Rural students in Iran did not bring money to school; “they were flogged and expelled”

A news website in Iran has published a video in which several students claim to have been flogged because they did not provide the amount of money requested by the school principal.

The "Tabnak" website reported on Sunday, October 8, that the principal of a school in the village of Mokhtarabad in Rudbar, southern Kerman Province, had demanded 30,000 Tomans from students, and those who did not bring this amount to school were flogged and expelled.

The head of education in South Rudbar County has denied this news, but Tabnak says that the parents of these students insist on the truth of the matter.

But on Tuesday, October 9, the Farda website published a video in which several female students at the school explain that they were flogged eight times by the school principal because their families could not afford to pay the requested amount.

The website also published a manuscript 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 government is obligated to provide free educational facilities for the entire nation until the end of secondary school and to expand the means of higher education free of charge to the extent of the country's self-sufficiency."

However, the collection of money from students under the guise of helping schools makes headlines every year. The Ministry of Education has repeatedly announced that it will deal with schools that violate the law, and starting this year, tuition fees have been set at a floor and ceiling for private schools.

The Ministry of Education has always been one of the most problematic ministries in Iran, and currently the Minister of Education of the Hassan Rouhani government is on the verge of impeachment for the second time.

Source: Voice of America