Spokesperson for the Iranian Teachers' Organization: Recently, security concerns have been added to the other problems faced by educators

The spokesperson for the Teachers' Organization states that in the past two years, in addition to livelihood and administrative issues, security concerns have also become a worry for teachers in Iran. Mohammad Davari, in an interview with the Emtedad news website, said: Summons, judicial threats, and the creation of security problems for educators and teachers have significantly increased across the country following the nationwide protests of 2022, which has multiplied the problems faced by teachers. He also emphasized that various restrictions imposed by the authorities of the Islamic Republic and the prevailing security fear in classrooms have led to increased self-censorship and hindered the effectiveness of teachers. The Ham-Mihan newspaper reported in early September 2023, coinciding with the protests of the Coordinating Council of Teachers' Trade Unions against the intensified administrative, security, and judicial crackdown on teachers' activists, that at least 80 teachers were deprived of the ranking law over the past year, and a group of other educators faced forced retirement and suspension. According to this report, some teachers were removed from the ranking due to their participation in protest gatherings in front of education departments, their union activities on social media, or their protests against the poisoning of students, and were sentenced to early retirement, dismissal, or even imprisonment. Alongside widespread protests in Iran in the fall and winter of 2022, many educators and students also expressed their opposition to the Islamic Republic by joining the protesters. Following this solidarity, in the last months of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, several schools, mainly for girls, in various cities were targeted by suspicious 'chemical' attacks, for which no report was provided by the authorities and institutions of the Islamic Republic regarding the attacks or their perpetrators. The Iranian Teachers' Trade Union condemned 'inhumane rulings' against union activists and women. Several labor and retirees' organizations stated: There is no way left but the streets. The Teachers' Union reported that 38 teacher activists were either dismissed or forced into retirement last year. An Iranian teachers' organization stated that Jafar Ebrahimi remains imprisoned despite the end of his sentence. Teachers' unions expressed hope that the people's demands would be realized in the new year.