Education Crisis in Iran: Each autumn, the start of Iran’s school year should signal hope and opportunity. Instead, it highlights a system in decay, where millions of children—particularly girls—are left behind. Education, a basic human right and a foundation for social justice, has become a mirror of the country’s broader economic and political dysfunction.
Budgetary neglect stands out. Global standards recommend allocating around 20 percent of public spending to education, but Iran commits less than 10 percent. Of that, about 98 percent goes to salaries, leaving only 2 percent for improving facilities or teaching quality. Education’s share of GDP is under 2 percent, far below UNESCO’s 4–6 percent benchmark. This chronic underinvestment has produced a shortage of over 176,000 teachers and widespread infrastructure decay. Many schools, especially in rural provinces, lack safe buildings, proper heating, or even permanent classrooms; more than a thousand operate out of makeshift shipping-container or tent structures.
Economic pressures deepen the divide. Average annual spending per student is roughly $300, compared with a global average exceeding $9,000. Skyrocketing costs for uniforms, books, and transportation place education out of reach for poor families, forcing painful choices between feeding their children and sending them to class. Up to four million students are believed to have left school, and child labor—often in dangerous jobs—fills the gap.
Girls face unique obstacles. Early marriage, permitted as young as 13, remains widespread; UNICEF reports that 17 percent of Iranian women aged 20–24 were married before 18. Rural families often lack nearby girls’ secondary schools or safe transport to regional centers, leading many to quit after primary grades. In some provinces, nearly half of girls drop out due to the absence of local schools. Even when girls persevere, they encounter a rigid gender hierarchy that limits their employment prospects and discourages civic participation.
The educational quality crisis shows up in global assessments. Iranian students rank near the bottom in international reading tests, with girls’ performance declining relative to earlier years despite generally outperforming boys worldwide. The system’s growing inequality reinforces class divisions: elite private schools charge high fees and offer modern resources to a small affluent minority, while millions of students endure overcrowded, under-resourced public schools.
This is more than an education problem; it is a structural injustice rooted in governance that prioritizes repression and military spending over children’s futures. For Iranian girls, the cost is measured in lost opportunities and silenced potential. Reversing the trend demands not only increased funding and infrastructure investment but also legal reforms to end child marriage, ensure gender equity, and guarantee every girl the right to learn in safety and dignity.