Nearly Half of Schoolgirls in Border Areas Drop Out of Education

The Deputy Minister of Education for Primary Affairs announced that in "many border provinces," 40 to 50 percent of schoolgirls in middle and high school drop out for various reasons, including "early marriage," "distance from school to village," and "lack of female teachers." Rezvan Hakimzadeh stated on Saturday, September 9, in an interview with ILNA news agency, "In many border provinces, the enrollment rate for schoolgirls in secondary education is about 50 percent, meaning 40 to 50 percent of students in this level are not attending school, and this statistic is shocking." According to Ms. Hakimzadeh, "early marriage," "distance from school to village," "presence of male teachers," "child labor during harvest season," and "cultural and tribal reasons" are among the factors preventing some girls in these areas from receiving an education. This education official announced that the secretariat for underprivileged areas in four provinces is identifying and examining the reasons for children's dropout from education. However, she did not mention the number of these students or the names of these border provinces. Previously, some official reports indicated that provinces such as Sistan and Baluchestan, Khuzestan, West Azerbaijan, and Hormozgan are among those where girls in certain areas are deprived of education. Ms. Hakimzadeh also stated that from the perspective of education, there is "no specific prohibition" on the education of girls who marry, and the main reason for these students dropping out is the decision of "themselves and their families." Various statistics have been reported regarding the number of out-of-school children in Iran. The Research Center of the Parliament reported in 2011 that the number of these children, based on the 2006 census, was over three million. However, officials from the Ministry of Education estimate this figure to be around 600,000. ISNA news agency also reported on June 12, citing three children's rights activists in Iran, that unofficial statistics indicate the existence of three million 200 thousand dropouts and seven million working children. Reports indicate that the number of girls dropping out is higher than that of boys. Some experts consider family poverty, long distances to schools in remote areas, and early marriage of girls as reasons for children's dropout from education. Meanwhile, Mohammad Naim Aminifard, head of the representatives of Sistan and Baluchestan province, announced on Sunday, July 2, that the "real number" of dropouts in this province is about 120,000 and stated that the reason for 30 percent of these children's deprivation of education is the lack of identification documents. He mentioned "lack of identity documents," "lack of educational justice," "cultural issues," and "inaccessible distances of 20 to 30 kilometers from schools" as among the reasons for children's dropout from education. In this context, "economic problems" account for half of the cases of student dropout.