Iran student protests on the rise ahead of anniversary

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Dec. 05 – Students from the Open University in the town of Garmsar, near Tehran, held a demonstration against poor university conditions, one of the students told Iran Focus in an email interview on Monday. Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Dec. 05 – Students from the Open University in the town of Garmsar, near Tehran, held a demonstration against poor university conditions, one of the students told Iran Focus in an email interview on Monday.

During the demonstration, which took place outside the university management office on Saturday, the students protested against the poor state of food.

The student who wished to remain anonymous said that there had been numerous requests by fellow students for the Ministry of Education to deal with the poor quality of food and management on campus. The ministry has thus far not taken up any of the students’ demands.

Student protests have been on the rise in Iran in recent weeks in the run-up to the anniversary of the bloody suppression of a rally outside Tehran University in 1953.

On December 7, 1953, three students were shot dead by policemen during a rally against the Shah’s dictatorship. The day has been named Students Day and commemorated on campuses across Iran every year.

Meanwhile, Students at the University of Technology in the southern city of Shiraz boycotted classes and instead held a demonstration against a decision by the Ministry of Science to change the status of graduates, the official Iranian news agency reported on Monday.