An overview of some aspects of administrative corruption in Iranian universities.

“این عکس یک پروفایل است”

“This is a profile picture.”
Sousan Mohammadkhani Ghiasvand

The university and scientific center in Iran has a history of more than 1700 years. As the spokesperson for the Khuzestan Cultural Heritage Lovers Association tells Mehr News Agency, Jundi Shapur is mentioned as the first university in the history of Iran and is even referred to as “the first scientific and intellectual center in the world” in some sources. This university has played an important role in the fields of chemistry, biology, and medical sciences.

The University of Tehran is considered one of the universities established in contemporary Iran (1313). Of course, years before that, Darolfonoon was built. The decision to establish Darolfonoon was made during the reign of Amir Kabir.

The goal of establishing Jundi Shapur and other centers built after it, during the contemporary period, has been to acquire various sciences, elevate the level of knowledge, and utilize these sciences for the service of society. However, from a certain point in history, the path and goals of universities in Iran undergo changes. The first steps of this change were taken during the Cultural Revolution, meaning that from the time they decided to Islamize academic environments, they imposed a specific ideology on universities. It was during those days that hundreds of professors were purged and many students were expelled. The university was no longer a place for dissenters, opposition, and critics of the new government. According to the resolution of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, the right to education was also taken away from Bahais.

After the Cultural Revolution in 1982, Azad University was established by the order of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. However, as it is written about the history of Azad University, this university had started its limited activities since 1971, but due to the revolution, it remained in operation. It should be noted that the next steps were taken to change the goals and direction of the university in Iran at this time; meaning the time when students were forced to pay for their education and use educational facilities. From this time on, the university became more of a commercial center to make money and provide degrees. We do not have accurate statistics on the number of graduates from Azad, Payam Noor, Applied Science, and non-profit universities that enter the job market. We also do not know the specific statistics of graduates from these universities who are accepted into universities outside of the country.

Last year, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare announced that 40% of the country’s population of unemployed individuals are university graduates. He also stated, “With approximately four million students graduating from universities in the country, the number of unemployed graduates will increase in the future.” It is not clear what percentage of this reported statistic belongs to graduates from non-governmental universities. This statistic must also include approximately six million inactive graduates; meaning millions of graduates who are not even seeking employment.

According to published statistics, graduates of environmental protection, computer science, industry and technology, art, architecture and construction, natural sciences, and law have the highest unemployment rate.

According to the official media of the Islamic Republic, it has been announced by the Ministry of Labor that in order to reduce unemployment, between 800 thousand to one million jobs must be created annually in Iran. However, these same media outlets have also reported, based on the statements of Eshaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President, that “employment has been zero in the past 10 years and this has caused concern for unemployed graduates.”

Some employers also criticize the lack of practicality of students’ knowledge in the job market. They believe that what students learn during their time at university is just a bunch of theories that are not useful in the job market. In their opinion, students do not see the necessary practical and specialized training for entering the job market.

According to a report published by Mashregh News, Iran has also experienced a decline in its scientific ranking in the world during the years 2012 and 2013; going from 15th place to 16th. According to Dr. Mohammad Javad Dehghani, the head of the Regional Center for Science and Technology Information, the published statistics and tables show that Iran’s high ranking in science production among the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, OPEC countries, Middle Eastern countries, and Islamic countries. However, looking at the political, economic, social, and cultural situation of the country, it can be understood how much this scientific production and its high ranking have contributed to development in these areas.

We must ask, when a significant percentage of graduates are unemployed and the wave of new university graduates is also adding to this percentage, turning the issue of graduate unemployment into a crisis in the country, why are universities and higher education centers still being established under various names in Iran? Why do these centers still insist on attracting students and compete with each other for it? Another question is, when a large percentage of university graduates are either unemployed or unable to find a suitable job in their field of study, or do not see the necessary practical training in university to enter the job market, why should they spend so much money to spend several years of their lives behind university desks?

One of the reasons should be searched in the same thing that I mentioned at the beginning of my writing; that is “changing the direction and goal of the university”. We are faced with an increase in the number of universities whose founders and officials have a business-oriented view of education. For them, neither attracting students to the job market is important, nor the years of life that students must spend in universities without any clear result, nor the quality of what these students should learn. Every person with a high school diploma who has the minimum ability and capacity to pay for tuition fees must somehow provide the conditions for their entry into higher education centers to receive cash and deposit their money into the university’s account number.

Another reason for this should be seen in the document-oriented society of Iran. A society that is willing to borrow, take loans, and even sell some household items to pay for their education at university just to have a document to hang on their wall. A document that has no specific use in a considerable portion of Iranian families and will eventually be buried forever. This fever of document-orientation is not limited to a specific class in Iranian society. In February of last year, the newspaper Hamshahri published a report comparing the educational documents of the most important members of the conservative government of England with the educational documents of the government of Hassan Rouhani. In this report, the names and educational documents of 14 members of the cabinet in the governments of England and Iran were published. The comparative comparison of names and educational documents showed that out of the fourteen main members mentioned in the Iranian government, including the President, twelve of them had a doctoral degree, one had an equivalent doctoral degree, and one

The phenomenon of document forgery in Iran is so widespread that some individuals create income for themselves by falsifying documents and selling them to applicants. For example, Mehr News Agency reported in the winter of 2014 that thousands of fake educational certificates were issued in Kerman. The exact number of forged documents was not determined, but according to the head of the Kerman Judiciary, an initial estimate showed that around 3,000 skill-based educational certificates, including cycle and diploma certificates, as well as some university training certificates, were issued and amounts ranging from 700,000 to 2 million tomans were received in cash for each of them. The forgers and users of these fake documents were not only from Kerman, but also from other provinces such as Tehran, Semnan, Kermanshah, etc.

After examining the suspects’ accounts in this case, it was determined that some of them had financial transactions of up to 500 million tomans.

In late Tir month of this year, the Iran newspaper also published a news about the discovery of thousands of fake educational and university documents in Karaj. According to the statements of the suspects in this case, they had received amounts between seven to eight million rials from each applicant for each fake diploma and university degree. The amount of fraud by the members of the document forgery gang was announced to be billions of rials.

Some political figures and officials also have a history of using fake educational degrees, or there are doubts about their educational qualifications.

The university wall was built on crooked bricks, which its architects placed on the university grounds after the revolution. A wall that, even if it reaches the stars, will still be crooked. On the other side of this crooked wall, other bad news gradually reached the ears. News such as allocating quotas to families based on the definition of the Islamic Republic of Iran, “war veterans, martyrs, and missing persons”, the establishment of the leadership institution and the representation of the Supreme Leader in universities by the order of Ayatollah Khamenei and based on the final decision of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution in 1993 with the aim of making universities more religious and Islamic, efforts to eliminate humanities courses that were based on Khamenei’s speeches about “the conflict between Western humanities and religious and Quranic teachings, and the materialistic nature of humanities subjects”, and finally, discriminatory gender policies and segregation in universities, as well as gender quotas and the elimination of female

As reported in the Sepid newspaper, despite the Minister of Health’s repeated emphasis on maintaining the capacity for admitting students in the country’s medical universities, this year’s action has resulted in a 6% increase in the total capacity for admitting students.

“Sepah scholarships are awarded in excess of university capacities. The condition for beneficiaries of the Sepah scholarship is that they must complete the general training course at one of the Sepah training centers upon entry.”

Shahed Alavi, a journalist and human rights activist, discusses the allocation of excess capacity in the country’s universities to the Revolutionary Guards and the impact of such allocations on the development process, with reference to the special position of the quality of education in relation to the education system and the selection and admission of students. He says, “12 years of general education is mandatory for everyone. During this time, individuals are not chosen based on their academic qualifications, but with the assumption that everyone needs education. However, in the case of universities, since not everyone goes to university, the admission of students is based on a set of scientific criteria. What has caused problems and a decline in the level of education and quality of education in Iran is that 40% of students – which is a very large number – are admitted not based on their academic competence and individual abilities, but based on their ideological and political beliefs. This means that individuals are admitted to university because of their affiliation with families of veterans

Alavi considers this standard of selection and acceptance to be political, ideological, and non-scientific. He believes that, in addition to disregarding the scientific qualifications of those who are accepted in this way, these accepted students are also placed in a position where they are not competent, causing harm to the rights of others.

He continues to say that this student selection and acceptance system greatly impacts the quality of education. Graduates who are selected through this system are not worthy individuals because they have not been chosen based on merit. This also applies during their studies. These individuals take advantage of privileges and facilities that affect the teaching of professors and the evaluation system, and as a result, their evaluation will not be based on academic merit.

Alavi also adds: “Although it is now said that people close to martyrs, self-sacrificers, and others are not forty percent, security, political, and government institutions, as well as some organizations and powerful currents in Iran, are trying to enter individuals into the university process who are somehow dependent on themselves to produce their desired graduates. For example, in this recent agreement between the Revolutionary Guards and the educational deputy of the Ministry of Health, they have agreed to accept 657 extra people for medical and nursing studies with a specific age requirement and priority given to individuals with a history of activity in the Basij or families of self-sacrificers, veterans, martyrs, and others in 21 universities across the country.”

He adds, “This overloading of students onto a class, teacher, and educational space that does not have the capacity to accommodate them, results in a decrease in the quality of education and can be seen as a form of neglect and burden on the education system. On the other hand, the students who are chosen do not have the necessary academic qualifications. This means that sometimes you choose students beyond the capacity, but this selection should be based on the academic and educational qualifications of the individual; however, sometimes – just like here – students are chosen without considering their academic and educational qualifications.”

This journalist considers not considering academic qualifications in selecting a student due to “lack of space and educational capacity for them” and “lack of the student’s academic and educational qualifications in the space that has been added to it” to be a mistake.

According to Alavi, this issue can affect the quality of education and lower it. He believes that decision-makers have political reasons for selecting and assigning students to educational spaces. According to this political analyst, the Revolutionary Guards or the overall power apparatus that exerts influence, seek for their agents in all areas to be affiliated, loyal, and faithful to the official ideology; even a doctor who has no connection to politics and does not need to be ideological because their job is medicine. But they also want this doctor to be one of them.

“منظورهای مختلف در زندگی”

“Different Perspectives in Life”
Alavi Watcher

Shahed Alavi says we are not at war right now. They are either members of the Sepah or Basij, active in Basij. This means they are supporters of Sepah and work for it.

He believes that a flawed selection system and unqualified students, which are the result of it, will cause more harm to the scientific community and ultimately slow down the process of development and hinder the progress of society. Graduating illiterate and unqualified individuals is the consequence of accepting and admitting unqualified students. The result of these uneducated graduates and this sick educational and knowledge process will be a society that remains backward.

Mojtaba Ghastooni, the spokesperson for the Association of Friends of Cultural Heritage of Khuzestan, had told Mehr News Agency a few years ago that the first university in the history of Iran is buried under the sands, somewhere in the north of Khuzestan. Agriculture is being carried out on 500 hectares of this ancient site, and the rich heritage hidden within it is being destroyed. He expressed surprise at the neglect of a place that could showcase the peak of Iranian scientific greatness at a time when most places in the world were living in the most primitive ways.

It must be said that this is not the first university in the history of Iran that has been buried under the rubble due to the neglect of officials. The initial idea that led to the establishment of a university and a university city in Iran has been decaying for decades in this country. Merchants have taken over in university centers, going beyond the pursuit of knowledge. The university is now a place where opponents of thought, politics, and religion are not allowed to enter. Women are prohibited from studying certain fields. With the goal of Islamizing the university and imposing an Islamic-Shiite ideology, freedom of thought and the right to choose have been destroyed in this place. It is clear that with the repeated wrong decisions of officials, there is no bright future for the university in Iran, and it is impossible to imagine for those who enter this space with the goal of learning and advancing their knowledge. In other words, the future of the same place that was built with all its facilities and forces to

But what impact does this academic corruption have on the country’s development process? Kurdish journalist Shahed Alavi talks about the effects of academic corruption on development and a developing society: “If your definition of academic corruption includes the disruption and malfunctioning of the natural process of educating students, the recruitment of professors, and the evaluation and credibility of academic degrees and titles, it must be said that as a result of such corruption, such a change is created in the overall meaning of education that it can no longer be considered as one of the effective factors in development and taking steps towards democratizing society and government.”

Alavi considers the initial result of this corrupt process to be the production of invalid academic documents, which in his view, is not a reflection or evidence of a well-educated mind in the fields of science, technology, literature, and art.

This journalist continues to talk about peace and says: “In this way, the institutions and organizations and structures that are supposed to help the development and acquisition of its components, both scientifically and behaviorally, will not actually be on this path and there will be no news of educated citizens who ask about the why and how and will seek change.”

Alavi considers an uneducated graduate as the product of a flawed and sick process, lacking the necessary theoretical perspective and self-confidence to take steps towards change.

According to him, disrupting the process of society’s development and the decline of its ethical, educational, and cultural level is the result of producing uneducated and bulk university documents.

The question that seems essential to ask at the end is what is the key role of “education” in establishing democracy and developing the country?

Shahed Alavi responds to the above question: “First of all, I must remind that the purpose of establishing universities in Iran during the contemporary era was not to help democratize the construction of power and social relationships, but rather to acquire and spread new industries, sciences, and technologies during the time of Darolfonoon’s establishment, and to provide education in new sciences during the establishment of University of Tehran in order to become independent from foreign engineers and architects.”

He believes that this acquisition of new sciences and technologies could definitely lead to the modernization of society and its mechanisms in the medium term, and ultimately lead to the development of society and the country.

According to Alavi, however, this developmental and technocratic approach was not necessarily intended to serve democracy or bring about positive change in the political system. What actually happened, regardless of the intentions and will of the rulers and policymakers at the time, was that due to the cultivation of educated individuals, they ended up serving the desire for political change or at least making it more efficient and humane.

This journalist continues by saying, “Although the intention behind establishing centers for higher education was not to democratize society and build power, but because education, in its usual state, can open up greater horizons for the educated individual in both theoretical and practical aspects, and also provide them with more opportunities and possibilities, the educated individual has a greater inclination and ability to question the seemingly unquestionable assumptions and rules of society and build power.”

Ali believes that one of the expected outcomes of education in society is to cultivate individuals who, in his opinion, are capable and may potentially contribute to the democratization of society.

According to him, a developed society provides similar facilities for the emergence of differences and resistance among citizens. These facilities are both through hardware tools and equipment that are made available to citizens as a result of development, and also due to gaps and opportunities that arise during development in traditional society, which may seem unified and interconnected.

Alavi concludes his speech by saying, “In a broader sense and even beyond the specific experience of Iran, whether we consider economic development as a necessary prerequisite for democracy, or democracy as a prerequisite for development, or both as complementary, what cannot be denied is the necessity and importance of educated citizens and their knowledge in building and managing a developed and democratic society. This is also the point that ultimately leads to the belief that educated citizens, whether they have been attracted to the market or not, play a more influential role in the social and political changes of their society than other citizens.”