In the run-up to the reopening of universities and the anniversary of the 2022 nationwide uprising, Iran’s government has ramped up its efforts to quash dissenting voices within academic institutions.
The regime has taken a two-pronged approach: a widespread dismissal of professors critical of the government, and the ousting of students in favor of regime loyalists.
Concurrently, the state-run Entekhab newspaper highlighted this trend with headings such as “All universities become like Imam Sadegh” – alluding to Imam Sadegh University, a breeding ground for the regime’s future officials – and “Purification is going fast.”
The brazenness of these actions has not gone unnoticed, leading to a rift within the regime itself. The Union of University Professors commented on the dismissals, revealing that “Hundreds of cases in this regard are currently suspended in various universities due to reasons as trivial as professors signing a statement or making comments.” The statement further highlighted a directive from the National Security Council which has asked the Ministries of Science and Health to hire 15,000 faculty members in alignment with this new, restrictive direction.
In a further sign of the growing internal conflict, Mohammad Reza Aref, vice president under former President Mohammad Khatami and head of the union of university professors, resigned from Sharif University’s recruitment committee. In his letter, Aref criticized the external interference in university decisions and raised concerns about the exodus of elite professors from institutions.
On August 27, the state-run Roydad newspaper reported the swift expulsion of professors deemed as critics on various pretexts, including supposed retirement or a purported “lack of scientific potency.”Supporting Aref’s claims, the “Uprising to Overthrow” Telegram channel unveiled a directive from the Supreme National Security Council issued earlier this year. It demanded the alignment of academic recruitment boards with the principles of the Islamic revolution. Additionally, a security committee formed between December 2022 and February 2022, headed by Hossein Salami of the IRGC, took decisions against rebellious students and independent-minded professors.
Alarmingly, among those recruited as “professors” are known regime loyalists. Amirhossein Sabeti, a noted torturer and journalist from the regime’s Ofogh TV channel, is slated to teach “Islamic Revolution” at Sharif University. Another such appointment is Abbas Mozon, who will instruct “Rule of Life” at the same institution. The regime’s plan will utilize university disciplinary committees, with further intentions to alter admission processes in subsequent years.
This manipulation does not stop at faculty appointments. The Etemad newspaper on August 28 stated that, following the massive purge of professors, the regime is shifting its focus to modify student admissions based on “political-religious qualifications”.
It’s evident that the regime’s chokehold on the educational institutions will only increase its alienation from the populace. This trajectory, marked by the regime’s longstanding friction with academia, as echoed by Khomeini’s disdain for universities, could prove to be its downfall in an already tense and resistant society.
MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her site, Twitter & Facebook, NCRI (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTu
MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her site, Twitter & Facebook, NCRI (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTu