Scientific Dialogue for Provincial Advancement / Roundtable Discussion of Lorestan University Faculty with the People's Representative

A meeting of ideas was held with the presence of Dr. Reza Sepehvand, the representative of the people of Khorramabad and Chegeni in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, with the faculty members of Lorestan University on the topics of the province's budget, the elimination of preferential currency, and the livelihood of faculty members. In this meeting, the faculty members raised their questions and suggestions, and Dr. Sepehvand answered the questions and explained the most important measures and follow-ups related to the province's progress (based on balanced development).

According to the Public Relations of Lorestan University, in this meeting, which was held on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, by the Basij Faculty Association of Lorestan University, in the Shahid Mirbaharsi Hall of the university, the faculty members shared their views with the member of parliament.

Explanation of the actions of the Balance Commission

Dr. Reza Sepehvand, the representative of the people of Khorramabad and Chegeni in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, explained in his speech: "Statistics prepare the indicators, and the indicators ultimately provide the amount of budget increase for each province; therefore, providing real statistics in all areas is a very important issue."

The representative of Khorramabad and Chegeni explained: "One of the important budget issues is the balance law; we formed the Balance Commission in the parliament so that the balance law is implemented correctly and fairly; based on this law, three percent of the government's public revenue should be allocated to deprived areas; the principle of balance should be such that every year, the distance between deprived provinces and prosperous provinces decreases by 10 percent."

Dr. Sepehvand stated: "For the 2026 budget of Lorestan province, the amount of balance credits had a 53% growth, but we followed up and increased 53% to 76%, which is not our ideal, but good growth has occurred; the mission of the Balance Commission is to pay attention to justice, especially with an emphasis on the progress of deprived provinces."

He explained: "The more a province has revenues from the prosperity of industry and economy, its budget will automatically increase from the value-added tax."

He announced that in the Balance Commission of the parliament, they are following up to amend this law; in this way, the revenues from the value-added tax will be deposited in a national fund and then distributed based on the national per capita in the provinces of the country so that deprived provinces can also benefit sufficiently from this issue."

Another issue that this member of parliament pointed out is the issue of the tax law; determining the amount of revenues of each province from taxes should be in proportion to the type of jobs and the income of the people of that province.

The representative of Khorramabad and Chegeni in his remarks also pointed out that the situation of Lorestan University's lands is at stages where it is hoped that it will return to the full ownership of Lorestan University, and fortunately, good steps have been taken so far.

Strengthening the space for dialogue in society with rational approaches / the necessity of expanding the culture of responsible criticism

The President of Lorestan University said in his speech: "Such meetings make dialogue-oriented spaces more rational; this type of dialogue, based on rationality and rationalization, should be the model for the space of public dialogues in society."

Dr. Mehrdad Dadestani explained: "In accordance with the current conditions of the country, this type of dialogue and the culture of responsible criticism should be expanded, and the university can be a pioneer in this path."

Transparently informing the public about performance

Dr. Gholamhossein Hosseini, the head of the Basij Faculty Organization of Lorestan Province, explained in his speech that if actions are taken by members of parliament, they should be informed; the performance should be transparently informed to the general public. Also, the culture of demanding should be promoted in society.

In this meeting, the faculty members expressed their diverse views on economic issues such as the inflation rate in the province, the issue of combating tax evasion in the province, strengthening the supervisory aspect of the parliament, paying attention to the fair distribution of incomes in different segments of the people in proportion to the inflation rate, amending the comprehensive strategic plan of the province, updating deprivation indicators in the field of budget writing for deprived areas, the issue of university lands, improving the budget of the country's higher education system with an emphasis on the budget of universities in less developed provinces, facilitating administrative bureaucracies to attract investors, and so on.