Education Inflation Breaks 12-Year Record

Iranian media reported that education inflation has broken a 12-year record in the current month of Mehr. The newspaper 'Ham-Mihan' stated that the acceleration of inflation in the education sector exacerbates poverty and will manifest as a significant barrier to development in the medium term. Iranian media, citing statistics released by the Statistical Center of Iran, reported that a comparison of inflation in the month of Mehr over the past 12 years shows that in the last two years, inflation in this sector has sharply increased, with the average monthly inflation rate of 9% in the first half of the 90s rising to over 17% in the last three years. A review of the Statistical Center's report indicates that the price growth percentage in the education sector in the current month of Mehr compared to the previous month has reached 21.6%. Meanwhile, statistics show that the monthly education inflation in the same month last year was 16.8%. Morteza Afaqeh, an economist and university professor, stated, 'Ultimately, we will see the impact of inflation in the cultural sector, which will lead to a decline in education.' Afaqeh believes that in addition to income inequality, educational inequality is also harming society, and this trend will sooner or later present itself as an obstacle to development. The newspaper 'Eghtesad' also addressed this issue in its fifth issue of Mehr, warning that the reduction of the share of education expenses from total household expenses, caused by the economic difficulties faced by families, will lead to a decrease in human capital in the future and increase the risk of persistent poverty among poor households. The author of this report emphasized that families with children are more prevalent among the poor, and the share of essential expenses such as food and housing from the total expenses of these families is significantly higher than that of other households, which in turn reduces their ability to pay for education. Poverty in Iran has caused a wide range of students to be deprived of education, with the 'Social and Cultural Status Report of Iran Spring 1402' published by the Statistical Center of Iran indicating that in the 1402-1401 academic year, over 556,000 children aged '15 to 17' dropped out of school, comprising 295,000 boys and 261,000 girls. Ali Asghar Fani, the former Minister of Education, also stated on September 19, citing statistics from the Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, that the number of 'dropouts' in Iran is '930,000,' stating that they will form the 'illiterates of the future.' Official statistics in the Islamic Republic show such a situation, while the history of 'statistical manipulation' and tampering with indices and calculation methods by official bodies of the Islamic Republic has always drawn the attention of independent experts, leading to a lack of trust in their accuracy. Therefore, experts believe that both the inflation rate is much higher than the announced figures and the number of children dropping out of school and the number of people experiencing poverty are also underestimated. These events occur while the Islamic Republic, without regard for the consequences, has focused its policy-making and budgetary efforts on changing the content and injecting more ideological discussions into textbooks and the educational system, as well as purging critical teachers and professors.