A Look at the Issue of Students Being Deprived of Education
The right to education is among the rights of citizens that should be provided to everyone free of charge at least during primary and elementary levels. However, many students in the country have been deprived of their right to education due to lack of facilities and educational spaces, dilapidated schools, and the absence of appropriate infrastructure for virtual education during the coronavirus pandemic. This report has been compiled to raise awareness about the situation of student education in the country. Among the problems of virtual education, one can point to families’ lack of financial capacity to purchase smartphones and the lack of proper internet service provision in some parts of the country. It is worth noting that many students living in rural areas are forced to travel long and dangerous mountain routes every day due to lack of access to high-speed internet. According to the Welfare Minister, in the current academic year, the number of students who have dropped out of school is reported to be 147,000 people, representing approximately two percent of the total number of students in the country. However, it appears that there is a significant difference between official statistics and unofficial estimates of the number of these students. To the extent that child rights organizations estimate the number of out-of-school children to be several times higher than the figures announced by government authorities.
This report addresses the statistics provided by officials of various cities and provinces regarding students who have dropped out of school. However, these statistics and figures alone cannot provide an accurate number of the actual number of these children in the country.
According to Hrana News Agency, the news organ of the collection of human rights activists in Iran, according to Article 30 of the current constitution of the country, preliminary education should be provided universally and free of charge to members of society. However, at the same time as the violation of this principle in the country through the privatization of education, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, the lack of appropriate infrastructure and students’ lack of access to virtual education facilities has led to their deprivation of the right to education. Shortage of facilities and educational spaces, dilapidated and non-standard schools have always been among the obstacles to student education.
According to the Welfare Minister, in the current academic year, the number of students who have dropped out of school is reported to be 147,000 people, representing approximately two percent of the total number of students in the country.
Farshid Yazdani, CEO of the Association for the Protection of Children’s Rights, while rejecting the statistics provided by the Ministry of Education, announced the number of out-of-school students to be around one million people and said: “We believe that out-of-school children include all children between the ages of 6.5 and 18 years old, and by this calculation, approximately one million students dropped out of school in the previous academic year.
He added: “The Ministry of Education’s statistics are only based on the number of students whose information has been registered in the school system and who have not registered in the new year, but these are only a group of people who are of school age but have dropped out.”
Farshid Yazdani, regarding the predicted statistics on the number of dropouts in the current academic year, stated: “No precise estimates have been made yet, but for two reasons we predict that last year’s statistics have increased. The first reason is that the government has not taken any special action on this matter since last year until now, the second reason is the increase in economic problems of families, which is the main reason for dropping out of school, and economic problems this year are worse than last year, so the predictions are that this year’s figures will be higher than last year.”
In another report, Shahla Kazemipoor, a sociologist, referring to the fact that approximately 2 percent of the total child population are deprived of primary education for various reasons such as living in difficult-to-reach areas, absolute poverty, etc., and do not go to school, said: Among children currently in school, not all have access to adequate facilities and as a result suffer from a decline in educational quality. Despite the existence of a law for public and universal education, which is expected to allow all children to continue their education until the end of the first cycle of secondary school, there are still approximately 500,000 illiterate children in the country.
Students’ lack of access to the Shad network
With the outbreak of the coronavirus and the closure of schools, the Ministry of Education announced that it would resume teaching students through the internet and using a system called “Shad”. This system, which requires the internet and smart mobile phones, has been criticized by teachers and civil activists from the beginning. Among the problems of virtual education, one can point to families’ lack of financial capacity to purchase smartphones and the lack of proper internet service provision in some parts of the country. It is worth noting that many students living in rural areas are forced to travel long and dangerous mountain routes every day due to lack of access to high-speed internet.
153,000 students in Khuzestan lack access to virtual education facilities
Based on official statistics, in Khuzestan, 153,000 students living in about 40,000 households were deprived of access to virtual education facilities, and 13 percent of students in this province have dropped out of school.
The governor of Khuzestan, stating that one of the problems of students dropping out of school is that we do not have secondary schools in all villages, said: “Secondary schools are provided for every few villages. In some parts of the province, due to cultural issues, it is not possible for girls to attend schools in surrounding villages, and usually after completing primary school, they do not continue their education. Virtual education can help us and provide conditions for students’ education. I recommend to the Ministry of Education to include virtual education on the agenda of Khuzestan province even after coronavirus.”
In another report, Rostami, head of education in Ramhormoz, announced: “Out of 27,000 students in Ramhormoz, at least 4,000 students are deprived of having a mobile phone to continue their education in the new academic year.”
Students of Palam Zangu village are deprived of having a school and classroom
Students of Palam Zangu village in Susan District of Eideh in Khuzestan province are deprived of having a school and classroom and are forced to gather around a few pieces of firewood every day in harsh cold and continue their education.
One of the villagers said; a container was donated to village students, but there is no possibility of moving it by land.
Students in villages of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province lack access to the internet
One resident of Bourk village in Margan district in this regard said: “This village with a population of about one thousand people has 7 primary schools, one high school and one guidance school with 260 students who are deprived of having the internet.”
One of the residents of Chanarb village in Dana district also, referring to the education of 300 students in this village and their inability to access the Shad network, stated: Students must travel a long distance towards the heights of the village while enduring unbearable cold to access the internet.
Students in Auj district lack access to virtual education facilities
Some villages in Auj district in Qazvin province lack an internet network, and students in these villages are deprived of access to online classes and education.
Some students in these villages visit mountaintops and hills to access the internet, but with the arrival of winter, they can no longer do so and have dropped out of school.
Auj district has 100 villages, and students living in 36 of these villages face this problem.
Students in 39 villages of Kosar district lack access to the Shad network
The governor of Kosar district in Ardabil province said: Due to the lack of necessary communication infrastructure, students in 39 villages and 21 urban schools in this area are deprived of the Shad educational network programs, and according to many people and students, the Shad educational network has become an unhappy network for school-age people.
Vahid Kananani mentioned the lack of human resources and specialized teachers, the spread of the coronavirus disease, the problem of acquiring smartphones by impoverished students for virtual education, the decay of 20 schools and the need for major repairs in 14 schools in this district as among the educational problems of the region.
Students of Kamre Mishan village in Lorestan province complain about lack of internet access
The lack of internet has prevented students in this village from participating in online classes and continuing their education.
With the outbreak of the coronavirus and the closure of schools, student education took place through the internet and using a system called “Shad”, while many students are deprived of access to the internet and smart mobile phones.
Shortage of facilities and educational space; 23,000 students in Qazvin province are at risk of dropping out of school
Hasanali Asgari, Director General of Education in Qazvin Province, announced: “23,000 students in Qazvin province are at risk of dropping out of school.”
He considered the main reason for dropping out in deprived and marginalized areas of the province to be a shortage of schools and educational spaces, and continued: “Apart from the shortage of about 23 percent of schools, our schools in the entire province are dilapidated and need reconstruction and improvement.”
Hashanali Asgari, referring to the fact that there are many backwardnesses in the field of education in Qazvin province, added: “One clear example of this backwardness is the Istgah school in Ferdows district of Abyek, which is a half-ruined school without standard educational facilities, and students cry because of its problems.”
Students in villages of South Khorasan deprived of internet access
Given the widespread outbreak of the coronavirus and the need to hold online classes for student education, in many villages in South Khorasan province, including Hasanabad and Mohammad Abad Zirkuh villages, there is no possibility of accessing the internet and Shad network. This is one of the most important factors causing students in these areas to drop out.
Also, according to Mohammad Ali Vagheii, Director General of Education in South Khorasan, more than 300 schools in rural areas of this province are deprived of internet access, and their needs must be met to prevent discrimination in education.
83 percent of nomadic students in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad lack access to the “Shad” network
The head of education for nomads in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, stating that more than 3,625 students are studying in nomadic areas of this province, said: “83 percent of these students do not have access to the Shad network.”
Previously, Mohammad Reza Ahmadi, a member of the Education and Research Commission of Parliament, also said regarding the statistics of deprived students across the country: “According to statistics announced by the Ministry of Education, 3.5 million students cannot use the Shad program due to lack of access to the internet or smart phones.”
Nearly 100 students in Ahar district do not have access to a smartphone
Hossein Beglari, head of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee office in Ahar district, said: “During school closures, there are students who have no access to phones or tablets to pursue their education.”
He announced in this regard: “Currently, 853 poor students are under the coverage of the relief committee in Ahar district, of which 98 students have no access to tablets and the Shad program to pursue and continue their education in coronavirus conditions and school closures. This is while the families of these students do not have the ability to receive loans to purchase phones or tablets, and it can be said that they are financially unable.”
Previously, Mohammad Reza Ahmadi, a member of the Education and Research Commission of Parliament, also said regarding the statistics of deprived students across the country: “According to statistics announced by the Ministry of Education, 3.5 million students cannot use the Shad program due to lack of access to the internet or smart phones.”
Students of Narli Ajisou village deprived of education in the shadow of lack of virtual education facilities
Students of Narli Ajisou village located in Maraveh Tappeh district of Golestan province have been deprived of the right to education due to lack of proper internet service in this area and lack of financial capacity to purchase smartphones.
One of the residents of this village said: “Students of Narli Ajisou village in Maraveh Tappeh district, due to the lack of high-speed internet in these cold and rainy days, do not want to fall behind in their studies, spend days on hilltops and hills.”
In this village, at least 170 primary students, 80 tenth-grade secondary students, and 40 eleventh-grade secondary students live.
Deprivation of six thousand students of educational space facilities in Fanuj
Out of eight thousand students in Fanuj village, six thousand students are deprived of educational space facilities.
A technology and information specialist at the Fanuj Education Department said: “In villages of Fanuj district, 8,227 students are studying, of which only 1,900 people benefit from virtual education.”
The Deputy Civil Affairs of Fanuj Governorate also stated: “There are more than 200 villages and settlements in Fanuj, 51 percent of which have telecommunications lines and only 5 villages have high-speed internet.”
Golestan; Dropout of 40 exceptional students and 34 percent of these students’ lack of access to the Shad network
The head of the Department of Special Education in Golestan said: “641 out of a total of 1,885 students with special needs in this province, which represents 34 percent of all students, do not have access to the Shad network.”
He added: “The main reason why these students do not have access to the Shad network is the inability to purchase mobile phones and tablets.”
Khaneali, regarding the educational problems of exceptional students in Golestan, stated: “This year, 40 students dropped out of school due to poor guardianship, family prohibition of education, illness, marriage, child labor, and families’ concerns about contracting coronavirus.”
Students of Narmashir village lack access to the Shad network
The absence of communication infrastructure, poverty, and deprivation have caused 30 percent of students in Narmashir district in Kerman province to lack access to the Shad network.
One resident of this area said: We live in an area where internet access is difficult and many people do not even have a smartphone in their home, and given that families in this district are populous, in families where there is rarely even one phone, it is not possible for all children to use the internet.
Another citizen of Narmashir said: Our children here do not have facilities, especially the internet to connect to the Shad network, and children are sometimes forced to go to nearby villages or high hills and hills to access the internet.
During this year; Dropout of 244 primary students in North Khorasan
The Deputy of Primary Education of the General Department of Education in North Khorasan said: “During this year, according to investigations, 244 primary students in this province dropped out of school.”
While referring to the fact that the existence of poorly-supervised families, unsupervised families, and financial poverty have been among the main causes of dropping out among these students, he added: “Of this number, 111 students have not been identified, meaning their residence has been visited but they were not living there.”
Esmat Badkhshan continued: “During this year, 427 first-grade students who dropped out of school have been identified, of which 111 of them have been identified and through follow-ups have been sent to the classroom, but 316 students have not been identified yet and there is no address of their residence, and follow-ups in this area are underway.
Deprivation of rural students from educational justice; Inappropriate condition of student transit in Amirabad village of Miandoab from within the river
Students of this village must cross inside the Qorqorachay river to go to school in Hamid village, due to the lack of any connecting bridge.
It is worth noting that based on multiple reports, deprivation from minimal public facilities in rural areas, including distance or lack of proper access roads to schools, while being considered a threat to life, makes it difficult for rural students to continue their education and often causes them to drop out of school.
49,000 stateless children deprived of educational applications
Working children, street children, and residents of marginalized areas of cities and a large population of people without identification documents, following the spread of coronavirus and the conversion of education to the internet in schools, face compounded problems.
The Ministry of Education, following the outbreak of coronavirus and school closures, proceeded to hold virtual classes through “a specific application.”
This is while the aforementioned educational application did not allow entry without a national ID for children, which is considered an obvious discrimination regarding the right to education for children without identification documents and national IDs.
Also, more than 20 million residents of marginalized areas in cities lack internet infrastructure facilities and do not have the financial capacity to purchase internet data.
Source: Hrana
