Teachers' Trade Unions Protest the Dismissal of Activists and Professors; 'Abolish All Injustices'

The teachers' trade unions of Kermanshah, Islamabad-e Gharb, and Harsin issued a statement protesting the 'comprehensive assault' by the government on the 'livelihood, life, and crucial and valuable duties of teachers and university professors.' The authors of this statement described the consequences of 'destructive and ruinous educational policies' and the marginalization of basic and university education as the 'grounds' for the arrest, dismissal, and suspension of teachers, university professors, and workers, emphasizing that they condemn 'the dismissal and suspension of national assets as a complete injustice and oppression.' The signatories of this statement called for an 'end to the threats, violations, and disrespect' towards teachers and university professors and demanded the annulment and nullification of 'all unjust rulings against cultural and academic colleagues.' The recent dismissals of professors and whispers of recruiting individuals close to the government in universities have led to significant criticism. In this regard, the newspaper Etemad, published in Tehran, reported on Friday, September 9, about the dismissal of dozens of university professors in recent days and on the eve of the new academic year, referring to this approach as a policy of 'homogenizing the higher education system.' The 'Iranian Academic Association' also issued a statement on Sunday, September 5, warning against the 'destructive interference' of governmental, security, and intelligence institutions of the Islamic Republic in the field of education and universities. According to published reports, Mohsen Barahani, Daryush Rahmanian, Azin Mohadd, Hossein Alayi, Ali Sharifi-Zarchi, Ameneh Aali, Hamideh Khademi, Reza Salehi-Amiri, Roham Afghani-Khorasani, Mohammad-Reza Nazari-Nejad, Vahid Eidgah, Leili Varahram, Javad Bashari, Ghasem Azizi, Milad Azimi, Hossein Misbahian, and Mehdi Khoyi are among the professors who have received verbal or written preliminary rulings prohibiting them from teaching or suspending them from teaching. There are contradictions in the statements of the Ministry of Science officials: from claims of 'the dismissed professor's participation in riots' to the assertion that the dismissed individuals 'did not file complaints.' The policy of 'homogenizing the higher education system' in the Islamic Republic has seen 157 professors removed over the past 18 years. The Iranian Writers' Association has also warned that the purges of the 1980s in universities are being repeated. Reactions to the dismissal of protesting professors continue; the Ministry of Interior's support for this illegal action has been noted. Reactions to the wave of dismissals of university professors; Salehi stated: 'This is no longer a university.'