Mohammad Mehdi Kazemi, the Deputy of Secondary Education at the Ministry of Education of the Iranian regime, has announced that approximately 216,000 students are excluded from primary and secondary education. He noted that this figure comprises around 5% of secondary school students aged between 12 and 14.
According to the ‘Dideban-e Iran’ website, Kazemi stated that out of the 216,000 out-of-school children, approximately 67,000 either did not complete primary school or opted out for various reasons.
Simultaneously, the ‘Tejjart News’ website reported on January 12th that there was a 17% increase in the number of children not attending school in the last academic year compared to the 2015-2016 academic year.
Tejarat News cited the Parliament Research Center, stating that over 911,000 children deprived of school during the last academic year, with more than 279,000 of them dropping out during that period.
These statistics emerge amidst reports from the Iranian Statistics Center, indicating that in the 2022-2023 academic year alone, nearly 930 thousand students across elementary, middle, and secondary levels discontinued their education.
Furthermore, the regime’s parliament Statistics Center announced in September that at least 556,000 Iranian teenagers are compelled to quit school before entering high school due to poverty and deprivation.
An analysis of inflation data reveals a significant escalation: Inflation ranged from 10% in 2016 and 2017 to over 27% in 2018, reaching 35% in 2019 and surpassing 36% in 2020. Inflation soared to over 46% in 2021, remaining above 46% in 2022. As of March 2024, inflation remains above 40%, with expectations of exceeding 50% next year.
Additionally, the economic website ‘Eco Iran’ reported on February 25th that in the fall of 2023, the ‘Misery Index’ reached ’52 units’ in the country. The Misery Index, derived from the amalgamation of unemployment and inflation figures, serves as a gauge of societal distress.
