Request from Iranian Educators' Organization for a 'Fair Budget' for Education

The Coordinating Council of Trade Unions of Educators across Iran issued a statement on the occasion of the start of the school year, demanding that officials allocate a 'fair budget' for education and address 'discrimination' in the salaries of educators compared to other government employees. In its statement, part of which was reflected in the ILNA news agency, it wrote that 'it expects educators in the country this Mehr (September) to convey the message to the authorities that without considering a fair budget, it is impossible to reform the educational system.' The Coordinating Council also called on the three branches of government to take actions to realize the material and spiritual rights of students and teachers in Iran and to 'restore vitality and enthusiasm to the country's education system.' Other demands from this trade union to Hassan Rouhani's government include 'attention to free and quality education, dismantling the corrupt market of entrance exam institutions, and improving the physical space of schools and their educational facilities, especially in deprived areas.' Additionally, they called for planning to attract out-of-school children, especially girls, addressing discrimination in the rights of active and retired teachers and contract teachers compared to other government employees. Meanwhile, the Workers' Rights Defenders Association stated in a statement on the first day of Mehr that the new school year begins, as in previous years, while 'according to official statistics, more than four million children in the country are unable to continue their education and have been expelled from the education cycle.' This trade union noted that 'many students who have not yet been excluded from this cycle are studying in cities and villages under the worst conditions, in unsafe and unsuitable schools, in overcrowded classrooms, while many of them suffer from malnutrition due to poverty.' In another part of its statement, the Coordinating Council asked the judiciary to 'correct' its view of the demands of teachers and for members of parliament to 'responsibly oversee' the performance of the other two branches in this regard. Previously, the Teachers' Trade Association of Tehran Province protested the arrest of Mahmoud Beheshti Langaroudi, the spokesperson of this association, calling for the 'unconditional' release of all teachers 'in custody, exiled, and under sentence' on the eve of the reopening of schools in Iran. In this statement, it protested against 'security and unlawful actions' against trade activists, stating that 'a teacher does not belong in prison.' The Teachers' Trade Association of Tehran Province stated in its statement that 'we have repeatedly announced... that our concern is nothing but improving the livelihood of educators and elevating the education of the country's children, and we protest against these security and unlawful actions.' In Iran, security and law enforcement forces deal harshly with trade activists and gatherings, and numerous trade activists from various sectors have been repeatedly arrested and imprisoned in the country. For this reason, on September 3 of this year, two international labor and teachers' unions jointly criticized the treatment of trade activists in Iran. The International Transport Workers' Federation and Education International stated that 'the union rights of activists in Iran are denied' and announced that union leaders in Iran are arrested in connection with 'their union activities and defending their colleagues.' In this context, the requests of teachers' trade unions from Rouhani to remove barriers to union activities and the demand for the release of all teachers in Iran on the eve of the new school year have been emphasized, alongside criticism from two international labor and teachers' unions regarding the treatment of trade activists in Iran. There are also contradictory statements regarding the hiring guidelines for teachers, protests by hundreds of retirees in front of parliament, and a significant reduction in the share of the education budget.