Teacher Protests Continue Across Iran As Mullahs Regime Ignores Them

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard carried out ballistic missile tests while Iran’s economic and political isolation deepens. At the same time, Iran’s domestic unrest escalates. Now the teacher protests continue to multiply across Iran and the mullahs regime ignores them.

Teacher Protests Expand

Teachers in the provinces of Kermanshah, Alborz, Isfahan, and Ardabil rallied on Thursday, Jan 24, 2019. The teachers are now angry, protesting delayed paychecks and poor living conditions. Hard-working and yet deprived teachers throughout the country see inflation and skyrocketing prices of everyday goods.

Teaching is a very important profession, training children who will become a country’s future. Unfortunately, in Iran, controlled by a recalcitrant government, teaching is one of the most poorly paid professions.

In recent years, teachers in Iran have called for better working conditions. They launched many campaigns to protest against their severe living conditions, very low quality of social insurance, and lack of job security. Rather than addressing these problems, the government of Iran used harassment and imprisonment against them.

In these recent protests, teachers showed their demands with signs and slogans. The signs said “Detained teachers must be freed,” “NO to prison for teachers,” “Teachers’ future must be secured,” “Proper jobs and security,” “Teachers must rise to end the discrimination and a low monthly salary,” and teachers must “have their own independent syndicates and associations.”

In the city of Ardabil, in northwest Iran, a group of teachers rallied outside the provincial Education Department. They protested the officials’ refusal to even respond to their demands.

In Alborz Province, northern Iran, teachers took to the streets. They held signs and chanted, “Inflation, high prices, answer to us Rouhani.” They were sending a message to the regime’s President Hassan Rouhani.

Isfahan Province in central Iran was the scene of another teacher protest. These teachers were also protesting against the injustice they suffer at the hands of the mullahs’ regime.

Iran’s ruling theocratic regime shows it does not care for the people. Instead, it serves its own needs first, and supports terrorist groups in the region.

Teachers in Kermanshah, western Iran held a rally where they chanted:

“We deserve decent living conditions – Public education without further expenses is our right – Workers, teachers, students, unite, unite”

Teachers Issue Statement

The Kermanshah teachers issued a statement at the end of their rally on Thursday.

Segments of that statement include:

Following various measures, especially the large rally held on January 10 for the provincial teachers, to this day we have received no answers to any of our demands. Therefore, we have decided to recall our demands alongside teachers of other provinces, and protesting retirees.

1. Unconditional release of all jailed teachers and closing all judicial dossiers against teachers.
2. Kermanshah Province should be considered a war zone (due to recent earthquakes) and enjoying all the resulting support for the residents and teachers. The current policies that fail to do so are leaving the current and retired teachers with dire need of aid.
3. Stopping all types of threats and illegal summoning of teachers due to their professional and association activities.
4. The government must cancel all plans described as “Full Time Teachers” that are against their rights.
5. Balancing the 2019 Education Budget based on true inflation rates. (Analysts in the U.S. have evaluated Iran’s inflation to be over 160%)
6. Increasing teachers’ wages and retired teachers’ pensions higher than the true inflation rate.
7. Teachers should receive wages equal to other government employees.
8. Canceling all failed insurances and launching an effective insurance system for working and retired teachers.
9. Providing necessary funding for schools, establishing adequate learning conditions, decent public schools.
10. Canceling all plans to privatize public schools.
11. Recognizing associations of working and retired teachers, and lifting all limitations and pressuring measures.
12. Ending any type of education injustice for all students while providing adequate care for inadequate schools in villages.
13. Classifying all teachers based on their experience.

Regime Cares Only For Itself

The people of Iran and people around the world can see the protests increasing throughout Iran, and they can see the regime does not care for the people. The teacher protests show the people of Iran do not support the regime, which cares only about itself.

People are starting to ask the question: What will happen if Iran’s regime continues to ignore such pressure?

Many people throughout Iran believe they are witnessing the beginning of the end for the mullahs. There is now a significant role being played by “resistance units” who help lead, organize and sustain protests. The uprisings of Iranian people that started in earnest little more than a year ago show the regime moving closer to collapse.