چكيده لاتين :
At the threshold of constitutionalism, the place of Iran entered a new phase of change in
the political, social, and cultural structure, which was very different from the previous period.
The education system is one of the areas that has undergone significant changes during this
period and has been transformed from traditional to modern methods. In the city of Yazd, the
modern education system of the Qajar period, especially after the Constitution, experienced a
growing trend following the wave of modernity in the country. This article seeks to ask what
factors provided the grounds for the establishment and growth of the new educational system
in Yazd. The paper states that in addition to providing social conditions for constitutionalism,
Yazd Zoroastrians should be considered an influential and pioneering group in the way of the
development of schools and, as a result, the establishment of a new way of teaching in Yazd.
Additionally, other factors should be considered: Yazd’s trade and cultural ties with other
European and Asian countries, due to the arrival of Orientalists and missionaries in Yazd;
occupational emigration of Zoroastrian to India, followed by financial expansion and the
establishment of educational institutions in their hometown; attracting the attention of Indian
Persians to the spread of Zoroastrian religious knowledge; efforts of the rich and merchants of
Yazd and some of the clergies and non-Zoroastrian religious minorities; the advent of the
printing industry, followed by the emergence of newspapers and the exchange of information.
Besides, the first steps in education of girls of Yazd, both in Zoroastrian girls’ schools and in
missionary schools, were no exception.
Introduction
In the process of modern schools, Constitutional worked as an accelerator and reflection of
public requests. The presence of Christian and Jewish missionaries in Iran was one of the
issues that influenced the development of modern schools. This issue caused the preference of
trading-economic aspects and also the presence of religious minorities like Jewish and Zoroastrian in this city. They made use of backwardness of education and remedy in cities of
Iran, including Yazd, and paved the way to propagation by founding schools and medical
centers; nevertheless, they influenced the education. So we can assume that the thought of
modern education and the Constitutional Revolution had a mutual relation. Also, in Yazd city,
as the Zoroastrian minority were exempted from usual prohibited things for Muslim women,
followers of this religion accepted the training of women soon. In 1903 AD, Zoroastrians built
the first Zoroastrian girls᾽ school in Yazd. This initiative was arising from the relation of
Zoroastrians with their co-religions in India and Europe.
Material & Methods
Given that there is no independent work in the area of Yazd educational system in the
discussed period, in this research, the authors have tried to study and clarify this subject by
studying documents, available books, newspapers, journals, and other sources.
Discussion of Results & Conclusions
In Yazd city, in Pahlavi I period, important schools were built that still exist. Iranshahr,
Keikhosravi, and Markar schools were of this kind of school. They give a clear vision of the
transition of the traditional educational system to the modern one, explaining how Yazdi
people accept modern schools and the extent to which school graduates affect the society or
scientific-cultural and social sphere of the country. In the Qajar period, schools of Yazd
Muslim citizens, like the whole country, had the same two, old-fashioned primary and
religious Islamic schools of early kinds. In 1900, the first modern school of Yazd was built by
Moshir al-mamālik Yazdi nearby the Shāh Square. Therefore, for the first time, kids learned.
From Constitutional Revolution to Pahlavi I, many factors affected on the tendency of
people of Yazd to modern education that some of them are: 1) commercial and cultural
relations with other European and Asian countries especially India, 2) the graduates of Dar
ul-Funun who worked as early teachers of modern schools, 3) the presence and the role of
Zoroastrian religious minorities, 4) efforts of intellectuals, 5) the influence of newspapers and
exchange of information, 6) the role of Christian and Jewish missionaries. Although this
should be noted that Christian and Jewish missionaries pursued propaganda and other
purposes, nevertheless, this kind of activity was effective in the establishment and
development of modern schools in Yazd.
The modern schools of Yazd that were effective in the formation of mental and thought
sphere, social and political transition, and also educative teachings and civil welfare are:
Keikhosravi high school: this school was built in 1869. This primary school was instituted
eighteen years before Dar ul-funun. It was a primary school for twenty years and became a
high school in 1889.
Markar school: it was built in 1922 and its girls and boys primary school was established in
1927. Then its high school was instituted in 1934.
Iranshahr school: it was the first cultural institution in Yazd that as a high school instituted
and presented multiple and complete high school lessons. This high school was the
continuation and complementation of the top state school of Yazd. Among the greatest
scientific characters who taught in this high school, we can refer to Dr. Qini, the famous
Iranian mathematician, Dr. Mohammad Ali Eslami Nodooshan, and Dr. Mohammad Hossein
Papoli Yazdi.
Izadpeyman girls high school: this was the first girl's school in Yazd, which was built in
1904 for Zoroastrian girls.
The development of modern schools in Yazd confronted social, financial, and political
problems. The biggest obstacle was the disagreement between traditionalists and some
clergies. Families believed that old-fashioned primary school literacy was enough. Before schools became public, some of the families that had no financial ability didn’t let their
children go to school. Girls, in the religious society such Yazd, above preventions like sitting
in a classroom next to the following of other religions, confronted other preventions like
Hijab and the distance from home to school. More importantly, the teaching of non-Muslim
teachers wasn’t acceptable.
As a result, following the Constitutional Revolution, many schools were built in Yazd and
naturally modern schools some disagreements at the beginning, though traditional education
besides the modern one, continued for a long time with special purposes. Religious minorities had
a key role in the development of modern education in Yazd. Iranian Zoroastrian residents of India
and the relation of Zoroastrians of Yazd with them were very effective in the transformation of the
educational system. So, more than thirty girls and boys schools were built in Yazd and its suburbs
that all of them were supported by the financial assistance of Iranian Zoroastrians who were
residents of India. The development of new assets of civilization, such as the telegraph and
printing industry, was very influential in transferring information and knowledge. When
newspapers emerged, people's need for modern knowledge was reflected more than before. So,
the modern educational system was gradually formed in Yazd and developed insofar as education
of girls accepted as a necessity. Education of women who are half of the society, therefore,
entered a new phase and they were educated in modern schools.
