In a meeting with hundreds of professors, faculty members and researchers from universities and academic centers, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei described universities as very important centers for “raising the country’s intellectual faculty” and outlined the three basic necessities of universities, namely, “engagement with the country’s issues and challenges,” “cultural, ethical and identity education of students” and “perpetual transformation and continuous reformation in academic environments.” He stressed, “The issues and problems of the country should be resolved sensibly, and it is very essential and important to universities and professors as well as the capable and talented hands of diligent and motivated youths in the path.”
At the beginning of his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei said the issues raised by the professors in the meeting were very good and pertinent to the country’s issues and challenges, adding, “In the comments of the respected professors, important subjects such as the economy, social maladies, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal), water [resources], aerospace, innovation, scientific diplomacy, cinema, art, marriage and the family [institution] were raised, which shows the progressive ideological and motivational movement of the academic community.”
He described universities as important centers for “raising the intellectual faculty of the country,” adding, “Good universities are vital for the management of the country and in the process of creating and cultivating the country’s intellectual faculty, beloved professors bear a very prominent and crucial responsibility.”
Continuing, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to three requirements and basic elements for the realization of this important goal and the effective contribution of universities to the country’s’ progress.
Stating the first topic, he stressed the need for “universities’ engagement with the country’s’ issues,” reiterating, “The current and future problems of the country should be settled sensibly because an unscientific and injudicious approach to problems will aggravate and multiply them.”
Ayatollah Khamenei subsequently pointed to some issues and problems of the country which require the serious and engagement of the university, saying, “As an example, universities must, through scientific and remedial efforts, take on the issue of the economy, whose problems some believe to be the result of some poor or wrong management approaches.”
In this regard, he added, “I have on several occasions recommended senior administrative officials to gather and use the diverse viewpoints of economy professors, because observing and listening to these opinions can lead to breakthroughs.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said “industries” represent another area for the enhancing and developing engagement of universities and approved the ratification of the one-year sabbatical leaves for professors in industries. He added, “The universities should become acquainted with the problems of industries at close hand and solve them so that there would be no need to set our sights on foreigners for the resolution of the oil or electricity industries.”
He pointed to some remarks including those declaring lack of alternative to using advanced foreign companies’ technologies to step up oil extraction, saying, “The result of desperation in signing contracts with foreign companies is that they will impose some issues on the country.”
Ayatollah Khamenei cited the experience of 20-percent uranium enrichment as a glowing example of the capabilities and talents of the country’s youths, reiterating, “In a period when they had set terms and conditions for the sale of 20-percent enriched uranium and some officials had grown inclined to giving away some concessions in this regard, we succeeded, through the efforts of the youths and through perseverance and steadfastness, to achieve 20-percent [enriched] uranium and the world watched in utter disbelief that we do not need the US, Russian and French uranium.”
He added, “How can the talent that has managed to pull off such astonishing feats not be able to increase the output of oil wells?”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said “social maladies” are another area for the involvement of the academic community with the problems of the country, reiterating, “It is around three years that we have activated the various apparatuses of the three branches [of the government] and some good moves have been taken which will bear fruit in the long term ; however, the universities can speed up the resolution of the important issue of social maladies through their suggestions and solutions.”
rm the chain of production and consumption” was another of the recommendations of Ayatollah Khamenei to university professors and researchers.
He said scientific studies on “the obstacles to the production of high-quality domestic goods” and “finding the psychological and sociological root causes of the proclivity of some strata for foreign products” as other issues where the academic community can provide wise, concrete and feasible solutions.
Summing up the first subject of his remarks; namely, “the engagement of the academic community with the country’s issues and challenges,” the Leader of the Islamic Revolution stressed an important point. He reiterated, “As I have repeatedly said, the realization of this cooperation requires the demand and will of the country’s managers and officials such that the managers will have to go [knocking on] the doors of the homes of scientists and not scientists being kept waiting behind mangers’ office doors.”
He asked the administrative officials present in the meeting to seriously raise and follow upon in cabinet meetings the issues of the link between the centers and apparatuses with universities.
Expounding the second topic of his argument in the meeting with professors and researchers, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “In the Islamic view, wisdom is not a material calculating device but is the reason for the growth and ascension of humankind, the instillation of belief in the Islamic lifestyle in the individual and the provider of various links in life and for the development of this great facility, the intellectual faculty must be culturally, spiritually and ethically nurtured.”
He stressed to the academic community, “Raise the innocent young student as faithful, brave, doers, diligent and hard-working, self-confident, amenable to the righteous, seeking the righteous, campaigners against tyranny and aggression, kind and self-sacrificing so that they would be able to properly manage the society in the future.”
As an example for the need for spiritual and moral cultivation, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the prevalent transgressions in cyberspace such as libel, vilification, defamation of the faithful and exaggeration of minor weaknesses, adding, “Spiritual cultivation can prevent these problems.”
Ayatollah Khamenei added, “Raise today’s youth as ones with a sense of identity, because if a society does not have a sense of identity, it will easily be overcome in the face of loud authoritative voices; however, the possession of religious, national and human identity will confer a sense of pride and resistance upon the society.”
The final topic of discussions of Ayatollah Khamenei pertained to the enumeration of the objective examples of the need for “permanent change, reformation and transformation in universities.”
He cited the transformation of the “approach of science consumerism to science generation” as such an instance, saying, “We have repeatedly said that we will be serve as apprentices in the face of others’ science; however, there is a difference between apprenticeship and emulation and permanent consumerism.”
Ayatollah Khamenei criticized those who believe that we should not go after the compilation and explication of Islamic human sciences because human sciences are confined to these common theories. He added, “Is not the existence of all these conflicting viewpoints in economy, management, philosophy and other human sciences a sign of the invalidity of some views? Furthermore, even in empirical sciences, the nullity of some statement have been proved and are being proved, so why do some people dismiss Islamic human sciences?”
He said the lack of correct or complete impartation of others’ sciences and these sciences not being updated inside the country are among the other reasons for the need to move toward the production of science, adding, “The wrong experiences of the previous regime must not be repeated.”
Ayatollah Khamenei recalled the impressive advances of the country in nanotechnology, stem cells, nuclear technology, biotechnology, medicine and other sciences, adding, “Some described these tangible advances, which cannot even be denied by global centers, as a bubble to dishearten the people and academic community, but these claims are one-hundred-percent false.”
Elsewhere in his remarks and on the issue of objective examples of the need for transformation in universities, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution added, “‘The regulation of researches’ is important and researches should be conducted with the two basic objectives of ‘fulfilling the country’s needs and solving its problems’ and ‘ascension to the peaks, assuming scientific authority and establishing presence among the world’s scientific vanguards.”
He reiterated, “The issue of concentration on paper publication has its proponents and opponents; of course, the papers that are cited are a source of honor for the country; however, in the process of the scientific promotion of professors, the generation of papers should not be regarded as a principle and standard.”
The Leader of the Revolution cited the “Document for Higher Education Planning” as another necessary transformation in the universities, adding, “This document was approved in the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution in the [Persian calendar year] 1395 (March 20, 2016 - 2017); however, no headway has been made in its implementation.”
Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated, “Planning higher education is a kind of labor division among universities in various scientific sectors that besides bringing about synergy will facilitate planning for the country’s scientific growth and assessment of its scientific status.”
“The complete realization of the country’s comprehensive scientific roadmap” was among the other issues that the Leader of the Revolution described as imperative in the path of the continuous reformation and transformation of universities.”
He described the country’s comprehensive scientific roadmap as favorable, saying, however, “The core of the universities which must implement this roadmap is not sufficiently acquainted with it; therefore, meetings should be held in the universities for the elaboration and implementation of the comprehensive scientific roadmap.”
“The danger of an imbalance in university majors and the growing inclination toward high-income majors,” which has resulted in a drop in gravitation toward very important majors such as mathematics and physics and emphasis upon the need to resolve this issue constituted another demand of the Leader of the Revolution.
In summarization of kind, the Leader of the Revolution addressed the university professors and faculty members, stressed, “Raise your students to be optimistic and hopeful about the country’s present and future, to believe in domestic capabilities and capacities and to be aware of the country’s condition so that they would be assured that just as the country’s advances are impressive compared to two or three decades ago, the future of the country will also be much brighter in comparison with today.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the lofty standing of the Islamic Republic among the masses of most nations, adding, “Islamic Iran has the most enemies among hegemonic and worthless governments just as it has the greatest prestige, supporters and influence among the masses of the regional people and mist of the countries and this has led to the malicious enemies permanently harbouring plots, but by the grace of God, they will be defeated against the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic.”
Ayatollah Khamenei described the prime minister of the child-killing and occupier regime of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, as the present day’s Shimr(the villain who beheaded Imam Hussain) and pointed to his bid to feign innocence in his trip to Europe. He said, “This criminal who has outrivaled all the tyrants of history mendaciously told the Europeans that Iran wants to destroy us and several million Jews, whereas our solution for the issue of Palestine is perfectly reasonable and consistent with democratic principles.”
The Leader of the Revolution criticized the silence of the Europeans against the crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza and al-Quds, adding, “We have always said that in order to determine the type of government in the ancient country of Palestine, we should, based on an approach accepted worldwide, defer to public opinion and conduct a poll and referendum among the true Palestinians, whether Muslim, Jewish or Christian, who have lived on this land, inside or outside the occupied territories, for at least 80 years.”
Ayatollah Khamenei added, “Is this proposal by the Islamic Republic, which has been officially registered at the Unites Nations, not consistent with principles endorsed by the world? Then why aren’t the Europeans prepared to consider it?”
At the beginning of this meeting, 13 university professors and faculty members raised their concerns and expressed their opinions for nearly two hours.
Misters:
Dr. Shahin Akhoundzadeh – Professor at Tehran University of Medical Sciences
Dr. Shahab Esfandiyari – Assistant Professor at Tehran University of Art
Dr. Mohammad Jamshidi – Assistant Professor at Tehran University
Dr. Mohammad Reza Javadi Yeganeh – Associate Professor at Tehran University
Dr. Farzad Jahanbin – Assistant Professor at Shahed University
Dr. Dehqani Firouzabadi – Associate Professor at Sharif University of Technology
Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi – Professor at Shahid Beheshti University
Dr. Peyman Salehi – Professor at Shahid Beheshti University
Dr. Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Abbas Mousavian – Professor at Islamic Research Institute for Culture and Thought
Dr. Kamran Davari – Professor at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
Dr. Shahin Mohammad Sadeqi – Associate Professor at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
Dr. Ja’far Aslani – Professor at Tehran University of Medical Sciences
And Ms. Dr. Maryam Haj Abdolbaqi – Assistant Professor at Islamic Azad University
Made the following points in their remarks:
Criticism of factional disputes and denial of the country’s advances
Emphasis upon the need to attend to research and increasing its share in the budget
Criticism of a politicized outlook toward the universities and replacement of university president’s with change in administrations
Emphasis upon the importance of paying attention to the cinema and correct policymaking in the field of culture and art
The need to take salutary lessons from the 2015 nuclear deal and understanding its experience
The need to find a sustainable solution and taking exceptional measures in countering social maladies with the use public capacities
Expression of concern about decline in population growth rate and rising age of marriage and suggestion to set up university majors related to the family institution
Expression of concern about scientific stagnation in space sciences
Emphasis upon the need for practical Jihad by following the model of the successful experience of the Sacred Defence against Iraqi aggression in the 1980s
Emphasis the need to expand the nuclear industry, particularly small nuclear reactors
Emphasis upon the need to take urgent measures about the water condition and implementing fundamental changes for the improvement of the situation
Emphasis upon the need for the banking industry to serve the true economy
Emphasis upon the need to pay attention to scientific diplomacy and health diplomacy
Emphasis upon the need to remove the obstacles in the path of the widespread use of Iranian products
At the end of this meeting, Maghrib (sunset) and Isha (night-time) prayers were led by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and the attendees broke their fast alongside him.