Students and teachers' rights activists across Iran joined forces to stage nationwide rallies on May 9 against what they call the deteriorating state of the educational system and the systematic suppression of students, teachers, and parents.
The call for action, dubbed a "revolution of women, life, and freedom," was joined by a number of organizations, including the Iranian Retirees Council, students from the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, and the so-called "Revolutionary Students" of Tehran and Bushehr.
In a statement published last week on "Commemorating the Status of Teachers," the Iranian Teachers' Union's Coordination Council called on Iranian educators to hold the May 9 rally to coincide with the birthday of Jabbar Baghtcheban, the founder of the first Iranian kindergarten and deaf education in Iran in the 1920s.
The protesters issued a series of statements and social media slogans condemning a range of shortcomings caused by education officials and touched on the wave of suspected poisonings in girls' schools, the assassination of activist teacher Hossein Mahdipor, and the government's inability to pay teachers' salaries and arrears.
The Teachers' Union's Coordination Council has added its voice to the outcry, stating that the Islamic Republic's behavior has left "no hope for positive change."
Unrest -- including several protests by teachers -- has rattled Iran since last summer in response to declining living standards, wage arrears, and a lack of welfare support. Labor law in Iran does not recognize the right of workers to form independent unions.
The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody in September for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly breathed new life into the unrest, which officials across the country have tried to quell with harsh -- and sometimes deadly -- measures.
The activist HRANA news agency says that more than 500 people have been killed during the unrest, including 71 minors, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.
Thousands have been arrested in the clampdown, with the judiciary handing down harsh sentences -- including the death penalty -- to protesters.