Student protests over Iran’s university entrance exam system continued on Sunday, spreading across at least 20 provinces as pupils demanded changes to rules that give school grades a decisive role in university admissions.
Videos received by Iran International showed students in the northeastern city of Mashhad chanting: “We have heard many promises, but seen no result,” and “If our problem is not solved, there will be protests every day.”
Other videos from the central city of Isfahan showed students chanting: “Student, shout, cry out for your rights.”
The protests, which began in late May in western and central Iran, initially focused on how final exams were being held. They later grew into a broader demand to cancel the fixed impact of 11th-grade GPA scores on the national university entrance exam, or at least change it to a positive-only effect.
Iran’s national university entrance exam, known as the konkur, is a highly competitive test that plays a major role in determining access to higher education and future career prospects.
Students say repeated changes to exam rules, the role of school grades in admissions and the way final exams are being held have placed heavy psychological and academic pressure on them.
Abdolvahed Fayyazi, a member of parliament’s Education and Research Committee, told the semi-official ILNA news agency that responsibility for the entrance exam decision lies with the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, a powerful state body that sets major education and cultural policies in Iran.
He said the council continued to insist on including school grades in the entrance exam process.
Fayyazi urged protesting students to “give up the protests and go study,” saying “there is no other choice and protests are useless.”
The protests have reached at least 20 provinces, including Tehran, Isfahan, Khuzestan, Fars, Razavi Khorasan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Gilan, Lorestan, Mazandaran and Yazd.
They have also spread to cities including Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, Shahrekord, Khorramabad, Arak, Qom, Yazd and Saveh.
Reports from some cities said security forces confronted protesters, injuring several students and arresting at least one person.
Students had previously gathered outside the Education Department in Mashhad, demanding the resignation of Abdolhossein Khosropanah, secretary of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution.
Khosropanah defended the policy in an interview with Iranian state television on Sunday, saying members of the council had reached a consensus on keeping the decisive role of 11th- and 12th-grade academic records in the 2026 entrance exam.
He also accused “most” of the protesters of being linked to the “konkur mafia,” a term Iranian officials use to refer to private tutoring and exam-preparation businesses that profit from the university entrance system.
The remarks drew criticism from students, who said the accusation ignored the real concerns of pupils facing repeated policy changes, exam pressure and uncertainty over their educational future.
Khosropanah acknowledged that some demands, including those of repeat entrance exam candidates and students seeking to improve their grades, could not be dismissed.
He said proposals including more opportunities to improve grades, single-subject grade improvement and changes to exam scheduling would be reviewed.
Students say their generation has already faced school closures, online learning, social crises and repeated changes to education rules, and should not have to pay the price for sudden and contradictory decisions by officials.
They have said the protests will continue until their demands are addressed.
