Iran's parliament approves Rouhani picks for education ministries Iran's parliament has approved two cabinet members who will take charge of the country's education, paving the way for reforms in the sector - notably in the universities - under the government of President Hassan Rouhani. However, it rejected the new government's nominee for the sports ministry, Reza Salehi-Amiri, after his opponents accused him of corruption and encouraging anti-regime protests in 2009. Candidates for the education, higher education and sports ministries failed to win parliamentary votes of confidence in August, when Mr Rouhani's 18-member cabinet was unveiled, over claims they were either linked to the street protests of four years ago or lacked experience. Mr Rouhani put forward a different candidate for the higher education ministry but chose another reformist, Reza Faraji-Dana, insisting that university reforms would continue. "An official may change for some reason but the same path will be pursued," Mr Rouhani told the parliament on Sunday. The government will not retreat from its path [of moderate policies] even one iota and feels committed to the approach people chose in the June 22 election. Out of the 261 votes on Sunday, Mr Faraji-Dana received 159 for and 70 against, with 32 abstentions. Ali-Asghar Faani, the education ministry candidate, received 185 votes. Jafar Tofighi, who was "caretaker" higher education minster for two months - but not proposed for the full-time post by the new president - has rolled back some of the hardline policies of the previous government of Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad. During his time in office, he re-registered at least 40 students who had been expelled for their political activity, invited back scholars who had been forced to retire and removed some university deans who had implemented strict policies such as gender segregation in certain subjects to limit the numbers of female students. The three ministries are important as they have particular contact with Iran's youth, with students, teachers and athletes considered to have the capability to mobilise public support for or against the country's politicians. For example, this year the regime forced universities to finish the exam period before the presidential poll, fearing a repeat of the 2009 violence. This move benefited reformist and centrist candidates, however, as many students went back to their hometowns and villages, and encouraged people to vote for Mr Rouhani - one of the reasons he did surprisingly well in smaller constituencies. "Keeping a strong hold [over the] universities is crucial for any government," said a senior adviser to Iran's president. More than 4m students and 100,000 members of scientific boards are huge assets for any politician. On Sunday, Mr Rouhani condemned the punishment of students and called for academic freedom. "There should be freedom of expression in universities," said Mr Rouhani. This requires a more peaceful and more democratic atmosphere [in them].