Kanoon was founded by Mr. Kazem Ghalamchi in 1993 as a private educational institution. Initially a math teacher, Mr Ghalamchi followed his entrepreneurial instincts to create an institution that could help students prepare for the competitive National University Entry Exam (Concour) in Iran by designing mock exams for them. His vision was to empower students to become self-learners by offering them affordable access to Kanoon services.
Kanoon held its first exam with about 70 students at Azadegan high school in Tehran. Soon, this service proved to be extremely popular, encouraging the rapid expansion of Kanoon around Iran and also the diversification of its services towards providing educational books, customised educational planning and personal tutoring. These services were designed to allow students to evaluate their performance nationally through different periods in order to show them where and how they could improve their learning.
Now, Kanoon has 410 branches in 400 cities of Iran. Importantly, Mr. Ghalamchi obliged Kanoon in 2005 to devote its entire annual profits to social development projects that focus on promoting equal access to education in Iran. Since then, Kanoon has become even more active in building schools and libraries around the country, while also, providing scholarships to disabled and financially disadvantaged students. Here, you can see how Kazem Ghalamchi remembers Kanoon's first Plan-based Examination.
"In a Friday Fall of 1993, we held the first Plan-based Examination in the basement of the Azadegan School, at Fourth Boostan Street, Pastaran Avenue. Although after that day many similar exams have been held on Fridays, I never forget the very first exam, such a significant event. About 70 students had forgone their sleep, rest and fun on a weekend morning, committing to attend Plan-based Examinations every two weeks for the rest of the year in a regular and persistent manner. However, I admit that I have never imagined that such an educational method, which embodied planning, self-learning and regular examinations, would later be developed into a necessary principle of educational planning. Now, every weekend of the year, hundreds of thousands of students, voluntarily and enthusiastically attend these exams."
Kazem Ghalamchi, July 2014