Dilapidated Schools Threaten Three Million Iranian Students

As the new school year begins in Iran, there are alarming concerns about the safety of educational facilities. Dilapidated schools and unsafe classrooms in Iran are once again in the spotlight.

On September 22, the roof of a classroom at a 70-year-old school in Urmia collapsed on students, resulting in two students sustaining minor injuries. Although the collapse did not cause serious harm, it highlighted the risks millions of students face while studying in unsafe classrooms.

A Ticking Time Bomb

Many school buildings in Iran pose severe safety risks to students and teachers. For instance, some buildings have crumbling walls or ceilings, or are located in earthquake-prone areas. In addition, most schools lack basic safety features, such as fire extinguishers and emergency exits.

One-fifth of Iran's schools are worn and need retrofitting, renovation, or reconstruction. This means that around three million students attend school in over 100,000 unsafe classrooms, with an average of 30 students per classroom.

Further exacerbating the issue, these buildings are classified as "demolished schools," indicating that they have reached the end of their structural life and must be demolished and rebuilt. 

Benefactors Shoulder Costs

Nejat Bahrami, a journalist and former education official, told IranWire that the root cause of Iran's dilapidated schools is the insufficient budget allocated for their renovation. He stressed that both public and private schools are affected by this issue.

Bahrami detailed that the School Renovation Organization receives a significantly smaller budget than required, with only a portion of this limited budget being utilized by the end of the fiscal year. He emphasized that the government's lack of prioritization for public school maintenance leads to insufficient funding for critical repairs and upgrades.

Due to the significant budget shortfall in the education sector, relying on school-building benefactors has become one of the few viable solutions for creating adequate educational space and renovating schools in Iran.

Hamidreza Khan Mohammadi, the head of the School Renovation Organization, acknowledged the government's heavy dependence on donors to refurbish and renovate thousands of classrooms during a gathering of donors last year.

Bahrami highlighted that these donors funded nearly half of the newly constructed schools in Iran. He further noted, "The economic policies of the Islamic Republic have devastated the nation's economy, leaving people without the financial capacity to contribute to charitable causes such as building schools."

According to Bahrami, Iran's deteriorating economic situation in recent years has significantly reduced the number of schools built by the School Construction Benefactors Association. This decline has further hindered school renovation efforts, leaving millions of students in unsafe and dilapidated learning environments.

Economic Enterprises, Supreme Control, and Budgets That Don't Arrive

Despite parliamentarians' full awareness of the crippling state of Iran's schools, which educational authorities have deemed a "red line," approved government budgets have failed to modernize them adequately.

Mohammed Vahidi, Vice-Chairman of the Parliament's Education, Research, and Technology Committee, noted that renovating all of Iran's schools would take 300 years at the current funding pace.

Ali Ranjipour, an economic journalist, told IranWire that Iran's budget resources are disproportionately allocated. He criticized the government for allocating a quarter of the public budget to the military while neglecting crucial areas like school safety.

"When budget resources are channeled towards military agencies and political projects prioritized by the leader of the Islamic Republic, little is left for modernizing and strengthening schools," Ranjipour noted.

Ranjipour also emphasized the problematic reliance on institutions controlled by the Supreme Leader to fund school renovations. He explained that a designated budget for education is primarily sourced from taxes collected by these entities, including the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order, military-economic entities, and the Mostazafan Foundation.

"If there was transparency, and if these institutions contributed to educational funding in proportion to their economic and political presence, a much larger budget should have been allocated to educational justice," he added.

Beyond Broken Buildings

Iran's schools face a multitude of problems beyond crumbling infrastructure. While millions of students attend schools in need of demolition, thousands more study in unsafe, makeshift structures in impoverished areas.

Nejat Bahrami told IranWire, "Imagine these makeshift schools turning into ice blocks in winter, with students sitting inside metal sheds to study. In the summer, the heat inside these metal structures is unbearable."

Even private schools, which often charge exorbitant fees, are not immune to these issues. In 2017, a Tehran city council member reported that 70% of private schools in the city were housed in aging and unsafe buildings.

Bahrami further explained that in large cities, where land prices are high, private school founders often convert large, old buildings into schools to cut costs.

The government's eagerness to reduce its financial burden has led to the approval of substandard schools, prioritizing economic savings over student safety.

Classrooms Turned into Cages

Numerous reports have surfaced in recent years highlighting a significant decline in student performance across Iran. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Education revealed a dramatic drop in the average GPA of secondary school students, echoing earlier reports of deteriorating academic standards.

Bahrami attributes part of this educational crisis to the physical conditions of Iranian schools. He describes them as "barely schools," with students crammed into tiny, closed spaces that offer limited opportunities for exploration, play, or physical activity. Most concerningly, he emphasized, "These conditions create a sense of hatred towards the school environment."

Bahrami further points to Iranian schools' severe shortage of workshops, sports facilities, and laboratory spaces. Overcrowded classrooms, stressed teachers, and a reliance on traditional teaching methods contribute to declining student performance. He asserts that the current conditions are unsustainable and must be addressed to improve educational outcomes.