IRAN: Overhaul to purge Western influences

Iran is overhauling its education system to rid it of Western influence, the latest attempt by the government to fortify Islamic values and counter the clout of the country's increasingly secularised middle class, writes Thomas Erdbrink for The Washington Post.

Starting in September, all Iranian high school students will be introduced to new courses such as "political training" and "living skills" that will warn against "perverted political movements" and encourage girls to marry at an early age, Education Ministry officials say.

In universities, the curricula of law, psychology, sociology and other studies will be drastically altered, with officials from the Science Ministry working to strip out what they describe as Western theories and replace them with Islamic ones. Dozens of professors have already retired or been fired on the grounds that they did not sufficiently support the new policy and many students, professors and parents fear that the plans will undermine Iran's traditionally high academic standards.
Full report on the Washington Post site