While Iranian regime officials have presented official statistics indicating an increase in the number of dropouts from education to over 970,000 and the existence of at least 9 million illiterate individuals in the country, reports suggest that the increased fees imposed by schools under various pretexts have resulted in thousands of students being unable to enroll. Afghan children residing in Iran are also facing significant barriers to education.
The state-run Shargh newspaper reported on Sunday, September 10, about the “increase in school dropouts.” Shargh stated that “the number of school dropouts increases every year,” and this situation is a result of the “wrong economic and educational policies of governments” in Iran, which have disregarded “the principle of Article 30 of the Constitution and the fundamental rights of children.”
This report, highlighting the increase in the number of children dropping out of education and the simultaneous increase in child labor in Iran, emphasizes that according to available statistics, “the illiteracy rate in 2021 was 12% of Iran’s population.”
According to the Statistical Center, Iran’s population in September is approximately 85.25 million people, and based on the “12% illiteracy rate” in 2021, the number of illiterate individuals in the country is at least 10.23 million people.
Yousef Nouri, the former Minister of Education in Ebrahim Raisi’s administration, also presented similar statistics on August 27, saying, “Regarding the number of illiterate individuals, according to the 2016 census and the statistics announced by the Statistical Center of Iran, we have 8.795 million illiterate individuals in Iran.”
He referred to 160,000 elementary school dropouts and said, “According to the latest information, there were 970,000 dropouts in the country, and this number has been reduced by approximately 150,000 individuals.”
Shargh newspaper warns about “future damages in society in the next decade” due to the increasing number of school dropouts and emphasizes that the “commercialization of children’s education,” which has led to “receiving money under the pretext of school assistance” and “tuition fees for enrollment” even in public schools, is one of the factors contributing to “the dropout of some children” whose families are in the lower-income brackets.
Intensified Obstacles to Afghan Children’s Education in Iran
In recent weeks, multiple reports have been published regarding the increased obstacles faced by Afghan children in Iran when it comes to enrollment and education. The Shargh newspaper also confirms the escalation of these issues, emphasizing that “the barriers to enrollment, especially for Afghan children, are becoming more complex every day.”
The newspaper further adds that with less than two weeks remaining until the new academic year begins, “many of these children have not even been able to obtain the initial code for the registration process.” Additionally, according to statements from child rights activists, in many cases, even after completing all the required documents, school administrators still refuse to enroll them.
Mohammad Saleh Noghrehkar, a lawyer and head of human rights at the Bar Association, told the newspaper that “despite the increased migration of Afghan citizens to Iran and the management difficulties at the borders, the number of these children in Iran has grown compared to the past, and the obstacles to their enrollment have increased accordingly. Many non-governmental organizations have not yet been able to facilitate the registration of Afghan children in schools.”
Noghrehkar, who has been in contact with charities in three areas of Tehran that were established to support the education of Afghan children, adds that “these institutions have generally announced reaching their capacity after September 6 because the number of these children has risen to such an extent that, for example, a school with a capacity of 30 students is now facing the arrival of 300 students.”
It is worth noting that the schools in Iran open on September 23.
Commercialization of Education: Increasing Dropouts and Widening Educational Disparities
The commercialization of education in higher education began in 1982 with the establishment of the Islamic Azad University. However, in pre-higher education levels, it was officially recognized through the approval of the “Amendment to the Law on the Establishment of Non-Profit Schools” by the regime’s Majlis (parliament) on July 23, 1988.
Nevertheless, over the past three decades, the establishment of non-profit schools has effectively turned into a profit-generating enterprise for certain individuals and government affiliates. Some high-ranking officials, primarily using government resources, have established private schools.
The tuition fees of private schools have reached astronomical figures, and in practice, only children from affluent sections of society have been able to benefit from private education.
Ahmad Mahmoudzadeh, the head of the Organization for Non-Governmental Schools and Centers at the Ministry of Education, announced in a television program that the tuition fees for non-governmental schools for the academic year 2023-2024 would range from 50 to 480 million rials (approximately $100 to $1,000).
Meanwhile, Mohammad Hassan Asafari, a member of the Majlis, has stated that “many schools charge tuition fees of 700 million and 1 billion rials (approximately $1,400 to $2,000) under the pretext of language classes, yoga, swimming pools,” and similar activities.
It is worth noting that the minimum monthly salary of wage earners in Iran is approximately 80 million rials, meaning a mere $155.
The exorbitant tuition fees of non-governmental schools have also led to government schools demanding money from students’ families under various pretexts. This issue is now mentioned in a report by the Shargh newspaper as one of the factors contributing to the increase in school dropouts and the “rise in the number of those left behind in education” in Iran, as many families from lower socioeconomic backgrounds cannot afford these expenses.
Furthermore, the report emphasizes that even for issuing or delivering student report cards, many schools demand “money” from families. As a result, some students lose the opportunity to receive their report cards and progress to higher grades, disrupting their educational continuity.
The commercialization of schools in recent years has exacerbated the “educational gap and social divide” in Iran to the extent that, according to a study by the Ministry of Welfare’s Social Studies Office on university admissions, “in the 2010s, the top three decile of the of society were six times more likely to enter top-ranking universities compared to the lower segment of society.”
On August 20, the state-run Resalat newspaper also highlighted that, according to official government statistics, “in the nationwide entrance exams held in January and July, only three out of the top 40 ranks were from public and ordinary schools.”
Mansour Kabganian, a member of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, also admitted in a television program that “80 percent of the rankings below the top 3,000 in the nationwide entrance exams come from high income deciles, and only two percent of the top three ranks manage to enter universities.”
The International Association for the Assessment of Academic Progress test results reveal a distressing reality – Iranian students rank among the “weakest” in the world when it comes to their educational abilities. Moreover, the outcomes of the PIRLS and TIMSS exams further underscore the alarming state of Iran’s education system.
According to the PIRLS 2021 exam results, published in mid-June 2023, Iranian students scored a dismal 413 in reading ability, placing Iran at the bottom of the table among the 57 participating countries. The gender disparity is equally concerning, as girls’ average performance has been consistently better than boys’ in almost all countries, except in Iran where girls’ performance has declined since 2016.
The deeply rooted problems within Iran’s educational system stem from government policies that perpetuate corruption and hinder students’ progress. As long as these issues persist, Iran’s students will continue to face immense challenges in achieving their educational potential.
