Acting Minister of Science: I Oppose Arbitrary Treatment of Students

The acting Minister of Science, Research and Technology states that there is no term such as "starred student" and has expressed the opinion that students should not face "arbitrary treatment." Zia Hashemi, on Friday, September 15, in an interview with ILNA news agency regarding the enrollment of some "starred students" in universities with the permission of the Ministry of Science emphasized that "we do not have a title with this expression." According to this acting minister, students who "follow the legal path have the right to utilize the available capacities." Mr. Hashemi also stated that there should be a "avoidance" of "arbitrary treatment" of students, declaring that the basis of the Ministry of Science's performance is the laws approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution. Recently, a reformist member of parliament reported that the registration of "some starred students" was done with the "personal permission" of the acting Minister of Science. Mohammad Birarvandi on September 10 also stated that the problems of some starred students will be resolved in the coming days. The term "starred student," which became common since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, was used for student activists in various fields and appeared next to their names in the records provided by the Assessment Organization, leading to deprivations including deprivation of education. The status of starred students has become a topic of discussion among electoral parties in every presidential election since then. Hassan Rouhani also consistently promised to eliminate the star designation for students and to open up university spaces since the beginning of his campaign for the eleventh government. However, this issue has not been completely resolved despite the start of his second presidential term. During Rouhani's first term, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, which consisted of a significant number of principlist representatives, constantly criticized the Ministers of Science for reinstating starred students in universities. For instance, in 2014, Nasser Mousavi Largani, a representative from Falaorjan in parliament, stated that one of the conditions for withdrawing the impeachment of Reza Faraji Dana, the then Minister of Science, was the expulsion of starred students who had returned to their studies. At that time, Alireza Montazeri, a member of the ninth parliament and a member of the Education and Research Commission, also stated that the return of "starred students" to the country's universities was "impossible" without the opinion of the security apparatus of the Islamic Republic. Mr. Montazeri mentioned that the selection committee [of the Ministry of Science] alone does not have the authority to reinstate starred students and that the "security apparatus" must also express its opinion. There are no accurate statistics available regarding the number of starred students over the years, but in 2013, the Tabnak website reported, based on a student survey conducted by a number of students deprived of education, that at that time, "about one thousand deprived of education or starred students existed." According to this survey, "768 of them" were starred during Ahmadinejad's eight-year presidency, and "250 others" were expelled from university.