“Right to Education” is considered one of the fundamental and essential human rights. Like other fundamental human rights, this right has been recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and emphasized in its provision and guarantee. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that: “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.” The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (adopted by the United Nations on December 16, 1966 and ratified by the National Consultative Assembly on May 7, 1975, and entered into the legal system of Iran) also elaborates on this fundamental right in a similar and more detailed manner. In paragraph c of Article 13 of this Covenant – which is more relevant to the current discussion – it states: “Higher education

In the legal system of Iran, in the highest level of legal hierarchy – namely the Constitution – the right to education is also mentioned. Article 30 of the Constitution briefly and perhaps incompletely states: “The government is obligated to provide free education for all citizens until the end of secondary education and to expand higher education facilities to the extent of the country’s self-sufficiency.” Prior to the adoption of the Constitution, according to Article 1 of the Law on the Provision of Education and Facilities for Iranian Children and Youth, passed by the National Consultative Assembly in 1974, it was stated: “All Iranian children and youth who are eligible for education must pursue it without any obstacles, and no one can prevent them from education except with legal permission.”

As it is evident from the total national and international rules, the right to education is a fundamental right that should be provided to all members of society without any discrimination, and this responsibility of providing the necessary conditions and opportunities for education falls on governments. Furthermore, the most important criterion for fulfilling the right to education – especially in higher education – is academic qualifications, and therefore no one can be deprived of education for reasons outside of academic criteria, and these criteria must also be clearly and transparently determined by law.

What we are facing in the higher education system of Iran is the unjustifiable reasons and excuses that lead to the deprivation of some students from their fundamental right to education. A closer look at the regulations governing students in universities and higher education institutions in Iran, especially in disciplinary matters, reveals the bitter reality that the right to education has been compromised by regulations that lack legal standards in terms of credibility and content, and is at risk of being lost.

The most important and fundamental document that is currently being used for filing by students is the disciplinary regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was approved by the 358th session of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution on 16/04/1374. This document creates a basis for unfair encounters with students who are mainly politically, socially, and professionally active. It is worth noting that the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution does not have the authority to legislate and its decisions cannot be considered in line with the law according to any criteria or standards.

Regardless of this lack of legal validity, the content of the approved regulations by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution is also lacking in basic legal standards and is full of broad, interpretive, and ambiguous phrases that create a wide range of confrontations with the unprotected students. For example, in these regulations, groups such as “combatant”, “corrupt”, or “heretical” are mentioned, while there is no definition of such groups in the relevant laws, leaving the disciplinary committees of universities to interpret and deal with activists in the student arena based on their own biases and affiliations. Additionally, in one of the articles related to political offenses, “deliberate concealment of facts about oneself” is also listed as an offense.

It is natural that giving such dangerous tools into the hands of those whose goal is to confront the student movement and suppress it, will only result in sacrificing the students and violating their fundamental rights.

In such a worrying situation and with a look back at the bitter experiences of dealing with student activists over the years and decades, it does not seem that there is any solution other than fundamental and structural changes in the higher education system and the regulations governing it to get out of this unjust situation. Therefore, the recent order of the new President, Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, in the inauguration session of the Minister of Science, Research and Technology, regarding the review of the cases of expelled students and their return to universities, although it has created a glimmer of hope in the hearts of concerned individuals and especially student rights activists, it seems that it will face many difficulties and dangers in the valley of action. It may seem that the fate of universities and state higher education institutions as subsidiaries of the executive branch can be greatly influenced and changed by the will of the high authorities of this branch, including the President, but the important point is that the level of influence and effectiveness of non-elected

The representative office of the leadership in the university, the university’s oversight and other institutions that are not accountable to the public or even to executive authorities, unfortunately make the most important decisions and impacts, including those related to the fate of students, and allow them to happen. The Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, which, as mentioned earlier, without a legitimate legal status, has the most authority in the field of regulations governing universities and higher education institutions. Although it is symbolically formed with the presidency of the president, the composition of its members, who are mostly appointed and selected by the system, and the decisions and policies it has adopted in recent decades, clearly show that changes in governments have not created the slightest change in the approaches of this extra-legal institution and will not do so.

At the time of writing this article, the image of the letter from the Deputy Minister of Cultural and Student Affairs and the Head of the Central Student Discipline Council of the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education was published in the media, according to which all universities and educational and research institutions under this ministry have been ordered to “suspend all disciplinary actions against protesting students in the academic year 1402-1401 and take appropriate action regarding the registration of these students in the new academic year (1403).” If the orders of the President, Minister of Science, Minister of Health, and other high-ranking officials of the executive branch are based on the rule of law and serve as a precursor to structural reforms and fundamental changes in the higher education system and its governing regulations, and the reconstruction of this important sector of the country, one can hope for better days for universities and students. However, if these actions and orders are symbolic and superficial and lack belief in fundamental rights of the nation – including the