The state-run Etemad newspaper reported that some schools are forcing parents to clean the schools due to their inability to pay tuition fees. In Taybad, a girls’ school, Bahonar, threatened to expel a student if her father didn’t pay the tuition. In Tehran, a school compiled a list of underprivileged families and contacted them to clean the school.
*Etemad* on October 18, citing a report of a mother being forced to clean her child’s classroom, stated that this practice has also occurred in other schools.
According to the newspaper, the practice of having parents clean schools is not new. Some schools compel the parents of underprivileged students to clean the school during the registration process. If the families refuse, they are threatened with their child’s expulsion.
The report’s author noted that this situation has occurred in a school in Tehran and the Bahonar school in Taybad, Razavi Khorasan province. The investigation revealed that some students had been harassed and seriously harmed, to the point where some have dropped out.
In a state-run school in Qods City, Tehran, a student’s mother was forced to clean all the classrooms in order to register her child in school.
School Cleaning by Parents
A school principal in Tehran used the parents of underprivileged students to clean the school and told families that those unable to pay for registration should come to the school.
According to the report, when parents came to the school, they were told to either clean the school or, if they had skills like construction or welding, to do those jobs for the school.
Physical Punishment
The principal and the executive assistant did not treat the students well, and some time ago, the executive assistant slapped an elementary school student.
The report states that when the student’s family found out about the incident, instead of apologizing, the principal and assistant escalated the situation, leading to further tension and conflict.
The physical punishment of students in Iranian schools has a long history, with many reports about it published in recent years.
I Only Had 100,000 Tomans During Registration
According to Etemad, a school in Tehran charges the parents of “migrant students” 1 to 2 million tomans (around 15.3 to 3.7 dollars) in cash for their children’s registration.
The minimum wage of workers with two children is about 169 dollars.
A mother said her daughter had dropped out for nearly two years due to financial struggles. This year, during registration, the school asked for 700,000 tomans (around 11 dollars), but she said: “I only had 1,000,000 rials (around 1.5 dollars), and I had to clean the classrooms for my daughter.”
She explained her family’s poor financial condition and her husband’s illness, adding: “Last week, they called us and said, ‘Come, we will give you a gift card, we want to help you.’ I told them we live far away and can’t come. They insisted, saying they would cover our costs, but they gave us nothing.”
The mother added, “We haven’t eaten chicken for a long time; we’ve forgotten its taste. My kids ask me, ‘Mom, buy chicken, buy fruit.’ But I don’t have any [money]… where should I get it from?”
On October 3, the Statistical Center of Iran reported an increase in the number of students dropping out, stating that at least 929,798 students missed out on education in the 2022-2023 school year.
