Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran will not accept any journalism students for the coming year. Enrollment into journalism in the current year was also closed.
The deputy head of press at the Ministry of Culture, Mohammad Jafar Mohammadzadeh, previously had warned against this approach, saying: “Denying media is like denying the global movement. We cannot ignore the importance of the media and its human force that is journalists.”
Mohammadzadeh added: “We request our colleagues at Allameh Tabatabai University and the Ministry of Science to take journalism seriously. Of course, the Press University and Imam Sadegh University as well as Tehran University currently have good journalism programs.”
He added that he hoped the journalism program would expand in the coming year at Allameh Tabatabi University.
With 15,000 students, Allameh Tabatabai is the largest school of humanities in Iran, offering 140 programs in the humanities.
The government’s move toward putting universities more in line with Islamic principles has apparently resulted in the suspension of the journalism program. Most recently, the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution also announced that Women’s Studies programs will be changed to “Women’s Rights in Islam”.
The 20-member council is comprised of 12 clergy members and seminary teachers.
