More than 200 textbooks in Iran are being reviewed to ensure they address concerns made about them by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Education Minister Youssef Nouri said on August 31 that the books in question were printed for the new academic year, but after Ayatollah Khamenei went through them and made comments, changes to them will be made. The books will be introduced into grades 1 through 12 in the next school year, he added.
Nouri did not specify what the changes were. Khamenei has previously said that the teaching of many humanities subjects in universities causes disbelief in divine and Islamic teachings.
Textbooks have been changed several times in Iran since the 1979 revolution and the creation of an Islamic republic to include religious discourse and promote revolutionary, Islamic values among youth.
Officials have suggested that the reported changes are part of an effort to bring the textbooks in line with the clerical establishment’s education policies, including the Fundamental Reform Document Of Education, adopted in 2011.
These policies say the country needs an “education system capable of materializing [the ideal Islamic life], universal justice, and Islamic-Iranian civilization.”
In May, Khamenei demanded the removal of "useless" materials from textbooks during a meeting with a group of teachers.