Conversation with Simin Rouzgar

On the eve of the first day of Mehr and the reopening of schools, we sat down with Mohammad Ghomi, representative of Pakdasht in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, member of the Hope Faction and member of the Education and Research Commission, to discuss the budget and per capita situation of schools, as well as the issue of the necessity of rebuilding schools in different provinces of the country.

Mohammad Ghomi, who was previously a representative for Varamin and Pakdasht in the third, fourth, and fifth terms of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, has been elected as a representative for this constituency in the sixth and seventh terms after the separation of Pakdasht from Varamin. He also became a member of the presiding board of the parliament for the first time in the sixth term.

This experienced representative of the 10th Parliament’s Hope Faction has a record of serving as the head of education in Varamin, as well as conducting interrogations in Evin Prison. He has also collaborated with the Imam Relief Committees and the Martyr Foundation, served as the president of the Taekwondo Federation, and been a member of the Islamic Teachers Association. Over the past four decades, he has held various positions such as the educational deputy of the Tehran Department of Education.

Mohammad Ghomi, however, throughout the entire short conversation, emphasized the issue of budget and said, “In essence, the budget is low; it’s not that there is a budget and they don’t give it to education. Overall, we have a shortage of budget.”

He also mentioned the issue of budget and low per capita of schools in Iran in regards to the fees that some public schools charge students, and stated that the reason for these mostly illegal charges is that “school expenses are high and with the per capita that the government provides to schools, their expenses cannot be covered naturally.”

Mohammad Qomi is the brother of Hojat al-Islam Mohsen Qomi, a representative of the Assembly of Experts from the Tehran electoral district and the deputy of international affairs at the office of the Supreme Leader.

You can read the interview with this representative of the tenth parliament of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in Iran below:

According to Article 30 of the Constitution, the Islamic Republic is obligated to provide free education for all children until the end of high school. However, we are currently facing the challenge of increasing non-profit schools and the issue of deprived children in rural and urban areas who are unable to attend school. Therefore, it seems that this constitutional principle has been forgotten. Please share your analysis on this matter.

As you mentioned, according to the 30th principle of the Constitution, education up to high school diploma is free. The government is also obligated to provide necessary facilities for free education of students. However, due to the inadequate budget of the government in recent years, some of our schools are run-down (meaning they have been around for a few years) and the population has also increased, causing us to face many challenges in this field.

Several solutions have been proposed for building schools. One is for the government to use its public budget and the necessary funds to construct schools. Non-profit schools also contribute to the construction of government schools. Some schools are built by philanthropists – wealthy and capable individuals who use their money for charitable work as a form of good deeds. Some people also donate their homes or land for the construction of schools, resulting in the creation of several schools. However, despite these efforts, we still face a shortage of schools. Some schools are old and experts have determined that it is dangerous for children to attend them, as they may face problems or difficulties. The government allocates a budget for these repairs, and the public also accepts this responsibility.

In a place where there are schools being destroyed and it is dangerous for students to go there, and practically impossible to send children to those schools, it is better for students to use rented schools during the one or two years that the school is being built. The people of the area and other individuals should also help to rent a school for students so that they can study comfortably until the government or benefactors can build a school for them.

I thank the respected benefactors and also request from the people to help. Of course, not to build a school, because building a school requires a budget of at least 50 to 100 million tomans, but many people, according to their expertise, can help to the best of their ability. For example, those who are carpenters can build desks and chairs at a more reasonable price and donate them to the school or give some of them as gifts to the school. Or a person who is a builder or painter can spend a few days in service of the school and do this work for the children for free. Of course, it should not be mandatory and should be voluntary. In fact, just as people participated in the war, they can also help in building schools, repairs, and some of the problems in education and training, to the extent that they can, so that we can get out of this difficult situation.

Do you think, according to the constitution, schools should be built by benefactors? What is the government’s responsibility in this area?

The government does its duty to the best of its ability, but some people voluntarily want to do good deeds. Some build mosques, some build universities, some build dormitories, some build clinics, and some build schools. Fortunately, the movement of building schools has more motivation. Most philanthropists are more interested in building schools.

Is there a law that can prevent these miscellaneous and illegal expenses that officials of some public schools collect from parents under various excuses?

This issue has been raised in recent years and the reason is that school expenses are high and with the amount that the government provides to schools, their expenses are not naturally covered. School officials are forced to receive a voluntary or sometimes semi-voluntary amount of money from the students’ parents. The Ministry of Education issues a circular every year stating that this is against the law, but it is not eliminated and schools and school administrators do it because they are forced to.

In order to achieve this, it is necessary for the government to be able to provide a significant amount of support to education, either by increasing the education budget or finding ways to cover its expenses. The various expenses of schools are high, especially considering the country’s inflation rate and the fact that the per capita of schools has not increased.

Why, after four decades of the establishment of the Islamic Republic system, are we still facing the issue of mud and brick schools? In your opinion, why have renovations not been carried out?

In these four decades, many schools have been built by the government, but because the lifespan of some schools has become long and there is not enough budget in recent years to renovate them, these problems have arisen. In the early days of the revolution, when I myself was the head of education, our budget was very high. At that time, we did not have a shortage of schools at all. For the past few years, the budget has decreased and there are problems with renovating schools. These schools are located in the farthest corners of the country, from some villages to large cities. Even in Tehran, there are some schools that are dilapidated and a solution must be found for them.

You mentioned budget and per capita education as issues. Where is the problem and what could the parliament do to address these issues such as low per capita education and discrimination? Do you think the problem lies in the laws or in the implementation?

Well, the main issue is that the government budget is low and the education budget naturally does not cover all these expenses. A solution must be found to increase the government budget for education. The problem is not that there is a budget and they do not allocate it to education. Overall, we have a shortage of budget.

Thank you for the time you have dedicated to the peace line.