Mohammad Jalili, head of the Faculty Recruitment Center at Iranian regime’s Ministry of Health, has warned that the exodus of faculty members has now reached the country’s major universities. According to Jalili, these professors either continue working in their fields outside the university system or leave the country altogether.
In an interview with the state-run Shafaqna website on Sunday, March 23, Jalili described the situation of faculty migration from medical universities as “deeply concerning.” He stressed that professors are among the country’s elite, in whom significant investments have been made, and that they should not be lost so easily.
He suggested measures such as elevating faculty members’ status and respect in society, improving their living and financial conditions, and easing the process of recruiting and retaining top talent as key solutions to prevent university professors from leaving.
Jalili noted that the departure of faculty members is visible across all universities in Iran. He stated: “We even have cases where individuals either do not get the opportunity to become faculty members or, if they are, they leave their positions to exit the university system. After that, they either work in their field outside academia or leave the country entirely.”
This is not the first time reports have emerged about the migration of experienced and distinguished university professors and other professionals in Iran.
The large-scale migration of university professors, doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals in recent years has fueled concerns about the future of Iran’s healthcare system.
The head of the Faculty Recruitment Center at the Ministry of Health admitted that no official or precise statistics exist regarding the number of faculty members leaving the country. However, he acknowledged that this issue has become a serious concern for many universities, both large and small.
Jalili pointed out that salary caps for faculty members at universities under the Ministry of Science have been removed. He expressed hope that the Ministry of Health would follow the same logic and lift the salary cap for faculty members at medical universities.
Jalili noted that the minimum salary for faculty members at medical universities is approximately 200 million rials (~$210), while their salary cap is around 600 million rials (~$630). He described this limit as “irrational” and stressed the need for its removal.
High Emigration Intentions Among Iranians
Mostafa Moein, former Minister of Science and head of the “Iranian Association for Ethics in Science and Technology,” stated in December 2024 that only 16% of Iranians do not consider emigration.
He further revealed that 53% of university professors, 45% of doctors and nurses, and 40% of students and graduates expressed a desire to emigrate.
Crackdown and Dismissal of University Professors
The dismissal of university professors in Iran has also been a controversial issue in recent years.
Mahmoud Sadeghi, a former member of parliament, reported in September 2023 that more than 1,500 university professors in Iran had faced “administrative punishment” for supporting the 2022 anti-regime uprising.
In September 2023, the newspaper Etemad published the names of 52 university professors who had been dismissed, forced into early retirement, suspended, or barred from teaching between September 2021 and September 2023.
