800 Billion Toman Fine for 'Violating' Private Schools; Education Ministry: The Term Overpricing is Inappropriate

The head of the Organization of Non-Governmental Schools criticized the use of the term 'overpricing' for 'violating' schools and the 800 billion toman fine imposed on them, stating that 'this term is not appropriate' and 'a school is not a commercial center,' emphasizing that the responsibility for dealing with violating schools lies with the Ministry of Education. This reaction follows comments from the head of the Government Trading Organization, who on Thursday, December 30, announced the organization’s entry into violations by private schools and the imposition of fines exceeding 800 billion tomans, along with the return of 44 billion tomans to parents. In response to the penalties, the head of the Organization of Non-Governmental Schools stressed that education is not a commodity and schools are not considered commercial units, acknowledging that 'what we accept is the violation in some private schools.' Ahmad Mahmoudzadeh stated that the law regarding education does not recognize schools as economic commercial units, and if a violation occurs, the Ministry of Education must intervene. On June 10 of this year, the Deputy for Supervision, Inspection, and Planning of the Government Trading Organization announced the formation of 10 violation cases against well-known non-profit schools that have collected tuition fees without regulation. This action was in response to reports published by media outlets regarding the increase in tuition fees at private schools. The Jam-e Jam newspaper, affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, reported in June this year that tuition fees for tenth-grade students in downtown Tehran reached 72 million tomans, noting that the increase in school fees is such that it is unclear whether to call it an explosion, exorbitant inflation, school arbitrariness, or a chaotic situation. Mehdi Ismaili, the deputy chairman of the Education Commission of Parliament, also reacted to these reports, stating to the 'House of the Nation' news agency that this issue has been placed on the parliamentary agenda; however, no reports have been published regarding this agenda. The issue of tuition fees is also noteworthy from another perspective. Article 3 of the Islamic Republic's Constitution obligates the government to utilize all its resources to provide free education for all at all levels. Article 30 of the Islamic Republic's Constitution explicitly states, 'The government is obliged to provide free educational facilities for all citizens until the end of secondary education and to expand facilities for higher education to the extent of the country's self-sufficiency on a free basis.' Despite this, various reports in recent decades have indicated that schools have violated or circumvented the principle of free universal education under various pretexts. One media outlet in Iran reported on the 'inspection' of female students with electronic equipment.