Iran's Education Minister Denies ‘Purge’

Iran's Minister of Education made an announcement on Sunday regarding the replacement of approximately 20,000 school administrators.

He denied it was part of a nationwide "purge" to rid the system of anyone voicing dissent and said under a new program teachers can be recruited without the need for an examination.

Reza Morad Sahraei had previously disclosed that nearly 20,000 school administrators had been replaced this year to "bring about transformations in schools" as the new academic year began. However, he now describes the changes and reassignments as "routine" occurrences that take place every year.

In a conversation with ILNA news agency, he dismissed allegations of "purging" certain administrators, claiming that some are retiring while others are being replaced by new personnel.

The development comes as Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, a Sunni member of the Iranian Parliament, criticized the "purging" by the government. He asserted that in less than five months, 15,000 to 20,000 school administrators had been removed from their positions due to "political and ideological reasons," leaving many children without adequate teaching resources.

Iran has been grappling with a teacher shortage since the beginning of the new academic year. Members of parliament have raised concerns about empty classrooms. Iranian media outlets have reported cases of parents stepping in as temporary educators. A parliamentary education committee member claimed that 100,000 classrooms in Iranian schools are currently without a teacher.

Regarding the extent of the teacher shortage, various figures have emerged in the past few weeks, ranging from 200,000 to 260,000 vacant positions.