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Qahraman Ghanbari

The leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran strongly criticized the adoption of UNESCO’s 2030 education document in Iran during a meeting with teachers and educators on the occasion of Teacher’s Day on the seventeenth of Ordibehesht this year. He stated that the Islamic Republic will not submit to the will of an organization under the influence of major powers, and emphasized that “this is the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the basis of this country is the Quran and Islam. This is not a place where the destructive, corrupt, and decadent Western lifestyle can infiltrate.” He emphasized that the duty of education is to raise a generation, and reminded that “education must aim to cultivate a generation with faith, loyalty, responsibility, self-confidence, initiative, honesty, courage, modesty, and a love for the country, the system, and the people, and a desire to serve the country’s interests.”

In addition, they also expressed dissatisfaction with the failure to implement the Education Transformation Document, which was approved during the Ahmadinejad government, and asked the Minister of Education and relevant officials to implement the Fundamental Education Transformation Document as soon as possible. (1) In the following text, I will briefly compare the Education Transformation Document and the 2030 UNESCO Education Document and discuss the related criticisms.

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One

“Systems of domination,” “conspiracy of the great powers and arrogance for infiltration and overthrow of the Islamic Republic,” or “destructive and corrupt Western lifestyle,” although these terms are vague and cannot be clearly defined, at least in Iran they have a specific meaning for the listener and are often used in official and unofficial statements instead of America and Israel. It cannot be said for sure that UNESCO is under the control of the dominant powers and America and Israel, but at least in recent years we have witnessed tense relations and several instances of aid cuts and strained relations between America and Israel with this organization due to the issuance of resolutions against the will and interests of America and Israel. The peak of this tension was the recognition of Palestine by UNESCO and the condemnation of Israel as the occupier of East Jerusalem a few days ago, which was followed by a strong reaction from Israel and the introduction of UNESCO, the Israeli Prime Minister, and the UN General Assembly as captives of undemocratic systems. Apart from

Two

The fundamental transformation document of education and upbringing is nothing new. 10 to 15 percent of it is unintentionally copied from the 2030 document of the United Nations and UNESCO, and the rest are emotionally based slogans that we have been hearing for years in public speeches and Friday prayers. They do not have a clear meaning and are mostly based on an illusion of creating a “superior human” with educational principles such as being Islamic, faithful, loving the country and its people, aware, anti-arrogance, and based on the teachings of the founder of the system and the current leader of the country. (Note that there is no specific definition for these qualities and although they may seem deep, they are not linguistically supported). This is not a new phenomenon and all ideological governments throughout history have been trying to create humans based on their ideology. During the Soviet era, we witnessed efforts to create superior humans and workers based on the country’s official ideology. During the Nazi regime in Germany

In contrast to the fundamental transformation document of education and training, which has nothing new and is mostly based on general ideological slogans and emotions of the rulers, and fundamentally has no connection to education, the UNESCO 2030 document is based on details and practical work based on educational expertise, which focuses more on details rather than slogans. For example, it has been mentioned in the recommendations that upon investigation, it was found that in many universities and schools, there are no suitable health services, hygiene and privacy for women. This issue, during menstruation and changing sanitary pads, causes exacerbated problems and leads to a tendency to drop out of education or academic disillusionment in girls. If we take a few minutes to stop and think about this, we may come to a different conclusion: for example, I may be a man, but I may have a sister, daughter or wife, and regardless of my race, religion or country, this is the least right of our loved ones, that their menstruation –

Three

In the fundamental document of education and training, the main focus is on building “superhumans” with the seasoning of Islamic education, which is briefly mentioned at the end, that the minorities mentioned in the constitution will benefit from special education mentioned in the law. However, the main point here is that firstly, minorities such as Yarsan and Ahl-e Haq or Bahai are not officially recognized in the constitution, and secondly, the minorities mentioned in the constitution have often faced conditions in the country that have caused them to leave the country. But in the 2030 UNESCO document, the focus is on educational mapping, which firstly emphasizes the maximum use of people’s mother tongue at the beginning of education, so that the educational process does not come with double pain and suffering, and consequently, with hatred and aversion towards education and dropping out of school. Secondly, in several places, it has been recommended that education should be based on promoting peace and friendship, and it has been

Four

Here, the principle of equal access to education for all citizens of Iran, regardless of their religion or language, is unfortunately not being upheld. We are faced with deprivation and discrimination, especially towards religious minorities such as the Bahai and Ahl-e Haq. In the UNESCO 2030 document, the right to education for everyone, regardless of their religion or ethnicity, is non-negotiable. Does this right align with the current policies of the system? The short answer, from me or anyone else whose conscience is not bound by ideology, is that these rights are in conflict with the overall policies of the system. This is because currently, believers of the Bahai faith are prevented from entering university or are expelled after enrolling. Similarly, Christians or followers of other religions who are not recognized in the constitution are also banned from entering university if they do not practice taqiyya (religious dissimulation). The fact that in this country, only believers of Islam and Shia are able to benefit

Five

In document 2030, it is stated that education should be focused on promoting peace and friendship. The reality is that promoting peace and friendship is incompatible with promoting the Iranian-Islamic superhuman. Whether we will be able to create this superhuman or not is another matter, and whether others have been able to create their desired ideological superhumans or not. But even if we do create this Iranian-Islamic superhuman, we will not be very happy. The benefit for Iran is a life in peace, both with its neighbors and its own citizens. Peace is our missing link and for increasing production, industry, income generation, and improving the lives of Iranian citizens in every aspect, we actually need to promote peace and friendship. The superhuman is an emotionless and loveless being who only thinks about reaching the end goal of the prescribed ideological systems, and to achieve this goal, considers any means justified. The superhuman seeks destruction and devastation, both for themselves and for others. While we

Six

Another point regarding the recommendation of UNESCO document 2030 on promoting peace and respect is that in our schools, we mostly neglect this important matter and even some educational materials are accompanied by instilling enmity and hatred towards other nations or religions, which goes against human dignity and is not in line with the moral principles of our people. Unfortunately, sometimes, besides academic subjects, during educational and religious hours, issues related to hatred towards other nations or religions are imposed on the minds and souls of students. Sometimes, sharing certain memories is embarrassing or even shameful for oneself, but in these hours, some things are attributed to others that when the listener becomes the victim, their spirit and mind are scarred for life. For example, in some of these hours, it is said to discredit and dehumanize believers and righteous people that they have a religious ceremony where they gather once a year and turn off the lights and engage in sexual relations in the dark, possibly with their mother, daughter, or sister

But education must be based on promoting peace and respect. The opposite of this nonsense is dehumanizing, and learning this means that we have the right to protest against this spread of hatred and dehumanization of ourselves or other humans. This is actually the most necessary and urgent need of our educational system today. If humans have even one percent of conscience, they cannot tolerate this promotion of disrespect for human dignity and will demand the implementation of education based on peace and respect. Sometimes, humans are ashamed to write or talk about the pain and suffering inflicted on the souls of victims, but unfortunately, this promotion of hatred and dehumanization of humans and daily disrespect for humanity in our schools and public sphere is considered normal. Humanity and the future of our country demand that these actions be stopped and these spreaders of hatred be punished by the law. But to ask for an end to this doubled pain and suffering inflicted on our fellow citizens, what does it have to do with arrogance and global domination? At

Seven

The important point here is that the issue of education in Iran has always been accompanied by tension, and even reaching this minimum and incomplete point is like a miracle and a great progress in the past hundred years. This progress has been accompanied by an exhausting beginning, and it is better to remember that even a tyrant king like Naser al-Din Shah, when he invited Mirza Hassan Rashdieh from Iran to build new schools in Iran, withdrew his support from him at the first threat from traditionalists and supporters of the old school. Interestingly, Mirza Hassan Rashdieh, with his own efforts and the help of some friends of education in Iran, attempted to establish a school nearly 10 times, and each time, the traditionalists opposed the school and destroyed its roof over Mirza Hassan Rashdieh’s head. They also attempted to assassinate him twice, resulting in his injury. Until thirty or forty years ago, under the social pressure of a group of traditionalists who considered

At the end, I feel it necessary to remind that the happiness and prosperity of the people of Iranian society lies in an education based on promoting peace, learning to respect each other, and eliminating discrimination, not in destructive ideological superhumans without emotions and feelings. Surely, in the long run, people who seek happiness and prosperity will choose the path of education based on peace, respect, and critical thinking, or more clearly, this path will automatically be imposed on them.

Sources:

1- Leader’s speech at a meeting with teachers and educators on the occasion of Teacher’s Day, Khamenei.ir, May 7th, 2017.

2- Erlanger, Steven and Saeedeh Scott officially recognized Palestine as a member of UNESCO despite opposition from America, New York Times, October 31, 2011.

Resolution of UNESCO on the Status of Jerusalem for Palestinians, Deutsche Welle, October 26, 2016.

4- Fundamental Transformation Document of Education and Training Foundations (P.D.F) https://goo.gl/LvSj5l

5- UNESCO and UN (P.D.F) 2030 Educational Document https://goo.gl/zYMZfD

6- Fatwa regarding the relationship with Baha’i students (opinions of Ayatollah Khomeini and Khamenei regarding Baha’is – fatwa), Avini website.