Education Minister Ali Asghar Fani managed to convince a majority of lawmakers on Wednesday to vote against an impeachment motion against him, regaining Parliament’s confidence to remain in office.
Fani’s response to the parliamentarians’ questions earned him 167 votes against the impeachment, of 256 votes cast, IRNA reported. In the meeting chaired by Deputy Majlis Speaker Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabifard, 76 lawmakers voted in favor of the move and 13 abstained.
First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri and some ministers also attended the session. According to the new amendments to the parliamentary procedure, after an impeachment request is submitted to the presiding board, it will be sent to the relevant specialized commission for further examination. The Majlis Education and Research Commission had not been convinced by Fani’s explanations in a meeting of the commission on June 14, subjecting the move to a Majlis vote.
The minister’s failure to win the trust and satisfaction of the education community and to have the government allocate the required budget for the implementation of plans to improve the education system were among the reasons mentioned in the text of the motion. Other reasons included the ministry’s unsatisfactory record in addressing the educational needs of deprived areas and in paying due attention to salary demands by the personnel and lack of effective and well-thought-out plans to help enhance the quality of education.
