Minister of Education: 40 to 42 Percent of Classrooms Lack Standard Heating Equipment

On the first day of the 2017-2018 academic year, the Minister of Education announced that between 40 to 42 percent of classrooms lack standard heating equipment. According to Fars News Agency, Mohammad Bat'haei stated on Saturday night, October 1, during the television program "Tonight's Headlines," that "non-standard heaters are still being used in classrooms" and expressed hope that with the funding anticipated in the Sixth Development Plan, these heaters would be replaced with standard heating equipment. He noted, "It is intended that necessary training be provided in case of danger to human resources." The Minister's reference to the non-standard heaters in schools comes at a time when this issue has already led to irreparable accidents in Iran. One of the most significant incidents was the fire at the "Islamic Revolution" elementary school in the village of Shinabad in Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan Province, which occurred on December 6, 2012. During this fire, 28 female students suffered burns, and two students lost their lives due to the severity of their injuries. Previously, Morteza Raeisi, the former Deputy Minister of Education, had stated on November 1 of the previous year to ILNA that "the heating system of more than 107,000 classrooms has been standardized." He also promised that the heating system of another 50,000 classrooms would be "standardized" by the end of 2016. According to Fars, the Minister of Education, in another part of his speech, mentioned that there are currently about 1,000 earthen classrooms in Iran and said, "We have nearly 2,000 container classrooms, which we aim to collect within a short-term program." He expressed hope that by the end of 2018, these classrooms would be converted into standard classrooms. Earlier, the Iran newspaper, the official government organ, had referred to the existence of "629 tent schools and 100 container schools" in Iran on January 24, 2008. After that, Morteza Raeisi, the former Deputy Minister of Education, stated on November 1 of the previous year to ILNA that 700 earthen schools still remain in the country. According to Fars, Mohammad Bat'haei stated that in some areas of Iran, due to heat, the use of brick classrooms is not possible, adding, "Due to the lack of cooling facilities in some parts of the country, we have straw classrooms." The Minister of Education also stated in this television program that violations in private schools are not limited to charging fees and emphasized that if a private school does not heed warnings in any area, serious action will be taken against it. He stated that the development of private schools should not lead to a decline in the quality of public schools, and differences and discrimination should not increase with the expansion of these schools; rather, efforts should be made to enhance the quality of public schools. On October 1 of this year, 13 million students began their academic year in about 106,000 schools, including approximately 500,000 classrooms, with 950,000 teachers educating these students. In this context, "registration of 370,000 Afghan and foreign students" for the new academic year, demands for the release of all teachers in Iran on the eve of the new academic year, and 120,000 children in Sistan and Baluchestan being deprived of education have been highlighted. The share of the educational budget has significantly decreased.