school affiliate or an independent school, under management of the Ministry of Education. Thus, the main practical objective of these centers was to take care of and educate the children of mothers who were working outside the home, providing them with more facilities.

3 to 5 years old: Very young child

5 year olds: Pre-school age (Amadegi)

The places where under 5- year-old children are taken care of and trained are called "Day care centers". And 5-year old children receive pre-school education or what is called "Amadegi", in farsi.

1.2: The responsibility of supervision in planning, preparing and developing educational contents for pre-primary centers is shouldered by the "Office of Textbook Development and Planning". The task of supervision over implementation is entrusted with the "Office for Primary Education" and the procurement of equipment and welfare facilities is the responsibility of the "General Directorate of Cooperation and Social Welfare", Ministry of Education.

1.3: Pre-school education trainers are selected from among teacher training center graduates in nursery education and in some cases from among educational science college graduates in per-primary field of study.

1.4: The economic, cultural, social and political changes that occurred in Iran, especially during the last two decades and the increasing rate of women’s occupation outside of the home and also the necessity of taking care of their children when they are on duty, has increased the enrollment rate of children in pre-school education centers .The Jomtien conference and the emphasis given by all participating countries on the importance and necessity of Education for All, resulted in paying greater attention to this aspect of education in Iran.

In the last decade of the 20^th century the focus was on ensuring coordination to improve and expand this level of education in the Ministry of Education and State Welfare Organization as the two major responsible bodies.

However, due to the lack of centralized planning, management and supervision in pre-primary education, each of the aforesaid governmental organizations set their own strategies in accordance with their relevant needs, available equipment, expertise and the current policies.

2.1: The main objectives of the last year of early childhood development program (i.e. pre-primary education) are as follows:

1. Preparing children to adapt themselves to Islamic principles in their personal and social life; creating in them the sense of cooperation and partnership in social activities and imbibing in them a respect for laws and regulations and to be responsive.
2. Increasing the children’s physical and mental power, their physical balance as well as their basic physical skills; paying more attention to the psychological-educational disorders of children with problems and provision of facilities and opportunities for the suitable mental and physical growth as well as development of pupils’ specific talents.
3. Teaching Persian language as a communication and learning means as well as a basic tool for reading, writing, listening, speaking and numeracy.

2.2: A one-month preparatory course in bilingual areas: Owing to language problem in the first grade of primary schools in some regions of the country where people are bilingual, the high repetition rate of first graders lacking enough mastery to communicate in Persian language, and unavailability of sufficient number of pre-primary education centers, month-long preparatory classes are being annually held in such regions prior to the beginning of the school year since 1989. The Ministry of Education provides the ground to prepare the children residing in these regions to enter primary education through presenting the required plans and issuing the relevant circulates.

2.3: Strategies evolved to fulfill the objectives:

- Allocating more indirect funds by the Ministry of Education.

-Training and education of manpower

IV: Primary Education

1.1: The Constitution of the I.R. of Iran was adopted in December 1979. In accordance with Article 30 of the Constitution, education is provided free of charge for all. The article stipulates that "Government is obliged to provide the required facilities for free education of all people up to the end of secondary level. It is also liable for expanding free of charge higher education in order to achieve self-sufficiency in the country."

Furthermore, Education at the primary level is compulsory for all school- age children. Currently a bill is under consideration to make lower secondary education compulsory too.

In the education system of the I.R of Iran , primary education is completely within the framework of "Education for All". The minimum age for the children to enter primary education is six years though under specific rules and regulations, students may remain at this level at the most up to the age of 15.

Weekly timetable includes 24 hours of study, 6 days a week.

The total number of study hours per school- year in primary education is 800 hours.

School year starts on 23rd September and ends on 5th June.

1.2: In the I.R. of Iran, the government is responsible for the development of education and the Ministry of Education is entrusted with the main task, having the most number of people under its supervision. The basic strategies of education in the 1990s were developed within the framework of the first and second 5-year development plans; but the major decisions on education are made by the Cabinet and the Higher Council of Cultural Revolution. The major decision making in educational planning including Education for All program during the 1990s was the responsibility of the Higher Council of Education, Ministry of Education.

Considering the broad range of activities in the Ministry of Education regarding "Education for All", the Higher Council has been entrusted with the macro policy making of educational plans including decision making and determining general tactics of "Education for All" during the 1990s. The Higher Council of the Ministry of Education which was formed in 1979, has 17 official members who are appointed according to the recommendation of the Ministry of Education and a Presidential decree.

There are several centers in the Ministry of Education which are performing as a coordinated and integrated body on the subject of "Education for All". For instance many departments of the ministry such as "Educational Department", "Fostering Department", "Planning Department" and also many affiliated organizations such as "The Organization of Research and Educational Planning", "The Organization for Renovation, Development and Equipping Schools", " The Organization of Special Education" and "The Office for General Education" can be named.

Based on the comments and proposals of the offices under their supervision and also those of general administrations of the Ministry of Education in the provinces, the aforementioned centers take measures to present the bills regarding "Education for All" to the Higher Council of the Ministry of Education.

After being ratified by the Higher Council, these bills are legal and binding. The provincial general administration of the Ministry of Education under supervision and coordination of relevant departments and organizations of the ministry take steps toward the execution of the ratified laws. Educational deputies as well as senior experts of primary education from the Ministry of Education hold separate meetings every six months in order to evaluate the activities carried out and to monitor the progress of "Education for All".

The results of these meetings and concluded strategies to assess the achievement level of the objectives in "Education for All" are reflected to the relevant departments and centers of the Ministry of Education.

A. The First Economic, Social & Cultural Development Plan

1.Highlighting the provision of an appropriate base for a structural change and overcoming the internal shortcomings and problems especially in improving the quality of education.

B. The Second, Economic, Social & Cultural Development Plan

1. Undertaking educational costs of underprivileged areas and allocating more share from governmental resources to these regions.
2. Paying more attention to girls and young women’s education.
3. Continuing the policy of providing facilities for experienced teachers to encourage them to serve in disadvantaged regions.
4. Providing equal opportunities in different areas of the country.
5. Paying special attention to primary education as a base of education in the country.

- Preparing children to adapt themselves to Islamic instructions in individual and social life.

- Preparing children to accept social behaviors.

- Fostering their morale to cooperate with others and participate in group activities.

- Fostering their morale to respect laws and regulations, social discipline and to be responsive.

- Fostering children’s mental and physical capabilities and teaching them basic physical skills as well as other harmonic activities.

- Establishing an environment for the growth and development of scientific, artistic, athletic and mathematical talents of pupils.

1. Making structural changes in the education system corresponding with the real needs of the society and the national development plan, in order to improve the quality and internal efficiency rate of education.
2. Provision of primary education for school-age and exceptional children.
3. Reforming the administrative structure and implementation methods in education sector.

1. Reaching a gross enrollment ratio for primary education of 6-10 year-old children from 106.5% in 1988 to 123% at the end of the first plan and to 117% by 1998. It should be noted that the reason for the decline in the gross enrollment ratio in the second plan is that all school-age children will be enrolled by the end of the first plan.

B. Achieving an intake rate of 6-10 year old children in primary education from 78.5% in 1988 to 81% in 1993 and 84% at the end of the second plan (1998).

C. For the purpose of improving internal efficiency and decreasing the repetition rate, promotion rate and successful completion of primary education in 1993 will reach 77 out of every 100 primary school pupils.

1. Revision and structural change of the national education system correspondent to the needs of society and those of the development plan, as well as improving the quality and efficiency of primary education with reference to the following:

1. Focusing on the Principles of Islam, the Holy Qur’an and the traditions of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) which emphasize the development of moral and ethical values within education programs.
2. Encouraging a spirit of respect for law, group cooperative activities, environment and natural resources and the family unit. Commitment to participation in political and social matters, attentiveness to health issues, studying as well as self-education habits, are also seen as priorities.
3. Coordinating the policies adopted by the Ministry of Education with other national policy-making entities for cultural, political, social and economic affairs. Harmonizing directives of the Ministry of Higher Education and Departments of Technical and Vocational Education as far as general principles and objectives are concerned.
4. Giving priority to overcoming shortages and problems related to the content and methods of education, especially in the first grade of primary education with reference to national ethnic and cultural diversities. This is to decrease the drop-out rates and create enthusiasm and motivation among children in continuing their education.
5. Showing sufficient flexibility in using a variety of instructional methods and benefiting from manpower, space and educational tools and equipment in compliance with the local situation, type and level of education, gender and pupil’s interests and aptitudes.
6. Giving priority to teacher training and in-service programs on a continuous basis and promoting the status of teachers, as well as specifying their position in society and within the education system as a model guide and counselor for students.
7. Stressing the importance of continuous evaluation and revision of policies, programs and educational methods.
8. Refraining from limiting evaluation solely upon tests, especially among primary school pupils.
9. Giving priority to constant study of the drop - out and retention rates, as well as the causes and reasons behind them. Thus, preparing programs for relieving the drop-out problem.

Preparing and implementing programs needed for the achievement of full enrollment and the concentration of resources and facilities for filling the gap created by educational deficiencies in the most deprived regions and groups.

Creating links and strengthening cooperation with concerned bodies and organizations towards mobilization of all resources and attracting public attention, as well as active participation in cultural, advocacy, welfare and legal matters.

Providing a segment of the necessary manpower needed by primary education, deprived and tribal areas through the expansion of teacher’s training institutes and colleges.

Reform of the administration and the methods of implementation with regard to the following:

Continuous revision of legislation, adopting policies and effective methods for the improvement of external and internal factors affecting the system.

Stressing the need for policy centralization, maintaining the central government’s management and supervisory functions as well as discharging certain programming and implementation of responsibilities to the various, regions and schools.

Providing sufficient facilities and equipment for studying and setting standards and appropriate methods to identify, choose, train, strengthen and improve different levels of management at the ministry headquarters and in the provincial, regional and institutional authorities.

Giving priority to setting and executing consolidated programs for the purpose of recruiting, training, and maintaining as well as re-training of manpower at headquarters and other offices.

Setting up an evaluation system for programs and manpower as well as relating the evaluation of programs and personnel and its results in guiding the process of staff and program development and capital investment.

Revising present regulations and setting new ones with regard to popular councils and regional education councils in order to attract the cooperation of the people and other governmental institutions at the national, provincial, regional and institutional levels.

Directing the government resources towards education services in deprived areas and low-income groups and creating an appropriate setting for the expansion of non-profit (non-governmental) schools.

Collecting information and evaluating the performance of non-governmental education institutes, providing necessary services for attracting concerned teachers, making the appropriate arrangements for the expansion of such institutions through programs like training their staff, providing technical and educational supports and loan services as well as regularly evaluating the effect and quality of the services they provide.

Providing organizational facilities and adopting appropriate implementation methods for the education of nomadic tribes, exceptional children, pre and in-service education of manpower.

V: Non- formal education

1.1: In the I.R. of Iran the government plays the most important role in non-formal education and in this respect a considerable budget and facilities are allocated to such education.

In this regard, considerable amount of funds and facilities have been allocated to education, and the LMO was established in 1980 with the responsibility of mobilizing the public to eradicate illiteracy.

In addition, other governmental and non-governmental organizations also cooperate with the government in this area. In fact, achieving objectives like: Access to primary education for all, reducing adult illiteracy rate, acquiring the knowledge and values needed for life, are among those objectives to be fulfilled.

Generally, the main policy of high ranking administrators in Iran, after the Islamic Revolution was in line with the objectives of EFA programs and emphasis was put on provision of quality EFA.

1.2: Following the historic decree of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini (Peace be upon him), the LMO was established and during the last 20 years, the statesmen have made all efforts for achieving people’s literacy. the Imam (PBUH) emphasized:

"All must rise, the illiterate to learn and the literate sisters and brothers to teach. Education for all is one of the basic needs of every nation."

Accordingly, the LMO was established with the primary goal of teaching and imparting the skills of reading, writing and numeracy to illiterate people.

1.3: According to Article 21 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran: "The government is responsible for guaranteeing that in accordance with Islamic rules, the rights of women are observed in all aspects." Therefore, the government has made a great deal of effort in promoting women’s social position and regaining their violated rights so much so that during the last two decades, discrimination among women and men has been removed or reduced considerably.

This issue was given special attention within the framework of several projects throughout the first and second plans (1989-1993, 1994-1999). Despite all efforts made, due to vast poverty among rural women and the variety of their needs in different geographical areas, fulfillment of the desired aims demands spending more time and funds. In this regard, the decree of "Women’s National Policy in the Islamic Republic of Iran" which is aimed at clarifying the overall goals and policies of the government regarding the quick progress of rural women’s affairs, has focused on quantitative growth of literacy and expansion of educational facilities as one of its aims. The decree states: "According to Article 30 of the Constitution, literacy is the most evident right of individuals, including women, in the human society."

To fulfill this, the following policies are implemented:

- Elimination of illiteracy and providing equal opportunities of literacy and continuing education for rural women and girls.

- Increasing and expansion of formal and non-formal education for rural women and girls.

- Development of technical- vocational education and making necessary arrangements for the involvement of rural women and girls in the required fields of activity.

- Making efforts to establish and develop applied courses relevant to the needs of rural women and girls in higher education.

- Emphasis on training special educators for educational-promotional programs and development of teaching methodology and teach materials which best match the rural women’s living situation.

1.4: A broad spectrum of foundations, ministries, governmental and non-governmental organizations are responsible for adult education among which the LMO, the Ministries of Construction Jihad and Agriculture, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting are governmental ones. Owing to the crucial role of the LMO in adult education, the supporting council of the organization was established in 1987. Under the President’s chairmanship, the council holds seasonal sessions to devise and approve strategies and find practical solutions for the campaign against illiteracy.

2.Strategies & objectives

1. Specifying and introducing the status of education in society and in the country’s development plans, as well as outlining the complementary responsibilities of the government and people in education and promoting national motives for popular participation and cooperation.

2. Emphasizing functional, scientific, technical and vocational education within the framework of a continuing education program.

12. Trying to ensure cooperation of related organizations in order to reform the existing rules and regulations so that all illiterates pass educational courses to enjoy facilities in society. In areas having state schools, parents are obliged to have their children of 6-10 years, study in schools. They should also abide by the child labor prohibition rule.
13. Emphasis on consolidation of learning and using reinforcing methods to prevent learners from relapsing into illiteracy and giving priority to innovations, and implementing proper methods of effective and applicable learning for employed people. In this phase the cooperation of related organizations would be useful.

1. Development of education through innovative methods to encourage adults under 40 years of age to join the learning process.

A. Eradication of illiteracy among 6-35 year olds.

B. Stabilizing literacy among new literates and preventing a relapse into illiteracy.

2.3: Policies, strategies and priorities

A. Eradication of illiteracy among 6-35 year olds, with attention to:

1.Centralizing adult education policy-making and programming with stress on literacy and delegation of executing power to regional and local units.

2. Setting priorities with the cooperation of concerned bodies in the innovation and implementation of appropriate functional literacy methods for farmers, rural craftsmen, industrial and other workers and young mothers.

3. Identifying possibilities in literacy activities for completing primary education in deprived regions and groups, in full coordination with programs of the Ministry of Education.

4. Utilizing the cooperation of concerned bodies towards the revision of all present laws and regulations so that illiterates become literate and benefit from social services, parents in the areas having state schools enroll their 6-10 year old children in school and observe the legal ban on child labor.

B. Stabilizing literacy among new literates and preventing a relapse into illiteracy.

3.1: In line with its outstanding programs in the campaign against the intricate problem of illiteracy, the LMO has implemented several plans and programs within the following two frameworks:

a. Literacy Plan for Staff and Workers

In the period 1990-1998, a population of 4,57,171 acquired literacy skills through this plan

b. Conscript Teacher Plan

In this plan the surplus draftees for military service upon receiving some educational and cultural training act as literacy teachers in rural and disadvantaged areas, the result of which has increasingly accelerated the pace of literacy programs.

3. The Plan of Literacy Mobilization

This plan was carried out in the year 1990, in which the World Declaration on Education for All was approved in Jomtien, Thailand. As a result almost three million illiterate people enrolled in adult literacy classes.

4. Armed Forces Literacy Plan

In the period 1990-1998, some 376769 people were made literate, through this plan.

5. Literacy Plan for Nomadic Tribes

During the period 1990-1998, 131,876 people were made literate, through this plan.

6. Literacy Plan for prisoners

1. Continuing Education
2. Plan of Reading with Family
3. Plan of Follow-up Groups
4. Mass Media Education
5. Book reading Competitions
6. Equipping Rural and Urban Public Libraries with Specially Devised Books for Neo- Literates
7. Corresponding Education Plan

3.2: The successful mobilization of literacy programs, implementation of post-literacy courses, strengthening the reading and writing skills, encouraging people to study and promoting vocational skills during the current decade, all of which was carried out by the LMO, led to the conferring of three international awards on the country:

- Honors Diploma and Noma prize (1990)

- Honorable Mention on Literacy (1998)

- Malcolm Adisa Shia prize (1999)

3.3: Despite its outstanding achievements, adult literacy education is facing numerous problems one of which is relapse of the neo-literates to illiteracy.

The major reasons for this are:

- Inapplicability and unappealing nature of the materials being taught

- Shortage of specialized manpower

- Improper educational spaces. Most of the literacy courses are offered in non-educational spaces such as houses, mosques, and tents which lack desks and seats and enough light.

- Financial problems and budget deficit.

- Financial and cultural poverty of illiterate people.

- Inaccessibility to some disadvantaged areas due to their remoteness

3.4: The financial resources to implement literacy programs, are mainly provided by the government. A small portion of the budget is paid by donors, charity societies, and non-governmental organizations.

In addition, UN affiliate foundations and some regional organizations effectively cooperate in the adult education programs.