Tehran: The Iranian authorities have banned the teaching of all foreign languages in kindergartens and primary schools, AFP reported citing IRNA News Agency.
The teaching of foreign languages has been banned as the Iranian identity of children is formed at this age, according to Massoud Tehrani-Farjad, an education ministry official.
“The ban on the teaching of foreign languages does not only concern English but also other languages, including Arabic,” he added.
He noted that the only official language of the Islamic Republic is Persian, with influences from Arabic, English, and French.
In 2018, Iran banned the teaching of English in primary schools, after Islamic leaders warned that early learning of the language opened the way to a Western “cultural invasion”.
As per media reports, Iran’s official curriculum excludes English from primary school, but non-governmental and some public schools offer English as an extra-curricular subject, not mandatory.
