Iran parliament concerned over rise of retirements in universities

Tehran University

Iranian parliament has announced that the rising retirement of professors in Iranian universities is under examination at the parliament.

In the past months, the universities are witnessing radical changes in their faculty members as tens of professors are reportedly going into retirement.

Mehr news agency reports that Hojatoeslam Alireza Salimi, member of the parliament's Education and Research Commission said that the issue of retirement needs to be reviewed with care in a “calm atmosphere.”

He insisted that the issue of the retirement of professors is a “delicate” matter and “the ministry of science needs to enter this debate with consideration.”

Salimi added: “If we lose our scientific vigour and university elite so simply, we will certainly face difficulty in the course of the country’s progress.”

Deputy Treasurer of the ministry of science insists however that none of the retirements are related to the political background of the professors.

Iran's opposition contends that the wave of retirements in the universities is actually a wave of political cleansing that has taken effect following the election disputes over the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

They claim that even those who volunteer to go into retirement are doing so due to pressures in the workplace.

Following massive street protests following the 2009 presidential elections, Iran’s supreme leader identified the universities as one of the main roots of dissent and called for their major overhaul.

The minister of science responded to Ayatollah Khamenei’s call by announcing that the universities will only take on professors that are committed to the regime.

Two days ago, deputy treasurer of Tehran University announced that 40 professors have retired from its faculty in the past six months, and reportedly, in recent months, heads of 20 universities and education centres have also been changed.