The combination of poverty and soaring education costs has led some parents in Iran to make the difficult decision of withdrawing their children from school. Instead of pursuing education, these children are often compelled to either work to contribute to the family income or embark on learning a trade.
Conversely, parents who prioritize their child’s education face a substantial financial burden. The expenses associated with school services, providing meals, purchasing clothing, buying school supplies, bags, and shoes, along with financial contributions demanded by public schools, have contributed to the rising number of students discontinuing their education.
In addition to parental challenges, the education system itself grapples with numerous deficiencies. There is a shortage of teachers and classrooms, as highlighted by the regime’s Minister of Education, who declared a deficit of 200,000 teachers.
Furthermore, concerns persist about the academic qualifications of teachers, with reports indicating that, in the past decade, 330,000 teachers were recruited without adhering to proper regulations. Shockingly, 280,000 of these educators began their roles without undergoing any form of training.
The condition of school infrastructure is also precarious. According to Hamidreza Khan Mohammad, the Deputy Minister of Education, 19% of classrooms are plagued by severe issues. Out of approximately 105,000 schools and 540,000 classrooms, 103,000 classrooms are reported to have significant problems. Notably, the regime lacks the capacity to renovate and improve these educational facilities.
A staggering 46% of schools, as asserted by Khan Mohammad, are either constructed or renovated by school benefactors. This underscores the limited involvement of the regime in upgrading educational institutions, leaving a reliance on external entities.
The confluence of high prices, inflation, and poverty has led to educational challenges, exacerbating the dropout rates in Iran.
The dwindling purchasing power of the population has reached a point where even acquiring basic stationery for children becomes a financial priority for some families. The Tehran Stationery and Engineering Equipment Sellers Union reports a nearly 30% decline in the sales of certain stationery items due to elevated prices.
However, stationery is just one facet of the financial strain on families. Costs such as clothing, shoes, bags, textbooks, school service fees, cash aid to schools, and meal fees contribute to a cumulative expense that can soar to 15 million tomans in a single academic year.
Despite constitutional obligations stipulating free education until the completion of secondary school, schools resort to receiving financial assistance from parents through school associations to address budget shortfalls.
Transportation costs further burden families, with estimates of around 900,000 tomans per month, and in some cities, double that amount. Daily expenses for meals or snacks add a financial strain, with some families allocating approximately one million tomans per day for the education of a single child.
These costs are particularly challenging when the majority of the population hovers near or below the poverty line, which is approximately 3 million tomans.
Notably, the economic challenges have led to an increase in the dropout rate among students. The Parliament Research Center reports a significant rise, from 777,862 children dropping out in the 2015-2016 academic year to 911,272 in 2021-2022, marking a 17% increase.
According to the Minister of Education, the dropout figure for 2021 reached one million, encompassing both primary and secondary school students.
The Deputy Minister of Education acknowledged in July 2022 that the number of students who left school in the country ranged from 500,000 to 600,000. Analyzing these statistics over the years underscores a persistent issue, with an annual dropout rate fluctuating between 500,000 and 1 million students.
Another report by the Parliament Education Center emphasizes that approximately 70% of the children who drop out fall within the first to fifth deciles of the society. Disabled students face even more significant challenges, with reports suggesting that 30,000 disabled individuals dropped out of school in a recent academic year due to various issues.
Regime officials and experts attribute the primary reason for students dropping out to family livelihood challenges. The head of the Literacy Movement Organization highlights that 53% of dropouts result from economic and financial problems, 35% from cultural issues, and 12-15% from education-related factors.
The provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan, West Azarbaijan, Razavi Khorasan, North Khorasan, and Golestan have consistently reported the highest rates of education dropouts since the 2015-2016 academic year.
