The Smell of September: Astronomical Costs | Media Reports: Parents Pay for School Transport in Installments

Iranian media have reported on the excessive rise in some ancillary education costs for students, noting that expenses like 'school transport fees' have become extremely high and are being 'paid in installments' by many families. The website 'Khabar Online' conducted a field report on 'student transport to school' and pointed out that this issue has become a 'concern' for families who, amidst 'high costs' for bags, books, and clothing, now also have to 'worry about school transport,' an expense that can sometimes be 'astronomical.' The media further highlighted the heavy costs of school transport services, stating that families with 'at least 2 to 3 children' seem to have to 'give up their jobs' to get their children to school. On September 18, the Tasnim news agency, close to the Islamic Republic's security institutions, announced that the Tehran City Council had increased school transport rates by '45 percent' for the new school year. Accordingly, the minimum transport fee for elementary students is '5.4 million tomans' and the maximum is '21 million tomans,' while for secondary students, the minimum is '6.1 million tomans' and the maximum is '23 million tomans'; figures that, according to some citizens, are actually much higher in reality. 'Khabar Online' noted that some schools demand 'astronomical and arbitrary prices' from parents, while some 'are forced to accept these costs,' and others are 'still waiting' for government action and the determination of a 'standard price' for transport distances. In this context, a citizen named Akbari, who lives in the 'Javadieh' area of Tehran and whose child attends school in 'Nazariabad,' told Khabar Online: 'A civil servant's salary does not match the transport costs.' He emphasized that 'contractors in the (school transport) system have been selected and the number of children is defined,' but 'the numbers just do not match our income and expenses,' forcing him to choose a school transport that 'accepts more students and charges less.' Taheri, a mother with only one 'school-age child,' also told the same media outlet that her home is about '3 kilometers' from the school, and last year she paid '700,000 tomans,' but now has to pay '1.4 million tomans' monthly, excluding additional costs. She added: 'If I want to change schools, I will have to pay even more than this amount. How much can I earn as a civil servant that I spend all my savings on school and its transport?' The chaotic situation of school transport and its exorbitant costs for Iranian families, who are under pressure from rising inflation and ongoing economic recession, comes at a time when the website 'Tejarat News' reported on September 29, just before the beginning of the school year, based on a report from the 'Capital Opinion Poll Center,' stating that, on average, 'the price of school supplies has risen by 50 percent.'