Educators in Turmoil, Minister of Education on Pilgrimage

According to the official website of the Ministry of Education, the new minister has traveled to Saudi Arabia to participate in the Hajj rituals. This comes at a time when educators are experiencing turbulent days due to economic and professional issues. Reza Morad Sahraei, who was appointed as the new Minister of Education on May 30, entered the ministry during a crisis marked by delays in teachers' salaries and challenges related to the implementation of teacher ranking. The minister's presence at Hajj while educators' issues remain unresolved strengthens the criticisms raised during the dismissal of the previous minister. On April 3, Ramin Karimnia, a member of the central council and head of the teacher ranking follow-up task force, stated that the dismissal of the minister was an excuse to overlook the main problem and that it was an attempt to reduce noise through change. Ignoring the problems in this sector has been a persistent issue for educators over the past four decades. In August 2022, the general secretaries of three educators' associations wrote to the heads of the three branches of government regarding the problems faced by educators, emphasizing that the government does not recognize the rightful role of education and teachers in the country's development. The neglect of educators' issues is not limited to the new minister's pilgrimage; during the days when teachers faced challenges due to unpaid salaries from the previous December, the former minister was also on a pilgrimage to Karbala. Mohammad Wahidi, a member of the Education Commission in the parliament, stated on April 3 that 'in such sensitive conditions, the minister was also on a pilgrimage to Karbala and was not present in the country while educators were in a critical situation.' Regardless of salary amounts, delays in payments, types of contracts, and ranking, the main demands of teachers have been implemented in recent months, but the manner of implementation has led to increased 'anger' among teachers. Consequently, teachers have many complaints regarding the ranking processes, evaluations conducted by assessors, the manner of points awarded, and the possibility of losing ranks due to budget constraints. The Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that 'teacher ranking' entered the implementation phase after 10 years, but the way it was executed by the Ministry of Education has resulted in significant teacher protests. The performance of the Ministry of Education has also led to protests from the head of the Planning and Budget Organization, with Davood Manzoor stating on June 22 that the teacher ranking should not have turned into such a significant issue and that the Planning Organization was equally at fault as the Ministry of Education. The promise to implement the teacher ranking law has not been fulfilled; the Ministry of Interior has called for the deprivation of protesting teachers. Sentences have been issued for educators in Fars Province; a court session for 11 teacher union activists from Khuzestan was held. The Teachers' Union stated that the appointment of Morad Sahraei is a 'mockery' of teachers and students. There is ambiguity regarding the ranking of 200,000 teachers; the Planning and Budget Organization claims that nothing has been left undone. Contradictory statements from education officials regarding teacher ranking have emerged, and many teachers have been deprived of the 'ranking law' by order of the Ministry of Interior.