Deputy Minister of Education: 40% of Children Suffer from Learning Poverty

The Deputy Minister of Primary Education has stated that 40% of children entering school suffer from "learning poverty." Rezvan Hakimzadeh emphasized the need to reduce the dropout rate. According to Hakimzadeh, the educational system is also facing the concept of "learning dropout," where students present in schools do not acquire basic skills at an acceptable quality. Hakimzadeh stressed that there is no significant difference between learning poverty and school dropouts in terms of learning. The decline of the education system in Iran has intensified in recent years, with the Tasnim News Agency reporting on October 7, 2023, that the average GPA of high school seniors in various fields during the final exams of June 2024 was 10.98. Consequently, experts and analysts referred to this as a free fall in education in Iran. This news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that the average GPA in the 11th grade was 10.62 and in the 10th grade was 11.59, stating that these conditions "indicate the disastrous state and quality of education in schools across the country." Alongside this issue, the topic of dropout and school abandonment is also raised in the country. In this regard, Iranian media report widespread dropouts among students, especially boys, due to economic reasons; these reasons are multifaceted, with many entering the job market due to a lack of a clear outlook after graduation. Accordingly, the Shargh newspaper reported on October 1, 2023, stating: "Education has lost its economic function. Until 20 or even 10 years ago, education was the best opportunity for advancement and social mobility, but currently, an individual cannot achieve class mobility through higher education." According to this newspaper, "dropout students consider entering the job market a win for themselves and view studying and the hours spent in class as a loss." Data published by the Statistical Center also indicates that nearly one million students dropped out in the last school year, with the main reason being economic issues. Analysis by Sayeh Rahimi on contradictory statistics regarding school dropouts in Iran. The Ministry of Education grants curriculum licenses to schools with a "Quran-centered program approach." Media narratives about dropping out for daily bread; one million six hundred thousand have dropped out. 10% of students in West Azerbaijan Province have dropped out; the number of school dropouts in the country has reached 1.6 million. A newspaper reported that 110,000 first graders have dropped out due to rising costs. According to the Ministry of Education, 216,000 children have dropped out of school.