Students' Savings Fund Benefits Must Reach Teachers

Minister of Education reports follow-up on amending the Teachers' Savings Fund bylaws, organizing loss-making companies, strengthening financial oversight, and drafting election regulations for teacher representatives in the fund. The post "Teachers' Savings Fund Benefits Must Reach Teachers" first appeared on Safir Arjan.

According to the report of Ambassador of Arjan, Alireza Kazemi, the Minister of Education, in a meeting with a group of members and activists related to the teachers' reserve fund before noon today, emphasizing the necessity of protecting the interests of the members, reforming the structure of the fund and following up on teachers' demands, said: amending the statutes, determining the duties of loss-making companies, and providing the basis for the participation of teachers' representatives in the structure of the fund are among the main axes of the programs being pursued.

Referring to the ownership value of educators, Kazemi considered this issue to be one of the important demands of the fund members and said: the realization of this demand requires determining the legal nature of the fund and clarifying the ownership status of its capital. The amendment of the statutes was done in this direction and sent to the government for review, but this proposal was not accepted and the matter is still in the process of follow-up and administrative back and forth.

The Minister of Education stated that without solving the legal and structural issues of the fund, it will be difficult to achieve a sustainable solution to realize the property value, and emphasized that the goal must be pursued in such a way that the rights of working and retired educators are seen in detail.

Kazemi considered the expansion of companies and the complexity of its corporate structure as one of the fundamental issues of the Cultural Reserve Fund and said that the current management's intended approach is to reduce direct ownership, merge holdings, determine the task of loss-making companies and move towards professional investment in the capital market.

Pointing to the necessity of using specialized capacities in asset management, he said: instead of directly managing a large number of companies, it is possible to provide more efficient management of cultural assets through specialized investment mechanisms and buying shares of reputable companies.

At the same time, Kazemi emphasized the necessity of expert review of investment plans and avoiding decisions without economic justification and said: Fund resources should be used in the way of maintaining and increasing the interests of members.

Emphasizing financial health and preventing the formation of new cases

Referring to the existence of numerous legal cases left over from previous years in the fund's collection, the Minister of Education listed the assignment of these cases as one of the management's priorities and emphasized: the creation of new cases and decisions that can impose new legal and financial costs on the fund should be avoided.

He also considered the administrative, financial and moral health to be one of the requirements for activities in the cultural reserve fund and emphasized the necessity of continuous monitoring of the collection's performance, compliance with regulations and the use of supervisory capacities.

Referring to the establishment of the security unit in the fund complex, Kazemi described the monitoring of performance and protection of resources as part of the management's responsibility towards the cultural capital.

The regulations for the election of teachers' representatives have been prepared

Kazemi announced the preparation of the regulations for the election of six representatives from the cultural community based on the fund's statutes and said: "The ground for holding these elections is being followed up."

He also pointed to the strengthening of the board of trustees and the board of directors of the fund and the use of legal and economic capacities to examine the issues of this group and emphasized the necessity of appointing managers based on professional and expert qualifications, away from non-specialist recommendations and considerations.

According to the Minister of Education, the formation of advisory teams and the continuation of meetings with activists and cultural representatives can also help to directly convey the demands of members, investigate issues and strengthen the accountability of the fund's management.

The Minister of Education emphasized that the retired intellectuals also played a role in the formation and accumulation of the fund's assets, and clarified: the rights and contribution of this group should not be ignored in any of the proposed models for reforming the structure and realizing the ownership value.

He also announced the formation of a working group to investigate the issues of retired educators and said: issues such as livelihood, treatment, honoring and using the experience and professional capacity of retired people are on the agenda of this working group.

While appreciating the concern of the members present at the meeting, Kazemi emphasized the necessity of pursuing demands in an atmosphere based on dialogue, presenting expert suggestions and avoiding unconfirmed accusations.