Gender equality or inequality in the educational system of Ilam province

Introduction: Educational equality is newly considered in  social, political and economic system of the nations. Many conventions, treaties & statements in the world emphasizing these rights have been determined and issued. This issue has been considered in politic, economic and social development plans of Iran. Explaining this issue in undeveloped areas such as Ilam province can provide improvement opportunities in developmental plans. So, this study was done to  investigate the issue of equality or inequality in educational system of Ilam as one of the under-developed areas in Iran. Methods: This   evaluative research was  carried on the base of Ilam population and housing census in 1390. The population of Ilam including 503840 subjects was studied. Gender equality in education was assessed with Gender parity index presented by UNESCO and the international institute for educational planning.  data were analyzed using SPSS version 16  through descriptive statistics. Results: Analysis of gender in equality in educational system of Ilam province showed that this index is worse than the  country index baseline in  junior high school (0.90 to 0.96) and high school (0.84 to 1.01), gender inequality was against girls. In senior high school (1.38) inequality was against boys. Gender equality has been achieved in higher education level (0.99). According to Ilam's counties, Abdanan city had the best gender equality in educational system especially in senior high school. But this index was inappropriate in other cities. There was a large difference  in terms of the desired status. Conclusion Given the rural context of Ilam province and the importance of male gender, the inequality against girls during junior high school and high school is justified; because decisions are made inside the family structures  in those periods. This status will be reversed in the senior high school. Totally, it is expected that policymakers in education attempt to remove deprivations of the girls, because having equal opportunities ensure them to have a growing healthy society which is based on,  a national believes  as well as the new social conditions