On Thursday, December 2, working and retired teachers, educators, trainers, and employees of the education system held demonstrations across the country. According to the Iranian opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), teachers protested in 66 cities in 28 provinces across the country.

“Imprisoned teachers must be freed,” “Teachers; raise your voices and shout your rights,” and “No nation has ever seen such injustice,” protesters chant in front of the Parliament (Majlis) in the capital Tehran, and local education departments in various cities.

Working & retired teachers rally in 68 cities, 28 provinces, across Iran

The rallies and marches took place in the Iranian capital Tehran; Shiraz, Lamerd, Firoozabad, Kazerun, Qir, Khorrambid, Noorabad Mamasani, Estahban, and Kharameh in Fars province; Khorramabad, Poldakhtar, Doroud, Boroujerd, and Aligudarz in Lorestan province; Ahvaz, Dezful, Jaizan Omidieh, Izeh, Andimeshk, Bagh-e Malek, and Gotvand in Khuzestan province; Sanandaj, Saqez, Marivan, Bijar, Divandere, and Zivieh Saqez in Kurdistan province; Isfahan, Semirom, and Homayun Shahr in Isfahan province; Shahroud and Sangsar in Semnan province; Mashhad and Torbat-e-Heydariyeh in Razavi Khorasan province; Kerman and Sirjan in Kerman province; Urmia, Bukan, Shahin Dej, and Miandoab in West Azarbaijan province; Sari and Amol in Mazandaran province; Bojnourd and Shirvan in North Khorasan province; Hamedan and Malayer in Hamedan province; Tabriz and Jolfa in East Azarbaijan province; Yasuj and Gachsaran in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province; Yazd, the capital of Yazd province; Kermanshah, the capital of Kermanshah province; Rasht, the capital of Gilan province; Ilam, the capital of Ilam province; Qazvin, the capital of Qazvin province; Zahedan, the capital of Sistan & Baluchistan province; Arak, the capital of Markazi province; Qom, the capital of Qom province; Shahrekord, the capital of Chahar Mahal & Bakhtiari province; Ardabil, the capital of Ardabil province; Bushehr, the capital of Bushehr province; Gorgan, the capital of Golestan province; and Zanjan, the capital of Zanjan province.

“Working and retired teachers are demanding the implementation of the ‘classification plan,’ the adjustment of retired teachers’ salaries, and the addressing of other basic problems they are facing,” the Iranian opposition Mojahedin-e Khalq reported.

“The rallies were planned and organized in advance. The Iranian Teachers Coordination Council, which had organized the rallies, had declared that the announced budget for teachers in the classification legislation is not enough and the government and parliament are just trying to put something on paper,” the report added.

“The government and parliament are obliged to approve this initiative. If this initiative is approved and implemented, the legal basis for teachers’ wage will be at least 80 percent of that of faculty members, because teachers and members of faculty boards should be receiving equal salaries,” the Iranian Teachers Coordination Council said in its statement marking the beginning of the 2021-2020 school year.

According to the statement of the council, the government has only allocated 25 trillion rials [$85 million] to the classification plan. Therefore, in the current year, only 12.5 trillion rials [$42.5 million] will go to the teachers’ needs and the rest has been postponed to the next Persian year (starting in mid-March) and predicated on having enough funds. According to the regime’s own experts, the plan needs at least 50 trillion rials [$170 million].

NCRI president-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi expressed support for the protests of Iranian teachers. “By chanting, ‘Teachers would die but won’t submit,’ they echo the cries of a nation who is fed up with the mullahs’ oppression and injustice,” Mrs. Rajavi said. “Khamenei, Raisi, and his cabinet of IRGC terrorists and torturers squander the Iranian people’s assets to make bombs, missiles, and drones. Thus, they keep teachers and other sectors of society under the poverty line.”