Majid Parsa, Director of Education for the city of Tehran, has announced that the enrollment of Afghan migrant students for the new academic year will only be permitted upon presentation of documents approved by Iran’s Ministry of Interior. He noted that around 60,000 Afghan migrant students were enrolled in Tehran schools last year.
Mr. Parsa described the presence of Afghan students as a contributing factor to overcrowded classrooms in Tehran’s schools. He stated that the exclusion of undocumented migrants from the education system in some areas — particularly in southern Tehran — has led to a decrease in classroom density.
He predicted that, by imposing restrictions on the enrollment of migrant students in some schools, the average class size could drop from 40 to 33 students.
He also emphasized that the number of migrant students in the counties (districts) of Tehran remains high and that further educational and infrastructural planning is required in these areas.
Iranian education officials had previously stated that, in an effort to reduce the physical presence of migrant students in Iranian schools, they were exploring avenues of cooperation with the Ministry of Education of the de facto Afghan government to launch online education specifically for Afghan students.
Alireza Kazemi, Iran’s Minister of Education, had emphasized that Iran is prepared, under the framework of a tripartite cooperation agreement, to educate all Afghan students through a localized online learning network and issue valid academic certificates in accordance with the regulations of virtual schools.
Iranian officials claim that this initiative could help alleviate some of the pressure on Iran’s educational system while also providing access to education for undocumented migrants outside the formal system.
This comes at a time when the Islamic Republic of Iran has intensified the deportation of Afghan migrants in recent months. Human rights organizations warn that this action is depriving hundreds of thousands of migrants — especially Afghan girls — of their right to education as they are forced to return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
