City Council Member: One-Quarter of Tehran Schools at Risk of Demolition
A member of Tehran City Council’s executive board warned that more than one thousand educational units in Tehran are located in dilapidated areas. According to the Education Minister, 30 percent of schools nationwide are deteriorated. School deterioration in provincial areas is more severe than in the capital.
Zahra Nejad Behnam, a member of Tehran City Council’s executive board, warned on Sunday, November 4 (the 13th of Aban in the Iranian calendar), which is marked as Student Day in Iran, that schools in the capital have become unsafe and deterioration threatens districts 9, 10, 11, 12, and 14. According to the Tehran City Council executive board member, the mentioned districts have the highest number of deteriorated and unsafe schools that are at risk of demolition.
The ILNA news agency reported, citing Zahra Nejad Behnam, that the number of educational units with deteriorated infrastructure in the capital is one thousand units. The Tehran city council member emphasized that these units require reinforcement, reconstruction, and renovation.
Zahra Nejad Behnam noted: “The municipality is obligated to establish renovation and improvement headquarters as soon as possible through school-building charities associations, district mayors, managers, and officials.”
However, school deterioration across the country and especially in remote areas is more severe than in Tehran.
The issue of school deterioration is raised annually during special occasions and periods such as the beginning of the school year on the first of Mehr (around September 21) or Student Day (the 13th of Aban). This phenomenon, which some Iranian officials refer to as a “malady,” becomes more prominent whenever the walls or ceilings of educational units collapse on students, resulting in their deaths.
Experts say the budget that the Education Ministry allocates for reconstruction and renovation of deteriorated schools is insufficient. They warn that many of these schools will collapse on students in the event of a minor earthquake.
Education Minister: 30 Percent of Country’s Schools are Deteriorated
Seyyed Mohammad Bathaei, the Education Minister, has also confirmed school deterioration and budget shortages. On the eve of Student Day on the 13th of Aban, he reported that more than 30 percent of all schools nationwide are deteriorated.
Bathaei said about deteriorated schools: “These schools need to be demolished, reconstructed, or reinforced. The budget we need for this measure is 90 thousand billion tomans. This means that if I want to solve the educational space problem once and for all in one go, I would need to allocate nearly two years’ worth of the Education Ministry’s entire budget to this matter.”
Source: DW
