Many Teachers Deprived of 'Ranking Law' by Order of the Ministry of Interior

On Wednesday, the newspaper Etemad reported on the promise of Reza Morad Sahraei, the new Minister of Education, to implement the teacher ranking law, stating that the ranking for all employees in education is necessary since the end of September 2021. However, many teachers have been deprived of ranking by order of the Ministry of Interior. Etemad noted that 'official narratives estimate the number of teachers removed from the ranking at 250, while unofficial accounts suggest a higher number.' Investigations indicate that the root of many of these actions goes back to the 'October 11, 2022 resolution of the Ministry of Interior,' which was communicated to the education departments through provincial governors and executed by 'emergency and special follow-up committees of education.' According to the report, in Kurdistan province alone, more than 48 teachers, in Kermanshah province 20 teachers, and in Tehran province over 80 teachers have been removed from the teacher ranking list due to pursuing professional demands and participating in civil organizations. This is while there is no clause or article in the ranking law regarding the removal of teachers from the ranking. Furthermore, some teachers have been deprived of ranking under the pretext of participating in protests. Tahsin Mostafa, a teacher with 24 years of experience in the deprived schools of Kurdistan, stated that despite the emphasis on the ranking law, 'unfortunately, the Ministry of Education has deprived some teachers of their legal rights under false pretenses for pursuing professional demands and criticizing the current situation.' He noted that 'even if a teacher is to be deprived, it should have been specified in the ranking law.' He mentioned that he has filed a complaint with the court but that officials from the Ministry of Education are obstructing his legal rights with baseless accusations. Mostafa added, 'According to administrative violation laws, if I commit a violation, I must first go to the administrative violations section for a precise investigation and evidence presentation before a ruling is issued against me. However, this process was not followed; instead, an illegal committee named emergency prevention was formed, and based on this committee's announcement, it was decided that 10 individuals in Kurdistan would be removed from the ranking, one would have their rank reduced, and one would have their class reduced and then removed from the ranking.' However, contrary to this committee's announcement, more than 55 individuals have been removed from the ranking in Kurdistan alone, and 7 of them have been ranked after signing commitments and letters. He points out that 'the education department of Kurdistan accused teachers in a letter to the court of slogan writing, encouraging the unveiling of hijab, and participating in the streets without any court ruling.' Mohammad Reza Niknejad, a teacher union activist from Tehran, who faced ranking reduction due to participation in union organizations, told Etemad, 'The basis of the ranking law is based on a reward system, and it was not supposed to be used to punish and discipline teachers.' He added, 'Groundless accusations regarding participation in protests and union activities are made without any court proving these accusations.' In this regard, Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, a member of parliament from Mahabad, tweeted on May 9 that a group of teachers in several provinces of Iran have been deprived of the ranking law 'under the pretext of accusations of participating in protests and sit-ins.' He described this issue as 'unpleasant news from education' and 'regrettable,' calling on Ebrahim Raisi, the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to 'immediately intervene in this matter and deal with the perpetrators of this illegal action.' Before Mahmoudzadeh announced this news, teacher unions had stated that many teachers had not been included in the ranking law due to their participation in union protests. The Coordination Council of Teacher Unions of Iran criticized the government's treatment of teachers, stating that this plan has turned from a tool for encouraging teachers into a means of controlling them.