Fuel Vehicle Overturns Without School Service; Condition of One Student 'Critical', Education Department Denies

A fuel vehicle overturned while transporting school students in the Sarbaz County of Sistan and Baluchestan Province due to an accident. It has been reported that all passengers, who were students of a boarding school, suffered injuries and bone fractures in various parts of their bodies, and one of these students is hospitalized in Iranshahr with a low level of consciousness. According to the ILNA news agency, the aunt of Abdul Quddus Irandoost, the student whose condition has been reported as critical, stated regarding the incident that occurred two days ago: 'Unfortunately, the Education Department does not cooperate in providing transportation for our students. In heat and cold, they have to wait for hours by the roadside for fuel vehicles and sometimes even arrive late to school or miss classes due to the lack of service.' She mentioned that this boarding school, despite having dormitories, lacks any welfare facilities and does not provide proper nutrition, forcing students to return home for meals during the week and use fuel vehicles for transportation due to the lack of service. Parents are constantly anxious about what might happen to their children during these commutes. This incident occurred while Rostam Malayi, the head of the Education Department of Sarbaz County, told ILNA that the vehicle involved in the accident was one belonging to a parent of the students. Hassan Irandoost, the head of the Mitigan village council, stated to ILNA that the 'Shahid Motahari Batak' boarding school lacks any suitable welfare facilities for students to endure and study there. Irandoost also reported on the poverty and lack of agriculture and livestock in this village, saying: 'Most residents are poor and cannot afford to buy vehicles for their children's transportation to school, and most vehicles that operate on this route are fuel vehicles.' Criticism regarding the lack of facilities in this village and the educational conditions of students comes as education officials in the village deny these claims and assert that welfare facilities for students are provided. Davood Goli, the public relations manager of the Sistan and Baluchestan Education Department, also told ILNA: 'We have a central village plan and school service in all counties and areas, and families and students who request school service can refer to their local education department and use the village school service.' According to the head of the Mitigan village council, several classrooms are under construction, but due to the low number of students, the project remains unfinished. The nearest school is at least 10 kilometers away from this village, and due to the village's poverty, students use fuel vehicles as school transport. This village has 298 households and a population of 1,137, lacking access to safe drinking water, and according to the head of the Mitigan council, a water supply project has been underway for 14 years but has yet to be completed. The closure of private schools in Zahedan due to management by Sunni clerics, 20% of schools in Iran are dilapidated, the Minister of Education's response to criticisms: 'We do not have classes without teachers,' a member of the Education Commission: '68,000 teachers have left the education system.'