Deutsche Welle Persian - August 25, 2017
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| The Ministry of Education of Iran |
According to new prerequisites set by Iran's Ministry of Education, individuals applying for teaching positions who have a strong regional or non-Persian accent cannot be employed. Critics have labeled these guidelines as "racist."
A directive issued by the Ministry’s Center for Human Resources Planning and Information Technology specifically includes restrictions for women, citing conditions such as a history of uterine surgeries or infertility as obstacles to employment.
Esfandiar Chaharband, head of the Center for Human Resources Planning and Information Technology, stated in an interview with Etemad newspaper (August 24) that the new directive has been revised and removed from the website. He announced that the section concerning women has been amended.
However, Chaharband did not address the clause related to accents, leaving the restriction against "strong regional accents" as a potential barrier for individuals entering the teaching profession.
This prerequisite has sparked significant protests from educators, poets, and intellectuals in ethnic regions.
Heydar Bayat, a poet and scholar of classical Turkish literature, criticized the guidelines on his website, writing:
"How far do you intend to humiliate us? Do you not feel the blade reaching the bone? A teacher is someone who has studied for 16 years in your educational system. If, in those 16 prime years of a person’s life, you have failed to teach them to speak in your language and now intend to erase them from the annals of history and time, the problem lies not with the individual but with your flawed system."
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| Heydar Bayat, a poet and researcher of classical Turkish literature. |
Emphasis on Accent Is "Racist"
Kaveh Qureshi, a journalist, told Deutsche Welle that emphasizing accents in the new prerequisites of the Ministry of Education is "racist."
He pointed out that people living in different parts of the country naturally speak Persian with an accent, which is an unchangeable reality. According to Qureshi, the government is unlikely to remove the clause related to accents. He stated:
"The purpose of the Education Ministry’s emphasis on the 'accent clause' is to institutionalize racist ideologies."
No One Has Been Barred from Teaching Due to Their Accent
Shahed Alavi, a teacher and former member of the "Teachers' Union," believes that the "teacher selection system in Iran's Ministry of Education is flawed." Alavi adds:
"What has been published pertains only to two articles of the teacher selection law. The entire law is problematic. Previously, no one was barred from teaching because of their accent or due to unusual health conditions. This is why we have teachers who are Turk, Arab, Baluch, Turkmen, and Kurd."
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| Shahed Alavi, a teacher and former member of the Teachers' Union. |
Alavi also criticized President Hassan Rouhani, stating:
"The government has not shown genuine determination to uphold the rights of ethnic groups and continues to pursue the policy of homogenizing Iran, which began around 90 years ago."
The former union member further emphasized:
"Insisting on Persian accents will lower the academic and professional standards of teachers because the selection process will become more rigid and worse, leading to the recruitment of less qualified individuals and exacerbating ethnic tensions."
Alavi also urged Iranian society to protest against the "racist clause on accents in this directive so that the Ministry of Education removes it."
The revised version of the directive is expected to be presented on Saturday (August 25) after amendments.
The link to the original article in Farsi on DW Persian:
رویکرد "نژادپرستانه" در شیوهنامه تازه آموزش و پرورش ایران