In recent months, public discontent has surged in Iran over the government’s use of ideological criteria to select candidates for student-teacher positions within the Ministry of Education and Culture. Many believe that the regime’s insistence on loyalty and adherence to strict fabricated norms has replaced merit-based evaluations, further polarizing public opinion.
Reports indicate that aspiring teachers are being judged on highly personal criteria unrelated to their academic or professional abilities. Applicants report that factors such as reading certain philosophical books, dressing in ways perceived as nonconforming, wearing nail polish, missing Friday prayers, following social media pages critical of the government, and interactions with opposite-gender classmates have all been used as grounds for disqualification.
Even minor details like having visible hair, not wearing a chador during the exam, or having a mustache—deemed a “Marxist mustache” by one official—have reportedly led to rejection from the program.
According to Shargh newspaper, these selection processes are “unscientific,” based on “personal taste” rather than professional criteria, leading to “inappropriate encounters” with candidates during interviews. Rather than assessing teaching skills, interviews often focus on loyalty to regime ideologies. The publication notes that this practice undermines efforts to identify skilled, knowledgeable educators, further deepening concerns about politicization within the ministry.
The Ministry of Education, now led by Alireza Kazemi, has intensified this ideological vetting. Kazemi, a hardliner with close ties to influential cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda, recently mandated that ministry staff be selected for their “belief and political alignment.”
Just days after his parliamentary approval, he froze all appointments, dismissals, resignations, and managerial transfers within the ministry until the end of November. Many fear this signals the regime’s determination to impose even stricter ideological controls in the education sector.
The introduction of ambiguous “codes” in the selection process has added to public frustration. “Code 6” and “Code 19,” labels given to applicants without clear explanations, appear to signify political disqualification.
For example, Zohreh Sabet, a high-ranking candidate, was informed she received “Code 6.” She described her experience to Shargh, explaining that despite meeting all selection criteria and excelling in the interview, she was rejected. “I studied hard for years, and I was still rejected due to selective, unprofessional behavior,” she said.
Another applicant, who faced rejection under “Code 19,” cited political factors like dress, hijab, non-participation in elections, and social media activity as reasons for disqualification. She recounted making repeated visits to the ministry’s headquarters, only to be met with silence. “Many of us came from rural areas, and yet we’re left without any response,” she said.
The impact of these practices recalls the ideological purges of the 1980s and Iran’s Cultural Revolution, a period marked by strict control over academia and public institutions. In addition to disqualifying teacher candidates, the ministry has increasingly dismissed teachers from their positions and removed those critical of mandatory hijab laws from universities.
Students expelled over arbitrary judgments continue to raise concerns, with one dismissed for his “Marxist mustache” and another for reading philosophical books that were officially sanctioned by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
Contrary to campaign promises made by the regime’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian, who advocated for greater freedoms, the government appears to be tightening its grip over personal liberties within state institutions, particularly education.
The growing crackdown has drawn comparisons to past eras of repression, and Iranians fear that regime loyalty and conformity will increasingly overshadow merit in the country’s education system.
