IMC head Mohammad Reza Zafarqandi has raised concerns over the decision which he described as a “sudden u-turn,” adding it would add “burden on the country’s medical workers.”

“When an epidemic hits, schools are the first places that should be closed and the last to be reopened,” he said, hoping the move was not “politically motivated.”

Other Iranian officials have also criticized the decision of the education ministry, including a member of the Supreme Council of Education and former Minister of Education Asghar Fani.

Schools in Iran reopened last week for fifteen million students after a seven-month closure.

The reopening was overseen by President Hassan Rouhani who said: “This year, we shoulder a heavy burden of responsibility toward our students.”