While the issues faced by teachers and instructors at Farhangian University persist, the Iranian regime’s policies have focused more on altering educational content and expanding state propaganda in textbooks rather than addressing the financial and legal crises of teachers.
According to the state-run ILNA news agency, instructors at Farhangian University are protesting the “unfair implementation” of salary equalization and the lack of wage increases. A total of 2,500 retired instructors from this university, who are covered by the National Pension Fund, have been excluded from any salary increases.
Equalization or Elimination of Retirees’ Salaries?
Anoushiravan Hajian, a representative of retired instructors at Farhangian University, told ILNA that “the equalization formulas have been implemented unfairly, and in some cases, salary increases for instructors have amounted to zero.”
He emphasized that despite continuous follow-ups, none of the officials have taken responsibility for this “wage injustice.”
The Teacher Shortage Crisis in Iran and the Decline in Student Performance
This retired instructor, with 35 years of teaching experience, stated that he has received no salary increase and that all attempts by instructors to appeal to the Pension Fund and the parliament have been unsuccessful.
He added, “In 2020, the salaries of non-faculty instructors were not increased, and now, in the equalization process, we have been completely ignored.”
Teachers’ Protests and Continuous Repression
The financial difficulties faced by teachers, retirees, and instructors at Farhangian University are only part of a larger educational crisis in Iran.
In recent months, widespread protests by teachers have taken place across the country, where they have voiced their grievances over low wages, lack of attention to insurance and benefits, and the poor conditions of schools and educational facilities.
Nevertheless, the Iranian regime’s response to these protests has not only been indifference but also repression.
Many teacher union activists have been arrested and threatened, and no tangible improvements have been made in their legal or welfare conditions.
While teachers’ dissatisfaction with their financial and legal conditions has reached its peak, the Iranian regime’s education policies have primarily focused on altering textbook content and promoting state ideology rather than addressing these concerns.
In recent years, under the orders of Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Iranian regime, extensive changes have been made to school curricula, including the removal of scientific and historical topics and the increase of ideological propaganda in textbooks, while teachers’ infrastructural, legal, and financial issues have been ignored.
These policies reflect the priorities of the ruling system, which, instead of improving the quality of education and the conditions of teachers, has focused on ideological indoctrination of students.
Injustice in Teachers’ Salaries
Despite government promises to improve teachers’ conditions and implement salary equalization plans, evidence suggests that these programs have had little to no impact on the lives of teachers and instructors.
Many instructors at Farhangian University continue to live on meager salaries without job security.
A total of 2,500 instructors with master’s and doctoral degrees are waiting for their employment status to change, but experience has shown that the Iranian regime, in practice, does not prioritize improving teachers’ conditions.
As long as teachers’ financial difficulties remain unresolved, protests and dissatisfaction will persist.
