Iran bans the teaching of English in primary schools

Iran has banned the teaching of English in primary schools, a senior education official has said, to stop the spread of a “cultural invasion” from the west.

Mehdi Navid-Adham, head of the state-run high education council, told Iranian television that teaching English in state-run and privately owned schools was “against regulations and should not happen”.

 “The assumption is that in primary education the groundwork for the Iranian culture of the students is laid,” he said.

The teaching of English usually starts in middle school in Iran, at the age of 12 to 14, but some primary schools below that age also have English classes.

His comments come after the biggest anti-regime protests in almost a decade, which the authorities blamed on a foreign conspiracy led by the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

At least 21 people were killed in the protests, and hundreds were arrested including about 90 students at Tehran University, according to members of parliament.

Although the unrest has largely ended, Preisdent Hassan Rouhani is under pressure from regime hardliners to limit social and political freedoms.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has repeatedly criticised the education system for not being Islamic enough. In 2016, he said it was “unhealthy” to have just English as the main foreign language.

“That does not mean opposition to learning a foreign language, but [this is the] promotion of a foreign culture in the country and among children, young adults and youths,” Khamenei, who has the final say in all state matters, said in a speech to teachers.

“Is it logical to promote their language with our own money?” he asked. Spanish, French and German could also be taught, he said, while insisting he did not mean to “stop teaching English at schools tomorrow”.