Educational Broadcasting in Iran in the 1960s and 1970s
FARHAD SABA, Ph. D. (C) All rights reserved
INTRODUCTION
THE 1960s and the 1970s were exciting, effervescent, and consequential times for Iran. After decades of disenchantment because of overt foreign intervention and domestic turmoil there was relative calm in political conditions. This period of tranquility promised a new beginning for the country. To be sure, foreign intervention and domestic turmoil did not stop.
While the country witnessed unprecedented economic growth, there were parallel religious and anti-government political currents that challenged the economic progress of the country. Nonetheless, beginning in the 1960s, there were signs of relative confidence on the part of the government be able to implement badly needed reforms that would substantially change the prospects of Iranians for a better future. Among the developing countries, Iran was not the only one that was striving for a brighter outlook. Countries in Asia and Africa that were colonized by the European countries were gained their independence in the 1960s and formed new indigenous governments to help their people to create a better life. Iran was not colonized, but had its share of extreme difficulties during the height of European imperialism; hardships that extended to the first half of the twentieth century and beyond. During the 1960s the baby boom generation wee coming of age throughout the world and were breathing a new life in many countries the world over. Iran was no exception its young people, and its old institutions with hundreds of years of history, engaged in efforts for creating a more desirable conditions for their people.
BACKGROUND
National Iranian Radio and Television (NIRT) was established during this era of optimism. Through its educational network, NIRT expanded broadcast and non-broadcast services to become a national educational technology resource to the Ministry of Education and other organizations in support of plans to develop the country. The environment in which NIRT operated was defined by several major factors. These included:
- A major effort toward economic and social development by the central state and the private sector.
- Acceptance of Keynesian economics and the ascendence of central planning by most developing countries.
- A quest for political freedom and participation among various strata of society, particularly among the younger people who hade allegiance to Islamic Shari’a, communism, or both.
- Rise of a competing narrative to economic and social development set forward by counter-traditional Shi’a hierocracy.
- Ascent of a historical anti-colonialist and imperialist sentiment among a wide swath of educated elite, the middle class, some members of hierocracy, and the rank-and-file government bureaucrats.
- Predominance of rivalry between the West and the Soviet Union that directly impacted domestic political and economic affairs of developing countries.
These factors had decisive impacts on the role, and mission of NIRT and its subsidiary network ERTI. The environment in which ERTI operated was polygonal and multifaceted. Some government decision makers, and political activists were in support of achieving its mission and vision. Others were diametrically opposed to furthering the education of Iranians through implementation of transformative projects, such as, application of educational technology to reform the antiquated educational system of the country.
Providing access to educational services for a wide swath of school-age population was the primary goal for establishing and developing educational radio and television services in Iran. The growth educational broadcasting took place when:
- The rate of illiteracy was 70%,
- Half of school age population had no access to any educational services,
- Learning for the other half was defined only as rote memorization of the contents of textbooks or taking literal dictations from a teacher.
This was while a growing number of high school students were demanding access to higher education when seats in universities were still very limited. To meet these challenges, in the early 1970s ERTI launched three initiatives. These were to:
- Systematically plan for the expansion of the organization,
- Apply state-of-the-art management practices to its operations,
- Recruit new staff members and train them in the field of educational technology.
As a result of implementing these measures, ERTI grew from an organization of 9 television producers, 2 managers and 39 administrative, technical and general support staff in 1971 to 500 professionals in 1978. The highly motivated and dedicated women and men of ERTI made an indelible mark on the expansion of educational broadcasting services in Iran by extending their assistance to the Ministry of Education (MoE) to change its outdated method of teaching. Other organizations, particularly a few institutions of higher education, were also able to extend their services beyond their campuses due to assistance they received from ERTI.
By 1978, Educational Radio and Television of Iran was a self-sufficient national resource that received recognition from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to become a regional asset.
It also gained the confidence of several key institutions that were responsible for workforce education. These achievements were gained by
- Adopting state-of-the-art management methods,
- Staff training in educational technology,
- Systemic reorganization, and
- Developing specific plans for short-range and the long-range time horizons.
RESULTS AND CONSEQUENCES
Transfer of technology with the aid of eight American universities facilitated implementing these tasks. Reorganization and application of systems concepts and methods of educational technology led to the rapid expansion of ERTI services to a limited number of schools managed by MoE and several other organizations that had an effective role in development of Iran. While there was initial success, in the last year of its growth, managers and staff of ERTI faced an upheaval in the internal political affairs of Iran, as well as historic transformations in international relations. These changes proved not to be conducive to the viability of the organization. In 1979, a new management took over NIRT and disbanded ERTI altogether. Its highly motivated and skilled staff were transferred to other tasks, left the organization on their own or were summarily dismissed.
In pages to come, the ascent of ERTI and its demise will be presented based on the available documents that include official NIRT and ERTI documents and reports as well as academic dissertations and scholarly journal articles related to the subject. From 1973 to 1978 I had the privilege of managing the organization and gained first hand Knoweldge of its mission and vision. Other than a short retrospective that the I wrote in 1994 (Saba, 1994) there is no other comprehensive first-hand account published about ERTI to my knowledge. The aforementioned journal article did not do justice to the work of hundreds of dedicated women and men who worked diligently to produce innovative educational programs and strived to bring qualitative changes to Iranian schools throughout the country. It also did not include the farsighted vision of the leadership of National Iranian Radio and Television to make broadcasting a comprehensive institution in support of the people of Iran for realizing their future national aspirations in all facets of their ancient civilization. While the presentation here is based on documents as much as possible, the explanation of political factors affecting the growth and development of ERTI does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the leadership of NIRT at the time. The author is solely responsible for description of political factors and their effects.
History is “an unending dialogue between the present and the past” (Jenkins 1995 as cited in Evans (1999, p. 193). The chronicle presented here is to provide a more informed account of educational broadcasting in Iran in the 1960s and the 1970s. This is a data point in the continuous conversation about the events in the 1960s and the 1970s in Iran when many Iranians were active in moving their country toward economic prosperity and social maturation, and many others participated in parallel activities that were founded solely on religious beliefs or political ideologies. There were many hopes and much progress, as well as many reasons for disenchantment and disappointment. The dissatisfaction eventually led to disillusionment among some and brought about a rebellion against the entire enterprise that brought the process of economic and social development to a halt.
The literature of the field of educational technology in the 1960s and 1970s did not include social and political factors as crucial variables in the success or failure of educational technology projects, particularly in developing countries. Even now these factors are not presented and analyzed with the depth and breadth that they deserve in scholarly publications of educational technology and distance education. This manuscript is a step in filling this gap. Historical factors are emphasized here to better understand their effect on the expansion of educational broadcasting in Iran and appreciate their importance for implementing similar projects in the future.
REFERENCES
Evans, R. J. (1999). In defense of history (American ed.). New York: W.W. Norton.
Saba, F. (1994). Educational radio and television of iran: A retrospective 1973–1978. Educational Technology Research and Development Journal, 42(2), 73-84.
KEYWORDS
Educational technology, educational broadcasting, staff training, economic development, developing countries, transfer of technology.
FARHAD SABA, Ph. D. (C) All rights reserved
