Independent student news outlets in Iran announced on August 20 that there has been a marked increase in restrictions on dormitories, especially in accommodation facilities for women, ahead of the new school year and the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody, which sparked months of unrest.
According to the Iranian Student Guild Councils, the clampdown, particularly in female dormitories, has reached unprecedented levels with some accommodation centers, such as the female dormitory of Tabriz Cultural University, having restrictions "more stringent than those in prisons."
A report from the group noted that during summer-term examinations the university has enforced a one-hour movement limit for female students residing in the dormitory, essentially keeping them inside the residence for 23 hours a day. All departures and arrivals are meticulously recorded and if a student exceeds the one-hour limit, they are "immediately" reported to security officials.
The Student Guild Councils also said that noncompliance with the restriction results in the student's family being informed, the confiscation of their student card, and a ban on leaving the dormitory. Repeated breaches can lead to disciplinary action.
The report also shed light on the deteriorating conditions in male dormitories, and the enforcement of a student dress code.
Over the past year, universities have been among the main venues for unrest following the death of Amini, 22, while she was being held for an alleged head-scarf violation.
Many cultural and entertainment luminaries have also been the focus of attention for authorities because they spoke out against the crackdown on dissent.
The Student Guild Councils Telegram channel recently highlighted the sudden removal of two courses -- sculpture and cinema -- from the Art University's entrance exams without any prior notification. While one university representative refuted this claim, another suggested that the courses could be reinstated following a review.
This comes on the back of speculation that sculpture classes may be scrapped entirely due to student participation in last year's protests.
Following recent nationwide demonstrations, pressure has increased on universities across the country to enforce the policy of requiring women to wear an Islamic head-scarf, or hijab.
The extent of the crackdown on students is such that students are quickly summoned and issued with "expulsion" or "suspension from studies" orders for any form of protest action or noncompliance with the dress code.
Universities and students have long been at the forefront of the struggle for greater social and political freedoms in Iran. In 1999, students protested the closure of a reformist daily, prompting a brutal raid on the dorms of Tehran University that left one student dead.
Over the years, the authorities have arrested student activists and leaders, sentencing them to prison and banning them from studying.
The activist HRANA news agency says at least 700 university students have been arrested during the recent unrest.
Many have faced sentences such as imprisonment, flogging, and dozens of students have been expelled from universities or suspended from their studies, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.