Farhad Rahbar: We Have 20,000 Unemployed PhD Students

The president of Azad University announced the existence of 20,000 unemployed PhD students at this university and added that Iran no longer needs a "military of students". According to Tasnim news agency, Farhad Rahbar stated this during the thirteenth meeting of the Board of Trustees of Azad University in Hamadan province, saying, "Today we have 20,000 unemployed PhD students and 47,000 individuals studying for a PhD across the country." He warned that if no solutions are found for these individuals, it will create a crisis for the country. Earlier in November, the website Eghtesad Online reported that there are 204,000 unemployed individuals in Iran with master's and doctoral degrees. According to the Statistical Center, the largest employed population in Iran, with 5,038,000 individuals, holds diplomas and pre-university degrees. Among the employed population in Iran, bachelor's degree graduates account for more than 3,123,900 individuals. Additionally, 1,007,900 individuals hold master's or professional doctoral degrees. The smallest employed population in Iran consists of individuals with specialized doctoral degrees, totaling 100,704 individuals among the employed. Furthermore, 204,000 individuals with master's and professional doctoral degrees in Iran are unemployed. According to Tasnim, the president of Azad University stated that "the country's need today is not a military of students" and added that this university "entered the field of higher education in the country when there was a fundamental need and performed its duties well, but today Azad University must change its mission from education to research." He stated that Azad University should "take action to create jobs and new businesses through in-service training." Farhad Rahbar described the mission of Azad University as "solving the people's issue, namely employment and income generation," and said, "If we do not succeed in this path, we have not acted correctly." Mr. Rahbar did not mention who assigned this new "mission" to the university, but it seems that this decision is one of the changes that have begun with his responsibility at this university. With the selection of Ali Akbar Velayati as the head of the founding and trustee boards of Azad University, a wave of changes has swept through this university. Farhad Rahbar, who was the head of the Management and Planning Organization during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency and a member of Ebrahim Raisi's campaign team, took over the presidency of Azad University after the dismissal of Hamid Mirzadeh. In this context, in addition to the widespread dismissal of journalists from three media outlets affiliated with this university, namely Ana News Agency, Iskan News, and Farhikhtegan newspaper, there have also been reports about the "removal of opposing factions from the university body." An eight-point directive concerning the necessity of "chastity and hijab" at Azad University, avoidance of smoking in university spaces, prohibition of mixed student camps "under any conditions and titles", prohibition of music concerts in university environments, the necessity of giving opportunities to "revolutionary" students and professors to play a role in the university, and adherence to "religious, ethical, and scientific standards" in welcoming new students and graduation ceremonies are among the other changes announced during the new management of this university after the death of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. It seems that the economic situation in Iran and the increasing number of unemployed individuals, especially university graduates, have led Azad University officials to conclude that they should reduce student admissions or focus on job creation. Hassan Rouhani and education managers have also announced that students must learn "skills and creativity" in schools, and the goal of the educational system should not be "good grades" and "memorization." Before the start of Mohammad Bat'haei's tenure as the Minister of Education in the twelfth government, Mr. Rouhani had asked him that by the end of 12 years of schooling, "the student should be skilled enough to enter social activities if they do not continue their education."