Mohammad Vahidi, a member of the Education and Research Committee of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (Parliament), announced that 18,000 reserve teachers were employed without employment contracts, timely payment of salaries, and insurance. He admitted that the Ministry of Education should determine the fate of these teachers.
On November 17, Mohammad Vahidi, referred to the employment of 18,000 reserve teachers in the new academic year and announced that these individuals are working without contracts, salaries, and insurance, and their situation should be determined by the Ministry of Education.
After two months into the new academic year, Vahidi mentioned that “in October of this year, 23,000 primary school classes had no teachers.”
“The Ministry of Education has been forced to invite some of the reserve teachers, who had ten years of teaching experience and were removed from the system, to teach again,” he stated.
Referring to the fact that “approximately 18,000 reserve teachers were sent to classrooms without teachers, but these individuals still lack contracts, salaries, and insurance,” he added, “At the very least, it is expected that the Ministry of Education determines their situation.”
According to Vahidi, “Teachers who were recently recruited through the employment examination entered classrooms without completing the teacher training course and are simultaneously undergoing their training while teaching, even though these individuals are required to complete a six-month or one-year teacher training course before entering schools.”
Hamidreza Hajibabayi, the head of the Teachers’ Faction in the Majlis, also reported in December of last year that there was a shortage of 300,000 teachers in various fields, including physical education, educational affairs, and laboratories.
The teacher shortage crisis in Iran has heightened in recent months, with protests from teachers about the government’s inability to pay their salaries and delayed paychecks. The government, as usual, has responded with indifference, repression, and the arrest and imprisonment of some protesting teachers.
3 million students studying in dilapidated schools
A few days ago, Vahidi also mentioned that an earthquake can endanger the lives of 3 million students in dilapidated schools.
“In the government bill, the funding for the resilience and reconstruction of schools was contingent upon a 1% increase in value-added tax, while these funds should come from the government’s fixed revenues,” he said.
Referring to the failure to consider the decree related to the reconstruction and resilience of the country’s schools in the Seventh Development Plan, Vahidi stated, ”Unfortunately, the proposed government bill regarding the reconstruction and strengthening of schools was contingent upon the approval of a 9% to 10% increase in value-added tax, which is clear that the Majlis opposes it due to its inflationary nature.”
Hamidreza Khan-Mohammadi, the Deputy Minister of Education of Iran, also reported in June that more than 11% of the country’s schools were dilapidated and in need of reconstruction.
Hamidreza Khan-Mohammadi announced that 13% of the country’s schools, which is about 100,000 classrooms, are dilapidated and need to be strengthened.
However, the problems are not limited to the dilapidation of schools. The lack of water and student dropouts should also not be overlooked. According to the report of the Ministry of Education in 2022, out of a total of 106,491 public schools nationwide, 7,017 schools (11.19%) lack access to drinking water through urban or rural pipelines, and 5,268 schools (8.4%) lack toilets.
Another serious problem in government schools is the high student population in classrooms. Most school classes have 40 students, even though according to the decision of the Supreme Council of Education, elementary school classes should not exceed 26 students under any circumstances.
In the academic year 2022-2023, over 556,000 Iranian adolescents, or according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children aged 15 to 17, dropped out of school. Among them, more than 295,000 were boys and more than 261,000 were girls. This is just one of the bitter statistics reported by the Statistical Center of Iran in its report titled “Social and Cultural Situation of Iran, Spring 2023.”
The provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, Khorasan Razavi, Tehran, Khuzestan, and West Azerbaijan have the highest absolute number of school dropouts.
