Impact of Conflict of Interest on Education Policy-Making: With Emphasis on the Practices of the Members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly

Abstract

Conflict of interest is one of the serious challenges of educational governance in the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as it has had profound impacts on the quality and performance of the education sector. Members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, as legislators, play an important role in determining educational policies; however, in many cases, personal interests have negatively influenced their decision-making and policy formulation. The mission of the members of parliament is to legislate and develop policies to resolve issues and improve institutions, including the education sector, which in all countries is recognized as the top priority due to its crucial role in human development and investment. Nevertheless, the policy-making conducted in the Islamic Republic, due to the multiplicity and diversity of conflicts of interest among members of parliament, has not only left problems unresolved but has also exacerbated them. This study, using the grounded theory method, seeks to answer the question of how the intervention and conflicts of interest of members of parliament can be explained and analyzed in relation to the early stages of the education policy-making process. The findings indicate that members of parliament have experienced conflicts of interest in the initial stages of the education policy-making process for various reasons. The categories of weak legislation, weak role performance, ineffective institutional separation and structure, and ideology are among the most important factors contributing to the emergence of conflicts of interest among legislators.