For most students around the world, the start of a new school year brings a sense of renewal and excitement for learning. However, many Iranian children are grappling with challenges that threaten their future.
Economists report that, for the first time in 75 years, Iran’s impoverished population has doubled in just three years — an alarming development unprecedented in the nation’s planning history. (Jamaran website – September 16, 2024)
Other sources have stated that 60% of Iran’s population lives below the poverty line. (Bahar News – September 13, 2024)
And these are merely the figures that have been allowed to leak into government-controlled media. This means they should be considered the minimum, as the reality surpasses the numbers officially announced.
The hardship inflicted on Iranian children by poverty and inflation is one of the most devastating outcomes of the economic and social crises caused by the mullahs’ religious dictatorship in Iran. This has particularly impacted education, resulting in a growing illiteracy rate that experts warn poses a grave threat to Iran’s future.
The High Prices of Uniforms, Textbooks, and Stationery
One of the primary reasons Iranian children are dropping out of school is the overwhelming cost of education, which includes textbooks, supplies, and school transportation. Many families simply cannot afford these expenses, forcing them to withdraw their children from school.
For instance, the price of school uniforms has exceeded 540,000 tomans, while a basic school bag costs at least 548,000 tomans. This is in stark contrast to the average worker’s monthly income of around 7 million tomans, making it impossible for many families to cover these costs.
Additionally, the average price of textbooks in the first three months of the Iranian year 1403 (mid-March to mid-May 2024) reached 140,000 tomans, reflecting a 32% increase compared to the same period in the spring of 1402. (Didbaniran.ir – July 30, 2024)
Inadequate Nutrition and Its Impact on Learning
Healthy and adequate nutrition is essential for every child to develop effective learning abilities. However, many Iranian children are now deprived of basic food items like meat, poultry, fruits, and other vital protein sources. The absence of these nutrients in their daily diet leads to physical and mental health issues, which in turn diminish their learning capacity and harm their academic performance. (Rouydad24 – December 13, 2023)
Hadi Mousavi Nik, the Director General of Social Welfare Studies at the Ministry of Labor, stated that “57% of the population suffers from malnutrition, with over 14.5 million of them being children. Of this number, nearly 10 million are under the age of 12.” (Ettela’at daily – July 20, 2023)
Low Quality Educational Content
In addition to financial challenges, the quality of education in Iranian schools has significantly deteriorated. Domestic experts have highlighted that the average grade of Iranian students is just 11.5 out of 20, indicating that many students are only studying with minimal effort or achievement. (Shahrvand daily, January 1, 2023, and Borna news agency, September 8, 2024)
The lack of teachers, insufficient facilities, and challenging learning conditions in remote and deprived areas are among the other factors contributing to the education crisis in Iran.
Textbooks also face issues such as poor content and distortion. The content of these books is mostly promotional and tailored to maintain authority, greatly reducing students’ motivation to learn.
In the fall of 2021, a report was published by the Center for Educational Quality Assessment and Monitoring of the Ministry of Education, which was highly significant. The results of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) indicate discouraging scores for Iranian children in the fourth and eighth grades. Additionally, based on these assessments, Iran ranks 50th and 48th out of 58 countries. (Etemad Newspaper – April 30, 2023)
PIRLS and TIMSS are international assessments conducted approximately every five years in about 60 countries to measure academic progress in science and mathematics.
Dropping out of School Instead of Education and Hope
According to Article 30 of the Constitution under Iran’s clerical regime, the government is obligated to provide free educational facilities for all citizens up to the end of secondary school and to expand higher education opportunities to ensure national self-sufficiency. However, the growing number of children dropping out of school in Iran demonstrates a clear failure to uphold this commitment.
Government media reported that in the academic year 2022-2023, more than 1.2 million students dropped out of school. (Etemad Daily – October 11, 2023)
In the new year, government media reported the non-registration of 790,000 students. (Asr-e Iran Daily – September 21, 2024)
The dropout rate among students has risen at all levels of education, closely correlating with the increase in poverty rates. Approximately one-third of Iran’s population is unable to meet their basic needs. In these circumstances, even if education is technically free, the additional costs can compel some families to prioritize immediate financial survival over their children’s education. (Etemad Online – March 17, 2024)
The Grim Future Facing School Dropouts
Rising poverty in Iran under the clerical regime presents a substantial barrier to the education of Iranian children. Many children who drop out of school resort to hard labor, working as laborers, apprentices, or garbage collectors. This not only jeopardizes their educational and occupational prospects but also perpetuates the cycle of poverty and deprivation within society.
According to a report from the Welfare Organization on child laborers in Iran, a significant number of street vendors and flower sellers are children involved in activities such as garbage collection and porterage. (Mehr News Agency – June 12, 2024)
Budget Cuts Threatening Education
Another critical issue is the reduction in the budget for the Ministry of Education. Ideally, this budget should account for approximately 20% of the country’s overall budget, but it has fallen to less than 10%. This decline reflects the authorities’ indifference toward the challenges facing education and children in Iran, signaling a lack of strategic planning to enhance the educational landscape. (IRNA – July 25, 2024)
Student Challenges in Underprivileged Areas
In deprived areas of Iran, many children study in tents, trailers, or unsuitable environments, while luxurious schools are built for affluent families in other parts of the country. This stark contrast in educational conditions reflects a profound imbalance and injustice within the Iranian educational system.
Under the clerical regime, stone schools, trailers, and tents have become all too common. According to the Ministry of Education, this issue remains one of the longstanding and unresolved dilemmas within the system, with approximately four thousand stone schools existing across the country. (Tabnak Website – February 14, 2021)
In more deprived provinces of Iran, such as Sistan and Baluchestan, Lorestan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Fars, and East Azerbaijan, the prevalence of trailer schools is significantly higher than in other regions. Abdollahi, the technical and supervisory deputy of the school renovation organization, acknowledged that there are a total of 1,073 trailer schools in the country. (Alef Website – March 20, 2024)
The commute for students, particularly in villages and nomadic areas, presents a serious and sometimes dangerous challenge due to inadequate transportation infrastructure and unsafe roads. Students are often forced to navigate difficult and perilous routes to access education in neighboring villages.
One of the major reasons female students in deprived and rural areas are compelled to drop out of school is the daunting nature of these long and challenging journeys to reach their schools.
As the new academic year begins in Iran, poverty and inflation have not only deprived Iranian children of their basic rights to education and nutrition but have also severely compromised their futures. This situation has led to rising illiteracy rates, increased school dropout rates, and ultimately, greater poverty and deprivation within society.
While many children around the world benefit from proper educational facilities, Iranian children are struggling to survive in a crisis-ridden environment. Under the clerical regime, even the education system has been decimated. The only path forward for Iranian children lies in establishing a democratic and popular government.
