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| Education Minister Seyyed Mohammad Bathaei |
Iran's Education Minister has caused widespread reaction by stating that teachers speaking "local languages" in some regions is dangerous, and by considering the Persian language as a symbol of unity in Iran, which has generated significant backlash in non-Persian regions.
Seyyid Mohammad Bathaei’s remarks, made at a meeting in Isfahan, have continued to generate responses on social media and local news portals, even several days after they were made public.
The Minister’s comments were spread by the semi-official “Fars” news agency.
"In some regions, it appears that teachers are teaching in local languages. This is a very dangerous issue. Because students learn the local language at home. In school, they should be taught Persian, which is the symbol of unity in our country."
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| In Iranian Azerbaijan, Turkish language rights activists are demanding the "establishment of Turkish-language schools" and the "official status of the Turkish language." |
Following the Minister’s remarks, social media users and Turkish language rights activists in Iranian Azerbaijan have expressed widespread criticism. According to local news portals like Nasr News and Yol Press, which operate in Tabriz and Urmia, some local officials have also criticized the Minister’s comments.
Teachers in non-Persian regions have also voiced their protests through social media.
Leyla, a teacher, wrote on Twitter: “I have been teaching in Turkish for 20 years. I will continue to do so for the next 10 years as well. Mr. Minister considers this Turkish language to be dangerous. I don't care about that.”
٢٠ سال به زبان تركي تدريس كردم تو كلاس .١٠ سال مابقي رو هم تركي درس خواهم داد.اصلا هم برام مهم نيست آقاي وزير تدريسم به زبان تركي رو خطرناك تشخيص بدن.
— Leyla Akson (@LeylaAkson) July 16, 2018
Turkish language rights activists are also protesting the use of the term "local language." Another user, Mohsen Saadat, wrote, “Turkish is not a local language, it is our national language.”
Except for schools attended by some non-Muslim minority groups, all textbooks in Iranian schools are in Persian. However, many teachers in non-Persian regions sometimes use Turkish, Arabic, Kurdish, Turkmen, and Baluchi languages to help students understand lessons better.