Analysis by PMOI/MEK
Iran, Sept. 26, 2018 – Every year, at the end September, millions of students in Iran go back to school. But unfortunately, this year, many families were forced to send their children to work instead of school because they are not able to pay the costs of their child’s education.
The Iranian regime’s treacherous policies towards the education system has created a real national crisis. Approximately ten million people in Iran are illiterate and another 15 million half literates.
State-run news agency Ilna published a report on September 21 titled “Many students will drop out soon!” and drew a grave perspective for Iranian students saying: “It appears that if things stay as they are, drop-out numbers, especially for girls, will rise. As things are, low-income families, especially in deprived regions, prefer to just ‘survive’. So they must choose between eating enough and continuing their children’s education, and naturally, they will choose survival. On the one hand, living costs and education costs have multiplied, and on the other hand, free education plans have become a thing of the past. In such conditions, there are few low-income families who can pay the cost of their children’s education, especially girls. The red alarm is already shining for a few months. While salaries are still 70 percent behind the increase of life costs, education should be free for everyone and students from low-income families should receive subsidies for stationeries and other educational assistance tools. Otherwise, soon we will face a high rate of illiterates and half illiterates.”
In addition to the poverty that the mullahs’ regime has created in four decades of ruling Iran, due to a continuing decrease of educational budgets, there is a lack of educational space and educators and available educational space isn’t up to safety standards. It’s noteworthy that the educational budget for the current years has decreased from 16 to 9 percent.
On June 14, Iranian state-run website Eqtesad News wrote an article titled “There is a staggering rate of dropouts in Iran” and quoted an Iranian official saying, “In Iran, one in every four students drops out and the reason is mainly a lack of stationaries… in a place where the school can collapse at any minute, you can’t talk much about education and now it’s a little difficult to talk about education.”
Unbelievable stationery prices
Quds website wrote on September 14: “Stationery prices have increased 100 percent this year and there are no Iranian-made items… Families and students go shopping but eventually leave the stores with tearful eyes because of the prices.”
IRGC-run Fars News Agency reported on September 8 that 60 percent of stationeries are imported and a great share of it is from China. The outlet quotes an Iranian official saying, “Considering the price increases for raw materials, stationery prices have increased 60-70 percent compared to last year.”
Isna news agency published an article on September 9 titled “Favoritism for Managers, Costs for Families,” revealed another aspect of corruption in Iranian schools: “One of the major costs for families in the back-to-school season is the purchase of new outfits, which is done through wrong channels and inflicts exorbitant costs on families… In recent years, pre-made uniforms are in parts put aside and schools choose special uniforms for their students based on the principal’s personal taste… A major part of the uniforms are created through unlicensed dressmaking shops and they receive these orders because of their connections with the school’s principal.”
