Over 200,000 Students Have Dropped Out of School This Year

On Friday, March 9, the Minister of Education of the Islamic Republic announced the identification of 200,000 students who have dropped out of school this year. According to media reports in Iran, Reza Morad Sahraei stated that last year, approximately 900,000 students were identified as having dropped out, and this year, more than 200,000 others have been identified. He mentioned that efforts to facilitate the continuation of education for these students are underway but did not provide further details. Earlier, the 'Khabar Online' website reported on March 9 of the previous year, citing a report from the Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, that '911,272 school-age children dropped out of school in the 2021-2022 academic year, and 279,019 students dropped out in that same year.' According to this report, the number of dropouts in the 2015-2016 academic year was nearly 778,000. Thus, in less than a decade, approximately 130,000 more students have been added to the dropout list. It is also important to note that the Research Center of the Assembly reported that '279,019 students dropped out in the 2021-2022 academic year.' Khabar Online defined out-of-school children as those who have dropped out due to class discrimination, gender discrimination, cultural poverty, and other limitations and deprivations; children aged 6 to 18 who, despite needing to attend school, are not enrolled in any educational level for various reasons. Khabar Online did not mention child marriage, which is one of the factors preventing girls from continuing their education. In this context, it can be noted that the Deputy Minister of Primary Education stated in late February of last year that '204,312 students are out of school.' According to Masoumeh Najafi Pazuki, '20 reasons for students' absence from schools have been identified, including the death of the child, studying in another area, suffering from a serious illness, or family poverty, for example, 96 cases.' She pointed out that 'the age of married students is above 12 years.' Now, it is unclear how Reza Morad Sahraei's promise for the continuation of education for out-of-school children will be implemented in conditions where these discriminations and problems still exist. Especially since the Research Center of the Assembly noted in its report last year that from the 2015-2016 academic year to the 2019-2020 academic year, only 178,238 students returned to the education system, which is less than 5% of all dropouts during that period. The report from the Research Center last year indicated that 'the five provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, West Azerbaijan, Razavi Khorasan, North Khorasan, and Golestan had the highest relative frequency of dropouts in the 2015-2016 academic year, and these same five provinces continue to have the highest relative frequency in the 2021-2022 academic year.' The center pointed out that 'among all provinces in Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan has a significantly worse situation regarding dropout rates, with 145,340 students, equivalent to over 18.2% of the student population in that province, being out of school in the 2021-2022 academic year, and over 4% of the student population in that province dropped out in the same year.' This report concluded that 'dropping out of school is related to household welfare.' In this context, the newspaper 'Javan' reported on August 19 of this year, quoting Rezvan Hakimzadeh, the former Deputy Minister of Education and a faculty member at Tehran University, regarding the reasons for dropout among primary school students: 'In underprivileged border areas, dropout mainly occurs due to cultural poverty, as families prevent their daughters from attending school due to some misconceptions. Even if they do attend, they often drop out after a short period.' She added, 'In some other areas, boys drop out more than girls, mainly due to economic reasons, as many of these children are forced to work as breadwinners for their families. It has been observed that they enter a cycle of exploitation and become sources of income for opportunists after dropping out.' The increase in the number of out-of-school children and the intensification of crackdowns on teachers in Iran. A report by Arian Risbafi from the Ministry of Education: 216,000 first-cycle secondary school students have dropped out. 1.5 million children are on the verge of dropping out; 14 million children lack proper food. The stamp of statelessness on the face of Sistan and Baluchestan; the government's approach has become 'security-oriented.' The expansion of the education crisis in Iran; 'village kindergartens' have been closed due to budget cuts and the elimination of hot meal promises. The Fars Teachers' Union; several thousand children have dropped out of school. The start of the school year in schools in underprivileged areas; classrooms lacking desks and benches host students. A 50% increase in the price of stationery; the school year begins with inflation for students. The content of 56 textbooks has changed; in the span of seven years, the number of dropouts has doubled.