Green Light from the Ministry of Interior for Afghan Students to Study in Iran

The 2015-2016 school year will begin with a significant change for Afghan migrants in Iran. Three months after the directive from Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, regarding the enrollment of all Afghan children in Iranian public schools, the General Directorate of Foreign Nationals and Immigrants Affairs of the Ministry of Interior announced the start of this initiative on Tuesday. In late May of this year, Ayatollah Khamenei ordered that no Afghan child, including those who are undocumented and illegally present in Iran, should be deprived of education, and all of them must be registered in Iranian schools. Although this directive was issued late, it seems to address one of the largest discriminations against the Afghan migrant community in Iran. An Afghan migrant living in southern Iran stated, "I am very happy about the implementation of this plan, but why shouldn't the children of Iranian women married to Afghan men be given identity papers? This is injustice." One Afghan migrant who has lived in Iran for 46 years mentioned that he has four children who have been deprived of education for years: "Two of my sons are 18 and 20 years old. My son has to go to military service, but he cannot because he has no documents. My daughter is 18 and cries day and night because she cannot study. Her mother has written thousands of letters. I also have an eight-year-old daughter. Why shouldn't my children be given identity papers? Their mother is Iranian. I am willing to consent to have my children issued identity papers in their mother's name. My children are deprived of subsidies. We have no home." This Afghan migrant continued regarding the Ministry of Interior's plan for registering Afghan children in schools: "I am very happy about the implementation of this plan, but why shouldn't the children of Iranian women married to Afghan men be given identity papers? This is injustice." Afghan migrants have only five days to apply. The announcement from the General Directorate of Foreign Nationals and Immigrants Affairs of the Ministry of Interior states that for five days, all Afghan migrants with children aged 8 to 17 will be issued a letter of introduction, allowing them to register their children in public schools. Hossein Alami Balkhi, the Afghan Minister of Refugees, told Radio Farda that consultations to lift restrictions on Afghan children's education have been ongoing for months: "During trips we made with the President of Afghanistan to Iran, this issue was raised. In my second trip to Iran, I investigated this issue. The Supreme Leader of Iran ordered that the children of Afghan migrants who do not have cards should also be able to study in schools. Last week, this directive was finalized. I thank the Islamic Republic of Iran for providing this opportunity." The demand for tuition and other problems regarding Afghan children's education. Until now, there has been no prohibition on the education of legal Afghan migrant children in Iranian schools, but these students have faced problems. In many cities, school administrators are the final decision-makers, and some have previously refused to register Afghan children under the pretext of lack of space. The Tasnim news agency reported in a report published last September that in some educational areas, it has been decided that migrant children should only study in the outskirts of the city, and their registration in the main areas of the city is being denied. This news agency also reported that in some schools, Afghan migrants are registered but are expelled after a month or two under false pretenses. According to the Tasnim news agency, the demand for tuition fees from Afghan migrant families for registering their children has also been another problem hindering these children's education. Meanwhile, the IRNA news agency announced in 2014 that the Ministry of Education would not charge tuition fees from foreign students in public schools at the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year. According to IRNA, 80% of foreign students in Iran are Afghan nationals. The Afghan Minister of Refugees stated, "Currently, the problems regarding the registration of Afghan children have been resolved. The discussion about whether or not they will have to pay tuition fees is still ongoing. I hope this problem will also be resolved." When I asked Hossein Alami Balkhi whether the new Ministry of Interior plan for registering all Afghan children in schools could also resolve tuition and other issues, he said, "I think that currently, the problems regarding the registration of Afghan children have been resolved. The discussion about whether they will have to pay tuition fees is still ongoing. I hope this problem will also be resolved." The Afghan Minister of Refugees stated, "The Ministry of Interior's plan has nothing to do with the identification and expulsion of Afghan migrants. It is solely for the registration of students." The registration plan is only for children. The General Directorate of Foreign Nationals and Immigrants Affairs of the Ministry of Interior stated in its announcement that the plan for registering undocumented students is specifically designed for this group, and the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has no plans to identify and register Afghan nationals who are illegally present in Iran. Hossein Alami Balkhi, the Afghan Minister of Refugees, told Radio Farda that "there is no connection to the issue of identifying and expelling Afghans. If Iranian officials want to expel undocumented Afghans, there is no need for this action. They can identify them through other means. The registration plan for Afghan children is unrelated to this issue." The Afghan Minister of Refugees stated that during a trip by the President of Afghanistan to Iran and in negotiations between Ashraf Ghani and Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, it was agreed that none of the Afghan migrants in Iran would remain undocumented, and documents would be issued for all of them. He mentioned that in about two weeks, a delegation from Iran will travel to Afghanistan to discuss the registration and issuance of documents for all undocumented Afghans in Iran. He expressed optimism that the issuance of documents for Afghan migrants would be expedited.