Education Ministry Issues Warning to Teachers; Mobile Phone Use in Schools Allowed Only Within 'Educational Framework'

Following the release of various images from educational environments on social media by teachers, the Ministry of Education has recently deemed the use of mobile phones in schools by teachers and students as permissible 'only within the framework of learning scenarios.' Mahmoud Amani Tehrani, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Education, stated on Wednesday regarding the latest decision on mobile phone use in classrooms to ILNA news agency: 'According to the latest resolution of the Supreme Council, the use of educational equipment within the framework of school educational programs approved by the school council is allowed, and anything outside of that is not permitted.' According to this official, all matters related to educational equipment, including mobile phones and films, fall under this category, and schools and school councils will determine the 'limit of mobile phone use' within the framework of the school's learning scenarios. The Secretary of the Supreme Council of Education, referring to the use of mobile phones by bloggers in educational environments, said: 'In the case of bloggers, the issue is different; here, the subject of public citizen rights is at stake. A teacher cannot infringe on the public rights of students, so this issue is separate from the discussion of using mobile phones as an educational tool.' In recent months, the release of videos by 'teacher bloggers' deemed contrary to the 'values' of the Islamic Republic has elicited numerous reactions from figures close to the government. These reactions escalated to the point where some of them were expelled from schools. Although Ali Farhadi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, claimed that 'no teacher has been expelled for being a blogger, and if a student is harmed by the activities of blogger teachers, legal action will be taken against the teacher.' Reports in recent months indicate that actions against these teachers have been taken under various pretexts, including 'not adhering to hijab and behavior contrary to the dignity of teaching,' which contradicts the statements of this official. Last year, in February, in response to the release of a video of students singing in a school in Qaemshahr, the director of education in Mazandaran announced the 'expulsion of the teacher' and the possibility of 'revoking the school's license,' which faced widespread backlash from social media users and the media. At that time, Abdolreza Davari, a former advisor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, cited 'Google Trends' statistics, stating that the action against the Qaemshahr teacher regarding the broadcast of 'Gangster of Amol City' had increased the search volume for this local song by Majid Ahmadi, a singer from the 1990s, to '2.5 times' more than the search for the government anthem 'Hello Commander,' which is supported by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in Iran. Education officials in Mazandaran announced that the discussed teacher had been 'dealt with' and cooperation with him had been terminated. Last week, this Qaemshahr teacher broke his year-long silence regarding the controversies surrounding that video, which had prevented him from teaching in official institutions, and explained the actions taken against him. Mohammad Moradi Nasari, a Kurdish teacher, was dismissed based on a 'negative inquiry from a security agency.' Over 200,000 students have dropped out of school this year. On International Mother Language Day and pressure on teachers, a human rights organization reported that 8 Kurdish language teachers were arrested last year. Several labor organizations in Iran issued statements on the occasion of International Women's Day: Women have become pioneers of struggles. The Islamic Revolutionary Court in Rasht sentenced 9 members of the Gilan Teachers' Union to prison.