Warning from Medical Scientific Associations: Dismissal of Prominent Professors Threatens the Country's Future

A group of medical specialists and faculty members from medical universities expressed concern in a statement about a 'coordinated plan to dismiss prominent professors simultaneously with mandatory retirement or group restrictions on others.' This group of Iranian physicians criticized the silence of relevant institutions regarding the 'planned sidelining of distinguished and sometimes unique faculty members from various educational arenas' and warned that the dismissal of prominent professors or their forced retirement is the source of the country's depletion of knowledge in all aspects. In the continued harsh response of the government towards the academic community and simultaneous confrontation with protesting students, many university professors who had an 'anti-government' stance during recent popular protests have been threatened, suspended from their jobs, or dismissed. Human rights organizations reported that during the widespread protests in Iran in 2023, students from over 100 universities across the country participated and supported the protests. Intimidation and beatings in the university environment, threats and intimidation of families, bans on entry, and arrests by security agencies outside the university are part of the government's efforts to suppress and silence students in conjunction with the nationwide protests. The collective protest of students at Tehran University against the deprivation of the right to education for activists of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement continues; 435 students have received suspension or dismissal orders. An official from the Ministry of Science stated that the dismissal of some professors is not political but due to 'academic incompetence.' The President of Tehran University claimed that no professors were dismissed, but rather 'cooperation was cut off' with them. The dismissals from universities continue; students at Bandar Abbas University of Medical Sciences are under threat.