Education System; Students required to submit photos and videos of participation in government events for "Defense Readiness" exam

May 16, 2026; in the continuation of government policies within the education system to instrumentally use course grades for ideological goals and to drive students into participating in government events, reports received by Kurdpa indicate that students have been asked to capture photos and videos of their collective participation in nightly government events for the "Defense Readiness" course and to submit them as part of the evaluation for this course.

According to information received by Kurdpa, in recent days, the Ministry of Education of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the cities of Iranian Kurdistan has announced to schools that for the "Defense Readiness" course, students must collectively produce videos and photos of their presence in nightly government events and submit these images along with the exam for this course.

Kurdpa's sources say that this directive has been communicated orally to schools. In a related context, on May 15, 2026, Kurdpa published a report from Saqqez stating that students in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades were told that in order to obtain course grades, attendance at government events is mandatory. Furthermore, an image from one of the student groups related to Tuesday, May 12, 2026, had reached Kurdpa, the text of which was as follows: "My dear girls, the grade criteria for the Defense Readiness course, meaning the 8 points that are in our hands: the criteria will be several points for presence in the nightly gatherings, two points for research and study, and the rest will be the exam grade, and God willing, keep this in mind." 

In the Islamic Republic of Iran, public circulars explicitly containing the phrase "submit video of participating in events" are never published; however, the grading structure is designed in a way that leaves the hands of Basij instructors and religious teachers open to exert such pressures. The government has approved the general regulations and entrusted the execution of details to the Student Basij Organization, teachers, and local agents.

The general regulations approved that lead to the execution of such pressures on students are as follows:

1. Directive for the grading structure of the Defense Readiness course (12 written points, 8 practical points)

This structure has been implemented for years and is mentioned in the prefaces of official textbooks for "Defense Readiness" in the 9th and 10th grades. In the prefaces of these books, it states: "The method of evaluating the course is based on two sections: 12 written points and 8 practical points, which have been communicated to schools via a directive in coordination with the Student Basij Organization." Since the years 2010 and 2011, based on directives issued by the Ministry of Education—which were reflected in media outlets such as Khabaronline, ILNA, and Aftab News—it was designated that for students, particularly girls who do not have the possibility of attending shooting ranges, "activity in the school's Student Basij" and participation in extracurricular cultural programs would be the main criteria for receiving the 8 practical points. The message published in Saqqez, which stated "the grade criteria for the Defense Readiness course, meaning the 8 points that are in our hands..." relies precisely on this official and legal structure.

2. Notification of the national plan "Linking Mosque, Home, and School"

This plan is one of the most important documents connecting the nightly presence of students in mosques and gatherings to the school grading system. This plan was approved in the late 2010s, and its executive directive was communicated again in the years 2022 and 2023—as part of the policy to counter student protests—by the Pastoral Deputy of the Ministry of Education to schools across the country. News related to it has also been published in official government media outlets such as IRNA and Shabestan. Based on the executive clauses of this plan, schools are obliged to coordinate with neighborhood mosques and to consider report card credits and continuous grades—especially in general courses and Defense Readiness—for students who participate in "nightly devotional-political programs, religious delegations, and national-religious occasions."

3. Circulars on "Jihad of Clarification" and the "Statement of the Second Step" in schools

After 2022, the Ministry of Education approved stricter directives to push students toward ideological programs. In the circulars of the Pastoral and Cultural Deputy of the Ministry of Education (reflected in the official "PANA" news agency affiliated with Education during the years 2023 to 2025), it is emphasized that documenting revolutionary activities and "Jihad of Clarification" through the capturing of photos, videos, and reports by the students themselves is considered one of the criteria for evaluating their practical and pastoral grades.

Putting these documentations together provides a clear picture of the government's hidden policies in schools; by officially delegating the 8 practical points to the Student Basij Organization and implementing the "Linking Mosque and School" plan, the Ministry of Education has provided the ground for ideological pressure. Consequently, Basij instructors and local agents, relying on these authorities, compel students to attend nightly gatherings and send videos and photos of them in exchange for grades. The government has approved the general framework but left the direct application of pressure to local agents.

It is worth noting that this action by the Ministry of Education constitutes a violation of several international principles and standards of child rights and human rights:

• Violation of Articles 12, 13, and 14 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: The instrumental use of grades to force children to attend political and ideological gatherings is a clear violation of children's freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and expression.
• Violation of Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Conditioning course grades on participation in government events turns education into a tool for propaganda and ideological pressure.
• Violation of children's privacy and security: Forcing students to produce and submit videos and photos of themselves in political gatherings compromises their privacy and their psychological and physical security.

Image: An image published by Fars News Agency of nightly government events in the city of Hamadan under the title "Symbolic and Nostalgic Caravan of Dispatch to the Fronts in Hamadan," in which students and children are seen wearing military uniforms and holding "Kalashnikov" rifles.