In this report, Volunteer Activists continues its periodic examination of the state of teachers’ rights in Iran. This third report covers the period from June 2025 to July 2026, a period marked by severe crises, including the 12-Day War, the nationwide protests and an ensuing violent crackdown in January 2026, and the 40-Day War. Its primary focus is on teachers’ fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, association, and assembly; job security; adequate livelihoods and decent working conditions; and meaningful participation in decisions affecting schools and their profession. The situation of pupils is at times also examined where it intersects with these issues.

The report draws on official documents and statistics; reports by media outlets and human rights organizations; statements issued by teachers’ trade unions and associations; academic research; interviews with teachers’ trade union activists inside Iran; and other data independently collected and verified by Volunteer Activists. Due to severe communication constraints and restrictions imposed by the security and wartime environment the figures presented in this report represent only the minimum number of cases that could be documented.

During the period under review, teachers’ fundamental rights were restricted through two mutually reinforcing channels: security and judicial measures on the one hand, and administrative and economic penalties on the other. The data collected document at least 90 arrests and 69 judicial or administrative measures against serving and retired teachers, with 15 teachers appearing in both categories. Arrests, summonses, criminal proceedings, imprisonment, and restrictions on communication, combined with dismissal, suspension, removal from service, salary deductions, forced transfers, and compulsory retirement, created a broad system of pressure whose effects extended well beyond the individuals directly targeted.

Principal Trends in Teachers’ Rights

The developments documented during the period under review point to several broader trends in the way teachers’ rights were affected.

1. Increasing pressure on trade-union activity

The repression of teachers and trade-union activists intensified after the Woman, Life, Freedom movement (2022) and even more so after the December/January protests (2025–2026). Pressure increasingly combined arrest and prosecution with suspension, dismissal, compulsory retirement, financial penalties, restrictions on online activity, and other administrative measures. Searches of activists’ homes, confiscation of devices, collective cases, and the forced departure of prominent activists also weakened teachers’ capacity to organize collectively. Several teachers were also killed in connection with the January protests, adding a more severe dimension to the risks faced by those participating in collective action.

2. Changing forms of protest

The decline in independent gatherings by serving teachers did not reflect a decline in grievances. Retirees, graduates of Farhangian University and other aspiring teachers, Literacy Movement personnel, and Farhangian University staff became more prominent in protests, while campaigns increasingly moved to petitions, open letters, and social media. For serving teachers, the risks of suspension, transfer, demotion, salary deductions, and dismissal remained a significant constraint on visible activism.

3. Expanding security controls in schools

Following the January protests, reports of searches, questioning, family summonses, undertakings, and the involvement of security personnel in schools pointed to an expansion of surveillance beyond the streets. This blurred the boundary between education and security and risked undermining teachers’ and students’ willingness to speak openly about protest, violence, detention, and bereavement.

4. Growing responsibilities for teachers during crises

The two wars during the period under review added another layer of pressure to an already strained education system. Teachers were among those killed and injured, while others experienced displacement, loss of family members or colleagues, and disruption to their work. During wars and school closures, teachers were nevertheless expected to maintain contact with students, produce educational content, communicate with families, and compensate for lost instructional time, often using their own devices and resources. These additional responsibilities came alongside declining purchasing power, insecure employment, delayed payments, and administrative pressure, placing an increasing burden on teachers to absorb the effects of systemic crises.

5. Gaps in official data and independent documentation

Official figures often provided aggregate numbers without sufficient information for independent verification, including complete lists of victims, injuries, treatment, or educational consequences. Under conditions of security pressure and internet disruption, reliable name-by-name documentation remains essential for accountability and for following individual cases.

6. Greater international attention, but limited accountability

The situation of Iranian teachers received increased attention from Education International, the ILO, the UN Human Rights Council, and the International Labour Conference. Coordinating Council representatives also gained international platforms to raise teachers’ concerns. However, international visibility has not yet consistently translated into concrete outcomes such as releases, reinstatement, protection of trade-union rights, or legal and institutional reform.

7. Policy commitments constrained by implementation

The government introduced some measures intended to improve conditions for teachers and retirees. Their practical impact, however, was often limited by inflation, insufficient resources, and bureaucratic obstacles, leaving a significant gap between policy commitments and actual improvements in teachers’ working conditions, purchasing power, employment security, and retirement provisions.