NCRI – On September 5, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for a purge of experienced professors from the country’s universities under the pretext that they were too "liberal" and "secular." Thus, the mullahs’ inhuman regime has embarked on a widespread attempt to send into retirement or purge university professors.
According to the state-run press, “[The mullahs’ regime], in an unprecedented move, sent into retirement 53 professors of Tehran’s Science and Technology University,” (state-run daily Kargozaran, November 27). The widespread "purge" of professors with long academic records began with Ahmadinejad’s ascendancy to power, the daily said.
On September 5, Ahmadinejad said, "Our educational system has been affected by secularism for the last 150 years. Colonialism is after expansion of its own secular system … Today, students should shout at the president and ask why liberal and secular university lecturers are present in the universities."
Prior to that, the appointed chancellor of Tehran University mullah Abbas-Ali Amid-Zanjani said, “This year, between 45 and 50 of the academic faculty were sent into retirement.” It is worthy to note that by Zanjani’s own account, the professors’ “political persuasion” was taken into consideration in this matter.
The Iranian Resistance calls on all the country’s students and university staff to protest the early retirement of professors of Tehran’s Science and Technology University. It calls on all international student unions, associations, and syndicates to condemn the actions against Iranian university staff.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
December 4, 2006
