Iran has imposed new restrictions on 12 university social sciences deemed to be based on Western schools of thought and therefore incompatible with Islamic teachings, Iran state radio reported Sunday。
The list includes law, philosophy, management, psychology, political science and the two subjects that appear to cause the most concern among Iran's conservative leadership - women's studies and human rights。
"The content of the current courses in the 12 subjects is not in harmony with religious fundamentals and they are based on Western schools of thought," Iranian senior education official Abolfazl Hassani said. The restrictions prevent universities from opening new departments in these subjects, he added。
The decision is seen as a response to concerns expressed last year by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said the subjects could lead to religious doubts。
Some two million out of 3.5 million Iranian university students are studying social sciences and humanities, according to government statistics。