More than three million students in Iran face the risk of "falling behind in education"

The Iranian Ministry of Education says that 3 million 225 thousand students are unable to join the "Shad" network due to not having a tablet or phone and are at risk of "falling behind in education."

Rezvan Hakimzadeh, Deputy Minister of Primary Education at the Ministry of Education, announced this news to ISNA on Tuesday, August 4, saying: "To prevent these students from falling behind in their education, they need to have access to educational tools."

The Shad Network was launched by the Iranian government for distance education of students after the outbreak of the coronavirus in Iran and the closure of schools.

The cheapest tablet in Iran currently costs one and a half million tomans. Meanwhile, the instability of the internet connection and speed, as well as the price of using the internet, are other issues that are also of concern.

The Deputy Minister of Primary Education also said that about 500,000 students who are not members of the Shad network are mainly Afghan nationals, and the largest number of students who are unable to join this network due to not having a tablet live in Sistan and Baluchestan province.

Previously, at the beginning of the launch of the Shad Network, Iranian Minister of Education Mohsen Hajimirzaei had also said that a significant portion of students were deprived of distance learning due to reasons such as "lack of access to the Internet or communication tools."

Internet connectivity in Iranian villages has grown significantly in recent years, but according to the Minister of Communications, about 20 percent of villages are still not connected to the Internet, while "unstable Internet connection and speed, along with filtering of some messaging applications," are among the problems that users constantly complain about.

Source: Radio Farda