Dozens of Baha’i Citizens Denied University Admission in 2018
Dozens of Baha’i citizens who passed the national university entrance exam have been denied the opportunity to file applications and register at universities.
Hrana, a news website that publishes human rights news in Iran, reported on Saturday, September 15th, that at least 34 Baha’i citizens faced a “file deficiency” message on the Assessment Organization’s website when attempting to register after passing the entrance exam.
This message has been sent to Baha’i citizens seeking university admission in recent years, and upon contacting the Assessment Organization’s response unit, these citizens are confronted with a registration ban due to their Baha’i faith.
Hrana, publishing screenshots from the Assessment Organization’s website announcing the file deficiency message for Baha’is, reported: “Frozan Nordel, Parsa Sheikhzavare, Hadi Hadayati, Arin Baghai Amraei, Vafa Nobakht, Adib Rahmani, Parviz Rahmani, Kiana Restak, Negar Iqani, Houman Zarei Kodoi, and Arsham Hashemi are among Baha’i citizens who received this message.
According to the report, the number of Baha’i citizens who participated in the 2018 national entrance exam and were denied education by the file deficiency message on the Assessment Organization’s website, whose identities have been confirmed, has reached 34 individuals.
In June of this year, it was also reported that Sogol Zobeidi, a second-year graphic design student in the bachelor’s program at Rasam University of Karaj, was unable to receive an exam admission card due to her Baha’i faith and was expelled from the university.
The denial of dozens of Baha’i citizens from university education despite passing the national entrance exam comes at a time when Islamic Republic officials had previously denied the existence of restrictions on education for this group of citizens in international forums.
This denial was met with strong reactions from human rights activists defending minority rights, who presented evidence of Baha’is being denied education.
Last year, the Islamic Republic’s judicial system convicted three young Baha’is, who had been denied university registration and had made efforts to lift this ban, to prison.
In recent years, the summoning and detention of Baha’is and their denial of education and employment has repeatedly made headlines. International human rights organizations and the United States State Department have condemned the Islamic Republic government’s treatment of Baha’is and violation of their citizenship rights.
Source: Voice of America
