Hard-line Iranian Government Reviews University Professors Contracts

Hamed Irani, Rooz Online:

Rooz reporter reports that Ahmadinejad's ultra-hardline government has decided to review the employment contracts of university professors who were hired since 1997. The review is expected to lead to some expulsions. Iran’s “cultural revolution” in the early days of the 1979 revolution too led to the expulsion of tens of university professors who were deemed to be “un-Islamic”. If the expulsions restart, many teachers will be forced to stay at home and give up teaching. READ MORE

It is reported that officials in the ministry of science, research and technology have been tasked to implement this decision in the beginning of the Iranian New Year which falls on March 21st. Since coming to power late last year, the new hardline government has been talking about the need to Islamicize the universities around the country, which is interpreted to mean the firing of many teachers. A controversial step in this goal was the appointment of a cleric to be the chancellor of Tehran University, an even that sparked much criticism and protests. Observers believe that teachers of social sciences will be the focus of the new round of reviews and likely firings.

Many university professors from Tehran, Alameh Tabatabie and Shahid Beheshti (Melli) universities have already been warned that their contracts would not be renewed. At the same time the hardline ministry of science has already taken a practical step towards the Islamization goal by expelling some prominent scholars such as Dr. Namakdoust, Dr. Ghazizadeh and Dr. Morteza Mardiha form their posts. Such changes have been criticized and protested by academics, students and other professional circles.