After Employment Test; Revolutionary Activities and Membership in Basij Required for Teacher Recruitment

The website "Shenasnameh Gavan" has published a notice regarding the "complementary assessment and selection process" for teachers hired in the Ministry of Education, indicating that "activity in revolutionary institutions," including Basij and Quranic education, will be one of the conditions for employment. This notice, addressed to candidates participating in the Ministry of Education's recruitment exam for teaching positions in 1403, states that alongside registering personal information and uploading required documents, candidates must also upload images of documents related to "achievements or rankings in Quranic studies" and records of political and social activities in "revolutionary institutions and charitable activities such as Basij." The notice emphasizes that candidates for teaching positions must have certificates related to educational, research, and revolutionary activities. Additionally, candidates are required to provide documentation of their teaching experiences and activities in higher education institutions, revolutionary groups, schools, cultural, educational, and research centers. These requirements are among the points that candidates who participated in the exam on Esfand 18 of the previous year and are now identified as the selected ones must present in order to pass the "selection" phase in education and participate in related interviews and evaluations. Education experts assess this notice as part of a shift in the country's educational system towards an ideological focus, believing that soon, after compensating for teacher shortages by recruiting Basij forces and clerics, independent teachers will be purged. This process seems to have begun long ago. In this regard, on Azar 18, 1402, the Secretary of the Cooperation Headquarters of the Seminary and Education announced the presence of "female clerics" in schools as elementary teachers in line with the "Islamic transformation" of education, stating that "cleric soldiers" are also present in schools. Reports indicate that the presence of clergy in schools has been seriously pursued since the "rise of Ebrahim Raisi's government" and actions have been taken for this purpose. Accordingly, Yusef Noori, the former Minister of Education, declared his priority during the confidence vote for the Ministry of Education as "a leap towards a new Islamic civilization and nurturing a civilization-building generation." This approach continues under the ministry of Reza Morad Sahraei, with the Secretary of the Cooperation Headquarters of the Seminary and Education stating that determining and introducing representatives of the seminary to the Research and Curriculum Organization of the Ministry of Education in eleven learning areas is among these initiatives. Hamid Nikzad, the Secretary of the Cooperation Headquarters of the Seminaries and Education, mentioned on Dey 22 of the previous year that there are 17,000 clerics working and preaching in the country's education system, noting that "some of these clerics are revolutionary and work for the promotion of religion without any expectations." Nikzad emphasized that "the connection between mosques, schools, and families is one of these programs, which has been communicated to the provinces for many years under the Sabil plan." According to Nikzad, "the presence of clergy in education is in line with the fundamental transformation document." These statements indicate that the Minister of Education's approach is planned in accordance with a higher document prepared by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, ultimately following the directives of Ali Khamenei. Reza Morad Sahraei stated on Farvardin 13 that 72,000 teachers will be hired in 1403, and new textbooks will be introduced in the first grade of elementary school starting from Mehr 1403. On Dey 17 of the previous year, Morad Sahraei also mentioned, "We have trained 20,000 students to call to prayer." Morad Sahraei also emphasized in Dey 1402 that "the groundwork for recruiting 19,000 educational instructors has been realized after fifteen years of waiting." Critics have stated that these 19,000 educational instructors are to be recruited from among the clerics, and Morad Sahraei has also mentioned that the training college for educational instructors in Qom has started operating and recruiting educational instructors is on the agenda. This action, from the perspective of analysts, is not unrelated to Morad Sahraei's performance report, as the Minister of Education of the Islamic Republic stated in a report last winter that providing over 1.6 million square meters of "prayer rugs" and expanding the plan to create 9,000 mosques were among the most important actions of the Ministry of Education, and currently, 7,280 prayer rooms are under construction in schools and educational centers. The ideological approach in the educational system and additional costs for advancing religious and ideological matters, as well as employing clerics in schools, has occurred while a large number of teachers who have been active in the educational system in recent years have faced numerous problems regarding the provision of professional rights or the nature of contracts, leading to ongoing professional protests in recent months and years. Evidence suggests that the approaches of governments in the educational field align with fulfilling the demands of Ali Khamenei. Accordingly, the change in the content of textbooks, which has been a concern of the Supreme Leader for years, is also on the agenda, and according to the Director General of "Witness and Veterans Affairs" of the Ministry of Education, "the promotion of the culture of martyrdom in schools has begun, and the content of textbooks will also change with this approach." According to this report, Ali Khamenei has repeatedly shown sensitivity to the content of textbooks and has called for a review of the content of educational subjects. In Ordibehesht 1401, during a meeting with a group of teachers and educators from across the country, he stated that "useless content in textbooks should be removed." Khamenei's demand for changes in educational content began in the 70s of the solar calendar. In one of his speeches in 1379, during a meeting with "clerics," he called for planning for transformation in the curriculum and textbooks of major educational centers, especially in education. In Ordibehesht 1393, the Supreme Leader also stated in a meeting with teachers and educators that changes should occur in this system both in terms of form and content. The shadow of poverty over the tables of educators; narratives of meager salaries and uninsured work of teachers. The Minister of Education states that "revised" textbooks will be taught from Mehr month. Mohammad Moradi Nasari, a Kurdish teacher, was dismissed due to a "negative inquiry from a security agency." The Coordination Council of Teachers' Trade Unions of Iran warned about the consequences of the presence of clergy in schools. The consequences of ideological education in schools; teachers: students are not interested in subjects like "religion." The Secretary of the Teachers' Association: severe budget deficits are the cause of teacher shortages for 460,000 students. Simultaneously with the dismissal of "student teachers"; the Minister of Education announced "classes without teachers." Student teachers were dismissed on the brink of employment.