Repressive State and Low Quality of Education in Iran
Published by Ali on September 23, 2019
The new academic year in Iran begins with 15 million students going to school while the education and university communities are fed up with the drastic state of economy and society.
With the regime’s failure to provide free and mandatory education in Iran while more than 80% of the nation is living under the poverty line, there is no guarantee for children and youths to be able to continue their education in Iran.
It is estimated that seven million children are deprived of education. Many of them are child labourers, some of whose parents are addicted or are very poor. Some of them even do not have birth certificates.
The growing number of students, particularly girl children, leaving schools and universities, has rendered Iran’s education inefficient. An estimated 25million Iranians are purely or functionally illiterate.
Presently, one out of every four students drops out of school. According to the regime’s officials, the reasons for 53 percent of the dropouts are economic and financial problems as well as shortage of educational spaces.
The head of the Association of Skills Training Schools announced that 37 percent of Iranian students drop out of school before getting their diploma, and that only 7 percent of high school graduates are admitted to universities. (The state-run Fars news agency – 4 November, 2017)
Some sources believe that “Only one out of every 12 children deprived of education in Iran, is identified.” (The state-run Alefba website, 23 May, 2019)
The figures published by the Iranian state media show a downward trend in the number of college students, falling from 4,811,581 students in 2014-2015 academic years, to 3,616,114 in 2017-2018. That is an average of 398,000 less students per year despite new admissions. This cannot be explained but by pervasive poverty in Iranian society, lack of free education in Iran, and absence of any government support for college students. (The official IRNA news agency- 30 December 30, 2018; the state-run Mehr news agency – 23 October, 2017; the state-run Bazaarnews.ir – 21 December, 2016)
