IRANIAN BAHA'I STUDENTS SHUT OUT OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

NEW YORK, 31 July 2007 (BWNS) --
Iranian Baha'is seeking to enter Iran's
technical and vocational institutes have been effectively barred from
admission for the coming academic year, since the application to sit for the
entrance examinations leaves them with no option but to deny their faith,
which Baha'is refuse to be coerced into doing.

The Baha'i International Community learned recently that the 2007 form for
the entrance examination for undergraduate courses under the technical and
vocational education system indicates that only one box may be marked for
religion.

The applicant is given three choices - Zoroastrian, Jewish, or Christian -
and if none of the boxes is marked, the form explains, the applicant will be
considered Muslim. This is unacceptable to Baha'is.

"Under this system, Baha'is cannot fill out the application without a de
facto denial of their faith, which is against their religious principles,"
said Bani Dugal, the Baha'i International Community's principal
representative to the United Nations.

"Accordingly, Iranian Baha'is will not be able to take this entrance
examination, and so they are effectively blocked this year from obtaining
technical and vocational education in Iran.

"Such a denial of access to education violates the internationally
established right to education, to which the government of Iran has agreed,
and reflects yet another facet of Iran's continuing persecution of the
Baha'i community of Iran," said Ms. Dugal.

The Baha'i International Community decries the government's actions not only
against Baha'i students - who are deprived of higher education solely for
their religious beliefs - but also against any other Iranian students who
are being denied access to higher education on clearly insupportable
grounds, such as for giving voice to beliefs or opinions that are not
officially endorsed, Ms. Dugal said.

Last autumn, after more than 25 years during which Iranian Baha'is were
outright banned from attending public and private universities, several
hundred Baha'i students were admitted to various educational institutions
around the country. This came about after the government stated its position
that the reference to religion on entrance examination papers to
nonspecialized universities and colleges did not identify university
applicants by their religion, but only gave the religious studies subject on
which they had been examined. This clarification was accepted by the
Universal House of Justice, the international governing body of the Baha'i
Faith.

The acceptance of Baha'i students at Iranian universities has, however, been
short-lived, Ms. Dugal said.

According to the latest figures from Iran, of the Baha'i students who took
the national entrance examination last year, ultimately some 200 were
admitted and enrolled. Over the course of the school year, however, over
half that number - at most recent count, at least 128 - have been expelled
as school officials discovered they were Baha'is. This has led observers to
conclude that Iran's statements last year were nothing more than a ruse
intended to quell international protest over the denial to Baha'i students
of access to higher education.

"This latest news about the registration form for technical and vocational
education only serves to further confirm that Iran continues to play games
with Baha'i students in their country, and that its promises of access to
higher education for them are hollow," said Ms. Dugal.

To read this news story in Persian, go to
href="http://www.bahai.org/persian/persecution/newsreleases/31-07-07">http:/
/www.bahai.org/persian/persecution/newsreleases/31-07-07

To view the photos and additional features click here:
http://news.bahai.org

--
8-bp-070731-1-IRANVOTECH-570-S

----------------------------------------------------------
--
Advance release: Please check our website for the final version of this
article.
----------------------------------------------------------
--
Copyright 2007 by the Baha'i World News Service. All stories and photographs
produced by the Baha'i World News Service may be freely reprinted,
re-emailed, re-posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any
individual or organization as long as they are attributed to the Baha'i
World News Service. For more information, visit http://news.bahai.o