Thousands of first-year elementary school students in Iran have dropped out of school this year

According to the deputy head of primary education at the Iranian Ministry of Education, 89,000 first-year elementary school students have been excluded from education this year.

On Wednesday, January 14, in an interview with ILNA News Agency, Rezvan Hakimzadeh said about families with two or three children who use the same phone that if their exams coincide, these students will face problems.

According to Ministry of Education officials, dropout rates, which occur mostly in "underprivileged" areas, have increased significantly this academic year.

Officials have cited the lack of access to the internet and smart devices for many students in these areas to participate in virtual classes as the reason for this.

The advisor to the Minister of Education and head of the Shad Network said in mid-October that out of the country's more than 11 million students, about 3.5 million lack smart devices or have no access to the internet at all.

Hassan Al-Husseini announced the share of students deprived of the Shad network as 3 million 200 thousand, or 21 percent, and said that the difference of 300 thousand was due to students who use borrowed smart devices.

Ms. Hakimzadeh, Iran's Deputy Minister of Education, asked school administrators to plan carefully in this regard, given the overlapping exam times of students who use smart devices in the same family.

The Director General of Education of Kerman also announced on January 10 that 120,000 students in this province did not have access to smart devices or the internet.

Considering Kerman's student population of 650,000, it is estimated that about one-fifth of Kerman's students do not have access to the internet, tablets, or mobile phones to attend classes in the new academic year, which will be held virtually this year due to the coronavirus.

The suicide of Mohammad Mousavizadeh, an 11-year-old student from Bandar Diyar, Bushehr Province, which occurred due to his family's inability to afford a mobile phone, sparked widespread reactions in the media and social networks.

Iranian students are following their curriculum at home through the Shad app in the new academic year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The "Shad" network was launched by the Iranian government after the outbreak of the coronavirus in Iran and the closure of schools for the purpose of distance learning.

Source: Radio Farda