NCRI - The Islamic seminaries to take over management of schools in Iran, mullah Zol-Elm, Secretary of the Center for Cooperation between Seminaries and Ministry of Education, said on November 24. “Seminaries in some provinces, especially in Tehran and Qom, have already taken over the management of schools,” he said, claiming that the move was made on the basis of a directive adopted by the Ministry of Education and it is aimed at “Responding to the cultural needs of students and their questions and doubts.”

Zahra Panahi-Rava, mullahs’ Ministry of Education official also stated that 4,000 “teachers of political training” are to be sent to schools and their task is to “inform students of the enemies’ plots” and to teach them “the appropriate ways to counter cultural attacks which is a serious threat to students.”

Recruitment of thousands of clergy and agents of Ministry of Intelligence and Security to be deployed in Schools, is taking place while the regime is refusing to recruit thousands of part time teachers despite 10 years of experience. The regime is refraining from paying their salaries and bonuses. Protests by teachers in recent years have only lead to their arrests, sending them to exile, expulsion and reduction in their payments and bonuses.

Ms. Soheila Sadeq, Chair of the Education Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, described mullahs’ seminaries plan to take over the management of schools in the country, recruitment of 4,000 agents as “teachers of political training,” setting up student Bassij bases and permanent deployment of State Security Forces (SSF) outside schools, as some of the suppressive plans by the regime aimed at intensifying repression at schools. She added that all these plans had been adopted over the past two months and it points to the regime’s extreme fear of school students who along with university students are leading the nationwide uprising against the clerical regime.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
November 26, 2009