Last year, on a day like this, a tragic and shocking incident affected the community of teachers in Iran; a physics teacher from Boroujerd was teaching in class when he was attacked by one of his students and was stabbed to death.

The fights leading to cold weapon murder in today’s Iranian society, which is severely plagued by social problems, is not a surprising matter; however, this incident was particularly noteworthy in that according to witnesses, colleagues, students, and even the perpetrator himself, the late Mohsen Khoshkhashi was a calm and kind teacher, and even on the day of the incident, he only asked the perpetrator, upon entering the classroom, for a confirmation slip from the school office.

In any case, from a year ago until now, numerous notes and articles have been written about this incident and the active efforts of teachers in this field have been to keep the name of the deceased Khoshkhashi alive and to raise important and fundamental questions both against the educational system and in society. The reality is that we cannot easily turn a blind eye to this incident and label it as an unpredictable event, as educational authorities in the country insist.

Perhaps for those who only rely on flawed educational policies, such unpredictable events may not be foreseen. But for those who are actively teaching in classrooms, predicting such events and even repeating them in current conditions is not far-fetched. One of the specific programs that has been planned and implemented by educational authorities in recent years has been saving on the country’s educational budget. The closure of some classes and the consolidation of students in classes with a density of thirty-five to forty students, as well as the reduction of teachers’ overtime hours, which has led to a decrease in their monthly salaries, are the results of such policies. It is clear that in such conditions, teachers who are under pressure in terms of livelihood and managing their own lives, must also take on the responsibility of managing classes with a large number of students. In such a situation, the emergence of some bullies and acts of violence, both by teachers towards students and vice versa, becomes a constant pattern. Of course, we cannot easily

The formation of the “No to Violence in Schools” campaign on the anniversary of the late Khashkhashi’s murder has identified the most important goal of this campaign to be more than just teachers, but also the student community. In the statement of this campaign, in addition to proposing that the first of Azar be named “No to Violence in Schools Day”, issues such as “high number of students in classes, lack or absence of effective educational and social counselors and experts, unhappy school environments, lack of sports facilities, tiring lessons and their high volume, lack or weakness of laws and supportive regulations for teachers’ rights, and the devaluation of the position of teachers” have been mentioned as the underlying and exacerbating factors of violence in schools.

Now, after one year from the occurrence of such a tragic incident, another danger is also felt that has received less attention from activists in this field. However, it seems that the request of the poppy family from the court is for the punishment of the student killer. What has been seen so far is the official entry of education officials in this case, only in defense of the request of the family of the murdered teacher.

In these circumstances, it seems that one of the duties of trade activists, especially considering the proximity to the cultural community and even the family of the victim, is to prepare the necessary mental conditions to prevent the retaliation of the student. Such an incident is more than anything else the result of a flawed social structure and the trend of growing social pressures. Both the late Khashkhashi and the student who struck are victims of such a flawed structure. Promoting such a perspective among the community of teachers is one of the main duties of trade activists in such circumstances; before it is too late and the possibility of preventing another tragedy is no longer possible.