Administration and Management of the Education System

The Ministry of Education and Culture (now the Ministry of National Education, MONE) is responsible to the government for the planning and execution of education. At the central level, the organizational structure of the MONE consists of the following units: the Secretariat General; the National Institute for Educational Research and Development; the Inspectorate General; the Directorate General of Basic and Secondary Education; the Directorate General of Higher Education; the Directorate General of Out-of-School Education, Youth and Sports; and the Directorate General of Culture.

At the lower level, the MONE is represented by a Provincial Office of Education in each of the twenty-seven provinces, and by a District Office in each of the 305 districts. The major task of the provincial and district offices is to operationalize, manage, adapt and implement ministerial policies on education and culture with respect to each of their distinctive features and local and environmental needs.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs is responsible for the Islamic primary school (Madrasah Ibtidaiyah or MI), which is equivalent to primary school, and for the Islamic junior secondary school (Madrasah Tsanawiyah or MT), which is equivalent to junior secondary school. Provision of higher education is managed by the MONE through the Directorate General of Higher Education, as well as by the Military Academy and the College for Civil Servants.