Jafar Tofighi, the caretaker of Iran’s Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, has announced that in the new academic year, no student will be expelled or denied education because of his or her political interests.
In an interview with Shargh Newspaper on Saturday August 31, Tofighi reported that 130 complaints against university administrations have been filed with the ministry by those who claim their rights were violated during the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad administration.
He added that there is some evidence that a number of faculty members were forced into retirement because of their political beliefs, and the ministry is determined to address their complaints.
In recent years, many professors were expelled or forced into early retirement because of their political ideas. The political cleansing was more pronounced at Allameh Tabatabai University, where several economics professors were dismissed for their links to the reformists.
Since the establishment of the new administration, there is much speculation that Sadreddin Tabatabai, the university’s president, will be replaced.
