According to IRIB News Agency, Ali Farhadi, at the meeting on planning and signing the cooperation memorandum between the Ministry of Education and the Statistical Centre of Iran, stressing the importance of statistics in the country's decision-making system, said: 'To achieve the goals, we must first identify our resources and specify the expenditures, and then, by determining precise methods and processes, provide the ground for effective decision-making and increased productivity.'

Referring to the position of education in the country's development, he added: 'The role of statistics in the education system, especially for countries seeking growth and progress, is of special importance. If in various economic sectors we face a change in the amount of production, its effects can be examined; but the matter becomes more important when we know that the most important capital of any country is its human resources.'

Farhadi, stating that human resources are considered the most valuable wealth of any country, explained: 'Manpower can play an effective role in the country's progress only when it enjoys the necessary health, skill and capability. From this perspective, the education system bears a grave responsibility in nurturing this enormous capital.'

He added: 'To realize its goals and educate students who can attain the ranks of the pure life, in accordance with the Document of Fundamental Transformation, education must calculate its resources and expenditures carefully. Achieving these goals will not be possible without precise and reliable statistical information.'

The deputy minister for planning and resource development at the Ministry of Education, referring to the increased attention to statistics in recent years, said: 'Today, in education and in many management systems of the world, this conclusion has taken shape that precise statistics are the main basis of correct decision-making, and without them the desired results cannot be achieved.'

Farhadi went on, referring to the role of statistics in managing the human resources of the Ministry of Education, to say: 'Based on statistical calculations and estimates, this year we should have recruited about 24000 new personnel; but given the wartime conditions, it was not possible to carry out this recruitment. Nevertheless, with the help of expert capacities and human-resource management based on statistical data, efforts were made so that at the start of the school year we would not face a shortage of manpower.'

He referred to the issue of teacher transfers and said: 'More than 93000 transfers have been carried out among teachers. These measures were taken with the aim of preserving teachers' peace of mind, strengthening the family foundation and increasing productivity through raising their satisfaction.'

Farhadi added: 'Of these transfers, about 65000 were carried out through the relevant systems and without direct human intervention; a matter that shows the effective role of information systems and statistical data in improving the management processes of education.'

The head of the Statistical Centre of Iran at this meeting, referring to the importance of cooperation between the country's statistical system and the decision-making system, said: 'That we can, in cooperation with each other, turn a static movement into a dynamic one is a valuable act. If the subject were merely conducting a census, perhaps such motivation would not have arisen in many people; but this great event caused various bodies to step up, and today we can carry out the census.'

Referring to the role of education in this field, he stressed the importance of using the extensive network and electronic capacities of this ministry, and thanked it for the cooperation and facilities placed at the disposal of this plan.

Goudarzi, referring to the readiness of colleagues for cooperation and implementing the desired measures, considered the Statistical Centre of Iran a scientific and specialized body and said: 'Our colleagues in various fields have the necessary expertise and strive to produce the statistics the country needs.'

Source: IRIB News Agency