Former education official blames Raisi's admin for erosion of Iran's school system

A former Education Ministry official says the drastic decline of Iran's education system, marked by mass dismissals and politicized appointments, is squarely blamed on the late President Ebrahim Raisi's administration.

“This year, we are facing more than 70,000 teachers staying at home, and no solution has been devised to replace them,” former official Morteza Nazari stated in an interview with the "reformist" newspaper Etemad over the weekend.

Highlighting the current consequences of last year’s staff purges, Nazari argued that Raisi’s administration, driven by a punitive agenda, replaced qualified individuals with unqualified ones in educational institutions.

In September 2023, Iran's Minister of Education replaced over 20,000 principals in what many perceived as an attempt to "purge" schools following the unprecedented nationwide protests ignited by the death of Mahsa Jina Amini at the hands of the “morality police.”

Nazari added that with the new academic year starting in less than three months, there is significant uncertainty about how to fill classrooms with qualified educators.

To address the staff shortages, the Education Ministry implemented the "Amin" program, integrating Islamic religious teachers into the school system by recruiting 21,000 seminary graduates to teach in 7,000 schools.

Yet, Babak Negahdari, the head of the Iranian Parliament's Research Center, recently warned of a critical shortage of teachers, stating that 176,000 are needed for the upcoming academic year. He added that an additional 72,000 teachers are expected to retire by September 2024.

“The Ministry of Education is the largest executive body in the country, where about 45% of the human resources of the executive branch are concentrated,” Nazari said.

He added that this ministry is now being handed over to the administration amidst a plethora of problems, most notably a severe shortage of teachers. Nazari also asserted that following the Raisi administration's purges, many key positions were filled based on political affiliations rather than merit, further undermining the effectiveness of the education system.

He asserted that while previous administrations, including those of "reformists" Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Khatami, as well as hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, also made some “weak appointments”, none had as many “mandated appointments” as Raisi’s administration.

In 2016, reports revealed that the administration failed to ensure equal treatment for Bahá'í students, resulting in the expulsion of thousands from educational institutions due to their faith.

The former official also maintained that the punitive nature of the late President’s initiatives led to teachers and administrators who supported students protesting against the state in 2022 being disciplined, having their salaries and ranks reduced, or being reprimanded and denied promotions.

Among the many challenges facing the country’s educational institutions, Nazari highlighted that the education budget deficit "reached a peak" under Raisi’s administration. Despite claims of prioritizing education, he noted that the financial and administrative issues have only worsened.

In 2023, the Ministry's budget per student was about 12.4 million tomans, roughly $250 per capita per year – compared to Western nations allocating between $8,000 and $20,000 per student in 2019.

Nazari said the state of Iran’s education system presents a fresh set of challenges for President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian, who must now tackle these pressing issues to restore the integrity of the nation's educational institutions.