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January 28, 2025

The Path of Students in Sistan and Baluchestan: Fatal Incidents or Dropping Out of School?/ Khalilullah Balochi

Children who are left behind from education are one of the fundamental problems of the education system in Iran, with the highest statistics belonging to the Sistan and Baluchestan province. Thirteen years after major changes in Iran’s education system, the growth rate of these children has posed a serious challenge to the education system. Official research centers, including the Parliament’s Research Center, have emphasized a 17% increase in the number of children who are left behind from education from 1395 to 1402.

Sistan and Baluchestan province, which covers eleven percent of Iran’s land, also has more than fifteen percent of the country’s out-of-school children; a problem that the government tries to portray as a cultural issue rooted in national traditions. It is natural for families to play a significant role in the education and upbringing of their children, but the lack of a structured plan for their return, encouragement, and hope for the future has led to a negative view of education among the people, especially the disadvantaged in society.

“Children who are left behind from education are the same children who are forced to work. The lack of hope for the future and gaining knowledge has forced them to leave books and lessons behind and even take on dangerous jobs such as fuel smuggling. If we look at the borders of Sistan and Baluchestan, we will see that many of the fuel smugglers are young and have not even reached the age of maturity; children who sometimes also become victims of accidents and lose their lives.”

The lack of facilities and services for transporting students due to the non-standard routes to high schools is another problem that causes children in this province to drop out of school. Many villages in Sistan and Baluchestan province are still deprived of having a proper road, and children who travel to another village or city for education are forced to commute with motorcycles and fuel-powered vehicles; vehicles that are like ticking bombs and can catch fire or cause accidents at any moment.

Government investment in the well-being and smooth path of children and families for education is extremely important and vital. As Ibrahim Saharkhiz, former deputy of the Ministry of Education, said, the government must open up the oil tap and invest its money in the field of education. This is while charities and philanthropic foundations are providing for poor students. Instead of the government and the ruling system, it is they who send students from poverty to schools. This itself is a major weakness in the country’s education system, where the most basic needs of a poor student are provided by charity organizations.

The communication routes have a significant impact on the education of children due to their vastness and mountainous areas. Non-standard and dirt roads are blocked during heavy rainfalls, causing many patients, especially pregnant women, to die due to not being able to reach the hospital. For example, people in the northern part of Qasr-e Qand county, which is famous for its cashew region, have no means of communication and transportation to the mentioned county, and during rainy seasons, their traffic always reaches zero.

Local and reliable statistics show that ninety percent of girls in this region, after completing elementary education, are unable to continue their studies due to lack of proper transportation and access to the city. Despite the hidden talents in these areas, families are not willing to risk their children’s future by sending them on non-standard paths, and as a result, dropping out of school becomes the only solution.

In the north of Nikshahr county, in the Gorgan region – which is part of the central district – and also in the Kheiri region, which is part of the Ahuran district, the situation is the same. Most roads pass through river routes or long dirt roads, making transportation very difficult.

Furthermore, in some counties such as Chabahar and Iranshahr, where marginalization has taken over half of the urban population, there is practically no efficient public transportation. With the increase in marginalization, citizens have always faced this serious problem and officials have only made empty promises. In Chabahar, which is the economic hub of the south and Iran, the number of city bus routes can be counted on one hand. Most of these buses are also very old and are not providing adequate services. It should be noted that these routes have no activity or traffic in the marginalized areas of the city. On the other hand, transportation through taxis in these counties is very expensive for residents. How can marginalization, which has left them struggling to make ends meet and even provide drinking water, afford the exorbitant cost of taxis or private school transportation for their children?

One of the reasons for the high cost of taxis is the shortage of fuel in the Sistan and Baluchestan province, and school or private services are practically not willing to operate in this region due to high expenses. Organized smuggling to neighboring countries and the government’s strictness in providing fuel to vehicles has practically led to the decline of public transportation and the closure of school services in this province.

During these years, due to the lack of public transportation and school buses, many students have been involved in road accidents and lost their lives. One heartbreaking example of these incidents is related to a collision between three motorcycles in the city of Nikshahr, where four students were returning from school to their village of Kuran-Depp. Three young students were killed and one was injured. These students used to travel the ten-kilometer distance between the school and village on motorcycles.

The unstable situation of students and even teachers in transportation has been going on for years in a way that is unacceptable and sometimes even dangerous. These problems have caused even students who have not dropped out of school to face difficulties in pursuing their education due to the challenges in this province.

Created By: Khalil ‌Allah Balochi
November 22, 2023

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