Rural students in Iran didn’t bring money to school; “They were whipped and expelled”

A news website in Iran has published a video in which several students claim that because they did not provide the amount of money requested by the school principal, they were whipped.

The “Tabnack” website reported on Sunday, October 18, that the principal of a school in the village of Mokhtarabad in Rudbar South in Kerman province requested 30,000 tomans from students, and those who did not bring this amount to school were whipped and expelled.

The head of education in Rudbar South county denied the report, but Tabnack says that the parents of these students insist on the accuracy of the matter.

However, on Tuesday, October 19, the “Farda” website published a video in which several female students from this school explained that because their families could not afford to pay the requested amount, they each received 8 lashes from the school principal.

The website also published a handwritten note attributed to a student named Ali explaining why and how he was punished.

Article 30 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic states that “the state is obligated to provide free education and training facilities for all people until the end of secondary school and to expand higher education facilities free of charge up to the point of the country’s self-sufficiency.”

However, collecting money from students under titles such as school donations becomes newsworthy every year. The Ministry of Education has repeatedly announced that it will take action against non-compliant schools, and from this year, minimum and maximum tuition rates have been set for private schools as well.

The Ministry of Education has always been one of Iran’s most problematic ministries, and currently the minister of education in Hassan Rouhani’s government is facing impeachment for the second time.

Source: Voice of America