Reactions to the Wave of University Professor Dismissals; Salehi: This is No Longer a University

Reactions to the wave of dismissals of university professors in Iran and their replacement with 'professors' close to the government continue. Dariush Rahmanian, a suspended history professor at Tehran University, stated: 'The Ministry of Science is easily neglecting its institutional dignity and spending it to keep incompetent managers.' According to this prominent history professor, if this trend continues, one should read the last rites for the humanities. Regarding his suspension and his criticisms over the years, he said: 'They probably think I am long-tongued.' Additionally, Ali Akbar Salehi, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, remarked: 'The academic staff cannot be injected in bulk.' Salehi added: 'We cannot, God forbid, inject a number of people into universities without sufficient attention to their scientific quality and other qualifications and send them to class. This is no longer a university!' He referred to the 'difficult' and 'sensitive' economic conditions of the country, stating that small excuses should not become large pretexts. However, the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Interior issued a statement deeming the dismissal of a 'few' professors suffering from 'scientific stagnation' as a 'revolutionary duty' and thanked the Ministry of Science. Furthermore, Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of Kayhan newspaper, expressed satisfaction with the dismissals, confirming the suspicion that these dismissals are politically motivated and linking them to last year's protests. In Kayhan, Shariatmadari praised the presence of 'committed brothers' in university classrooms, writing: 'The news of employing our committed brothers Sabati and Mozun as guest professors for teaching at Sharif University faced an onslaught from Western-oriented groups because the commitment of these two brothers to Islam and the Islamic Revolution and their opposition to the enemies of Islamic Iran has been proven many times.' Meanwhile, Mohammad Reza Aref, a former official of the Islamic Republic who is a member of the recruitment committee at Sharif University, resigned in protest on Tuesday, September 6, in response to the new wave of pressure on Iranian universities to change the educational staff and bring in prominent government figures. Some professors and student councils in Iran reported on Saturday, September 4, the 'dismissal and suspension' of several professors from Sharif, Tehran, and Tabatabai universities. Ali Sharifi-Zarchi, a faculty member of bioinformatics and artificial intelligence at Sharif University of Technology, also wrote in a message that he had received his dismissal letter from the university. Following last year's protests, Sharifi-Zarchi accompanied the protesting students and was even summoned by security agencies. He had reported a week earlier about the Iranian government's covert move to recruit several thousand new government-affiliated forces as university professors. Two days ago, he was dismissed from Sharif University. The 'Iranian Academic Association' issued a statement on Sunday, September 5, warning against the 'destructive interference' of government, security, and intelligence institutions of the Islamic Republic in the field of education and universities. On the other hand, alongside the widespread dismissal of 'critical' professors from universities and on the eve of the new academic year, several government-affiliated forces have been replaced as 'professors' for the dismissed professors. Previously, Amir Hossein Sabati, a presenter on the Ofogh TV network and a member of the Stability Front, had obtained the title of professor at Iran's most prestigious technical university. These two loyal forces to the regime are set to teach the course on the Islamic Revolution in the upcoming semester. Farshid Noorouzi, a former faculty member at Mazandaran University, told the Persian section of Voice of America: 'The atmosphere of Iranian universities is one of oppression, not a scientific environment.' The intensification of the dismissal of opposing and critical professors and students of the Islamic Republic continues; Ali Sharifi-Zarchi was dismissed from Sharif University. Concurrently with the widespread dismissal of professors, the Ministry of Science issued a call for the recruitment of 3,000 professors. The widespread dismissal of university professors continues; the decline in the global ranking of universities and a new wave of migration are evident. A Sharif University professor called the covert recruitment of fifteen thousand professors aligned with the government a 'catastrophe.' The 'educational rent-seeking' file remains unaddressed; offenders are on the verge of graduation. Medical scientific associations warn that the dismissal of prominent professors threatens the future of the country. A collective protest by students at Tehran University against the deprivation of the right to education for activists of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement continues. The repression of students in Iran 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 'scientific incompetence.' The president of Tehran University stated: 'We have not dismissed any professors; we have 'terminated cooperation' with them.' The dismissals from universities continue; students at Bandar Abbas Medical University are under threat. A protest by nine professors from Azad University against 'removal and telephone harassment' stated: 'It is as if we have never existed.' The dismissals of university professors continue; 'respectful' dismissals from Azad University; 'teaching is the work of revolutionary individuals.' A hundred professors from Iranian universities protested the suspension of Hassan Bagherinia.