Re: Countering the Politics of Fear (was Tariq Ali at UCLA today)
On Oct 28, 2006, at 10:01 PM, Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
Is there really an actual program in Iran to get rid of liberal teachers? A new academic year clocked in Iran, without any Cultural Revolution.
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=7601
27 October, 2006
IRAN
Islamization of Iranian schools grows
Teachers, curricula and text books are subject to Muslim principles.
Political activities at universities are strictly controlled.
Tehran (AsiaNews) – The new school year in Iran has started with
moves to boost the Islamization of education, with the increasingly
frequent application of “religious principles” on the one hand and
efforts to keep students under strict control on the other,
especially at university.
Teachers are not spared: as from this year, male teachers will no
longer be allowed to teach in girls’ schools and vice-versa. The
Education Ministry has recruited 13,000 new trained teachers as well
as 4,000 who are either war veterans or members of religious
minorities or religious students. And 500 teachers will be picked
from students of the Quran Training Center.
As for text books, in September, Ayatollah Makarem Shiraz raised an
alert at the end of a visit to the southern provinces: “Footprints of
the enemies of Islam continue to appear in books of primary schools.”
Among other things, he said that while there were images of veiled
girls in the books of first grade students, those for the fifth grade
displayed girls without the hijab.
In any case, a project is being assessed that would make studying the
Quran obligatory in the last four school years. There are also plans
to encourage the Passdaran Corps and other “revolutionary” bodies to
open private schools, especially for preschool age and schools in the
technical field, which would have a marked religious character.
As for universities, in September, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said
that “for the last 150 years, the educational system has been
affected by secularism”. He said: “Today, students should shout at
the president and ask why liberal and secular university lecturers
are present in the universities.”
After his speech, some university students were suspended for
undertaking “political activities” against the regime leaders. For
example, this was the reason given for the suspension of one or two
semesters of 11 students from Bou-Ali Sina University in Hamedan.
Then there is a project proposed by the head of the Security Forces
of Tehran province, General Reza Zarei. This is for the setting up of
a school police force that would be deployed outside but also inside
school buildings.