The 'Educational Rent' Case Without Consequences; Offenders on the Brink of Graduation

The daily Ham-Mihan reported on the issue of the children of faculty members at Azad University changing their majors from veterinary medicine and insurance management to medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy, stating that 'ultimately, there has been no action taken against this major rent.' The report emphasizes that the educational rent case involving 134 individuals has not reached a conclusion after 6 years, and these individuals are on the verge of graduation. The reporter from Ham-Mihan stressed that the Student Assessment and Admission Council, the Guardian Council, and the Administrative Justice Court have repeatedly ordered the expulsion of these individuals, but due to 'lobbying, these individuals are completing their final stages of education.' The issue of educational rent was raised in 2019 when it became clear that some children of faculty members at Azad University, with ranks above 170,000, changed their majors to enter the fields of medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry. On March 14, 2020, for the first time, the 'Transparency and Justice Watch' reported on the 'behind-the-scenes' transfer of 134 children of Azad University professors from veterinary medicine to medicine. This report emphasized that according to the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council's resolution, the children of university faculty members are allowed to transfer from one university to the university where their parents work if they achieve a score of 92.5%. However, according to the 'Transparency Watch,' some children of faculty members circumvented even this law and entered medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy. Behrouz Farahani, a member of the Health and Treatment Commission of Parliament, announced in March 2020 that in 2017, facilities were created for the children of Azad University faculty members, allowing them to change their majors under certain conditions, for example, from veterinary medicine to medicine. The Research Center of Parliament, after learning about the 'rent' and examining the violations that occurred, reported the matter to the head of the Education Commission of Parliament. The head of the commission requested the Minister of Health to annul the special commission's resolution, considering that Azad University acted outside its legal authority by establishing regulations contrary to the legal executive instructions, but 'it was halted due to lobbying.' In June 2022, Hamoon Sabti, the secretary of the Education Commission of the 'Transparency and Justice Watch,' announced that the case of 134 individuals is still open and 'on the Transparency Watch's desk.' He emphasized that the matter is not limited to 134 individuals and that more than 500 individuals may have committed violations in this case. In July 2023, Sabti told Ham-Mihan that the case of 134 individuals is currently being investigated by two departments of the Attorney General's Office, and the results of the investigations are expected to be announced. According to him, the names of these 134 individuals are in the possession of the 'Transparency Watch,' although the number of people who benefited from this rent is much higher, but since their full names are not available, it cannot be explicitly discussed. Sabti stated that the issue has been proven, and the Student Assessment and Admission Council has issued a ruling; meanwhile, the then-Minister of Health, Saeed Namaki, also pursued the matter and ordered the expulsion of these individuals. In mid-July, one of the state news agencies announced that nearly a thousand individuals had committed violations in the 2022 entrance exam and are now studying as students; however, this news received significant media attention. According to Ham-Mihan, nearly six years have passed since the incident. The Health Commission of Parliament, including the head of the commission and members, has no knowledge of the matter. Shahriari, the head of the commission, told Ham-Mihan that this issue has nothing to do with them and that it has not been raised in the commission at all. In contrast, the Medical System Organization has no clear position. A spokesperson for this organization also told Ham-Mihan that this issue does not concern them; it falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health. On the other hand, Azad University is not accountable. The secretary of the Education Commission of the 'Transparency and Justice Watch' stated that this widespread violation has been overlooked: 'This issue was first exposed by the Transparency Watch, but there were many lobbying efforts to prevent action against the offenders; the offenders also tried through various means to prevent the ruling from being executed. They even filed complaints, but their complaints were rejected; however, no ruling has ever been executed against them.' The extensive dimensions of a systematic corruption: nearly a thousand 'entrance exam offenders' became medical and engineering students at Iranian universities. Arrest of 'more than 480 offenders'; the Assessment Organization: we can swear that there was no access to the questions. Corruption in the Islamic Republic; Parliament sent the case of the educational violations of the President's brother to the judiciary.