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Iran’s regime ignores the needs of teachers in latest parliament bill

After months of protests by Iran’s teachers, the Iranian regime finally declared that it will be addressing their demands in a bill passed by the Majlis (parliament). But, as was expected by many, the bill is a half-measure only meant to shut down the voice of protesters without solving any fundamental problems.

On Wednesday, the Majlis passed the “teacher’s ranking” bill, which had been a hot topic of discussion and one of the main demands of millions of teachers who have protested and gone on strike in the past few months.

The bill received 117 positive votes, 86 negative, and 11 abstentions. According to Majlis speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the passing of the bill has taken “nearly a decade” to pass and its financial needs are now being provided “according to the constitution.”

According to the bill, teachers will be classified according to “general, specialized and professional qualifications, experience, and competitive function” and will be divided into five rankings. Salaries will be determined based on the ranking of the teachers.

While the regime has boasted about the bill and its achievements, Iranian teachers are calling out the regime for not addressing their needs.

The Iranian Teachers Coordination Council called the bill deceitful and unacceptable.

According to the bill, a total of 250 trillion rials will be allocated to around 734,000 teachers across Iran in the coming Persian year, starting in March 2022. But it doesn’t take into account the tens of thousands of tutors who are working on unofficial contracts because the education ministry refuses to hire them despite having passed its test.

The bill also predicates that the budget will only be allocated if the government is able to gather the necessary funds. the government is already facing severe budget deficits and has no clear plans to cover those deficits.

It is also worth noting that Rahim Zareh, the spokesperson of the Majlis budget commission in 2020, had said that the government will need at least 600 trillion rials to address the needs of the country’s teachers. This means that after months of protests, the teachers are receiving less than half of what they need.

Many experts are warning that the regime’s budget bill will cause inflation, poverty, unemployment, skyrocketing prices, and further protests across different segments of the society.

In its current form, the bill will cause no change in the lives of Iranian teachers, who are already underpaid and struggling to make ends meet in the continuously declining economic conditions.

The Teachers Council has already organized several rounds of protests across Iran, including a three-day strike from December 11 to December 13. Teachers gathered in more than 110 cities and called for education reform, better salaries, the implementation of the ranking law, and the release of teacher activists who have been arrested by the regime.

In some cities, the rallies drew thousands of teachers who chanted anti-regime slogans and criticized regime officials for corruption and destructive policies. Even the regime’s security forces were not able to prevent the teachers from holding their protests.

In a new statement, the Council has warned that if the regime does not approve the full ranking plan by December 19 and does not release the imprisoned teachers, the teachers’ community will resume its protests across the country.

It is worth noting that while the regime is faced with severe budget deficits and a tanking economy, it has no reservations to fund its malign activities.

According to the budget bill, the Revolutionary Guards will receive more than double the funds they were allocated in the previous year. Meanwhile, the state-run broadcasting corporation, the main core of the regime’s propaganda machine, has received a 50-percent boost to its budget. The judiciary, which is in charge of arresting and prosecuting protesters and dissidents, has also seen a rise in its funding.

Basically, the regime is bracing itself for more protests and dissent in face of its abysmal performance. Meanwhile, the share of teachers, workers, government employees, and other hardworking segments of the society from the budget is more poverty, higher prices, and no other choice than to come to the streets to get their rights in their own way.

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