Despite the clear mandate in Article 30 of the Iranian regime’s Constitution—stating that education should be free until the end of secondary school and that higher education should expand to the extent of national self-sufficiency—the reality in Iran tells a different story. The promise of free, accessible, and quality education has become increasingly hollow. In practice, education in Iran is no longer free, and for many, no longer even attainable.
According to the regime’s own figures, around 790,000 children are currently out of school. This is not just a number—it is a warning sign of a national crisis. These children, between the ages of six and eighteen, are part of a generation being systematically pushed out of education due to poverty, discrimination, and institutional neglect. For many, the decision to leave school is not a choice but a forced outcome of circumstances beyond their control.
NCRI Statement: #Iranian Regime's Education Minister Signs Disgraceful Pact with Security Forceshttps://t.co/fRjIkeHUwD
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 22, 2025
The regime’s own Minister of Education has admitted that school dropouts are a significant concern. Yet this concern has not translated into meaningful action. The problem persists—and worsens—each year. A 2016 report by the regime’s Parliamentary Research Center recorded 778,000 school dropouts; by 2021, the number had climbed to over 911,000. Experts, such as University of Tehran professor Gholamali Afrooz, argue that the real figures are likely even higher. He notes that although around 1.2 million children enter the first grade annually, only about 70% manage to graduate from high school—a stark contrast to graduation rates of 95% or more in many other countries.
This growing dropout rate has a ripple effect across Iranian society. Children who leave school prematurely are often pushed into labor markets as scavengers, street vendors, or underpaid workers. They face a future of social marginalization, illiteracy, and increased risk of exploitation. Tehran Governor Mohammad Sadeq Motamediyan warned that dropouts are directly linked to issues like unemployment, child labor, and delinquency, highlighting the broader societal damage that stems from educational failure.
The reasons behind this crisis are deeply rooted in the regime’s discriminatory and unequal education system. While many children struggle to afford school supplies or transportation, the regime’s elite enjoy exclusive educational privileges. “Non-profit schools” with astronomical tuition fees serve the wealthy, while “Shahid Schools”—funded by public money—cater to families loyal to the regime. A newer trend among the ultra-wealthy is “home schools,” where private tutors educate children in luxurious homes, with students taking separate official exams. This system cements class divisions and erodes equal opportunity.
#Iran’s Education System in Crisis as Schools Reopenhttps://t.co/D0FdTeZjU1
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 23, 2024
Worse still, the education provided often lacks quality. Curriculum materials are frequently manipulated to reflect the regime’s ideology—full of superstition, distorted history, and mandatory religious indoctrination. Students are not only deprived of facts, but also of critical thinking and creativity. Thus, even those who stay in school often receive an education that is neither empowering nor truthful.
The situation in Iran’s border and free trade zones is even more dire. Hadi Abedi, a senior official at the Ministry of Education, has acknowledged that these areas face particular cultural and social challenges. He emphasized that dropouts are rampant in these zones, and the easy movement of people across borders leads to rapid cultural shifts, further complicating the education landscape.
Despite the existence of laws aimed at ensuring educational access for all—including the 1993 law on the establishment of education councils—implementation remains weak. These policies largely exist on paper, with little real-world impact. Had they been properly enforced, dropout rates would likely have declined rather than surged.
#Iran News in Brief
An Iranian media outlet has reported that the dropout rate among Iranian #children and adolescents reached its highest level in the past decade during the last academic year, with widespread poverty being cited as the major cause.https://t.co/srDkYyqyoi pic.twitter.com/zeyeqFy1Jl— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 17, 2024
Policymakers and experts continue to ring the alarm. Akbar Puladi Baghbadrani, a member of the regime’s Education Commission, stated plainly that “students who drop out are abandoned by society,” and called for urgent nationwide efforts to track and re-engage them—especially in remote regions. He noted that while “free education” technically exists in some parts of Iran, it is far from adequate. Schools routinely demand “voluntary” financial contributions from families, and additional costs—transportation, uniforms, remedial classes—create further burdens. For low-income families, these pressures can be decisive, forcing children out of school permanently.
This is more than an economic issue; it is a moral and societal failure. Around the world, universal education is seen as a foundation for moral development, social justice, and sustainable progress. In Iran, however, the regime has treated education not as a right, but as a privilege for the loyal and the wealthy. The result is a generation of children deprived of both their future and their dignity.
The growing number of dropouts signals not just a broken education system, but a broken society. If the regime continues to ignore the roots of this crisis—poverty, discrimination, and inequality—the consequences will be irreparable. A country that fails its children has already failed its future.