Student Suicide Due to Inability to Cover University Expenses

Warning: Contains content related to suicide. Nothing is more important than human life. If you are thinking about suicide, please contact these special numbers for help: In Iran: Social Emergency 123, Consultant Voice 1480 or Tehran Psychiatric Emergency 44508200; In the USA: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 18002738255, or National Crisis and Suicide Prevention Line 988; In Canada: 911 or 18334564566; In the UK: 116123; and in Afghanistan: 119. The Hengaw Human Rights Organization reported the suicide of a teenage girl from Kamyaran due to "financial inability to cover university expenses." Hengaw stated that this student, after passing the entrance exam for teacher training at the University of Education, committed suicide and ended her life. According to this source, Sayaan Tavanaghi, an 18-year-old from the village of "Voshtarmal" in the "Mochesh" district of Kamyaran, died at Tohid Hospital in Sanandaj. Suicide due to poverty has increased in Iran in recent years, with a significant rise in the number of these self-inflicted deaths among students. The increase in suicide rates among students has been such that the Jam-e Jam newspaper, affiliated with the Islamic Republic's broadcasting organization, also addressed this issue in its report on Wednesday, January 20, 2023, stating that suicide is the fifth leading cause of death among adolescents and young people. Jam-e Jam reported that based on a study, 48% of reported suicides in this 10-year period were related to boys and 52% to girls, with the method of suicide and its statistics also being noteworthy. According to this newspaper, 45% of suicides occurred in the age group of 9 to 14 years, and 55% in the age group of 15 to 18 years. The newspaper also wrote about the reasons for these suicides: "Poverty 8%, educational problems 26%, family conflicts 28%, emotional relationships 5%, rape 8%, influenced by films and videos 5%, and finally, 20% of suicides were due to forced marriages." Accordingly, it has been reported that the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, and Hamadan have the highest suicide rates. Statistics in the Islamic Republic are doubted by many experts due to a lack of transparency. Statistics related to social harms are among those that the Islamic Republic views from a security perspective and prevents their full and transparent publication. The Telegram channel of the Coordination Council of Teachers' Trade Unions of Iran also reported on February 25, 2023, about self-inflicted deaths among students, stating that "since the beginning of the current school year, we have witnessed student suicides, and only since January, eight students have committed suicide leading to death." This report identified economic problems, the collapse of the middle class, and the social and emotional effects resulting from it, the ineffectiveness of the education system, the lack of educational space and counselors in schools, and the monetization and class stratification of education as factors creating a domino effect of suicides among students. The report from the Coordination Council of Teachers' Trade Unions of Iran stated: "The tsunami of student suicides from Ilam and Pardis to Sanandaj has shocked society, but unfortunately, no principled response has been seen from senior education officials."