TEHRAN – Of the 152,287 out-of-school children ages 6-11 nationwide, around 29,000 are enrolled in the school, officials from the Ministry of Education said.
The Ministry of Education has developed the program with a focus on education equity. In other words, in four stages: identification, attraction, support and retention, the IRNA cited Rezvan Hakimzadeh as saying.
According to the latest report, 152,287 out-of-school primary school students have been identified, with 130,000 people not registered at any school, she noted.
Sistan-Baluchestan, Tehran, Khorasan Razavi and Khuzestan have the highest number of children outside of school, and the lowest number of states in Ilam, Semnan, Zanjan, and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari.
Economic and cultural issues, immigration, distance to school, family bias, illness, or even death are one of the main causes that prevent children from attending school. In some cases, students are attending informal centres that are not officially registered, officials said.
School dropout rates drop for over 2 years
According to a report released by the Ministry of Education, the dropout rate fell from 1.97% in 1401 (2022-2023) to 1.65% in 1403 (2024-2025).
The dropout rate for grades 1401-1402 (September 2022 – June 2023) was 287,617 children, with 0.97% (87,544 students) in primary schools, 4.09% (149,288 students) and 2.59% (50,785 students) in secondary schools (2.59% (50,785 students) in junior high schools (50,785 students).
In the next grade, the dropout rate was about 1.65%, of which 247,242 children, of which 0.91% (84,001 students) were primary schools, 3.47% (130,432 students), and 1.65% (32,809 students) in the upper middle schools.
During the same period, the number of students outside the school increased from 902,188 to 928,729.
In semester 1401-1402, out of 902,188 out-of-school children, 156,835, 195,568, and 549,785 were in primary, lower secondary and secondary schools, respectively.
However, in the next grade (September 2023 to June 2024), the number of children outside of school reached 928,729 students. Approximately 171,992, 198, 109, and 558,628 students were in primary, lower secondary and secondary schools, respectively.
Students outside the school are classified as people who are not registered in the grade. This includes children who may have died, immigrants, or children who suffer from severe mental retardation.
Compared to past decades, Iran’s educational reporting index, particularly in primary schools, has improved to around 98%.
Despite these efforts, the number of dropouts and the number of students outside of school indicate a failure to fully achieve literacy goals.
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