Iran’s education minister Alireza Kazemi has said about 50,000 Afghan migrant children of school age have not been enrolled in schools across the country.
Authorities in Iran often describe undocumented Afghan migrants as “foreign nationals without permits.”
Kazemi said Iran hosted about 600,000 Afghan students last year, most of whom registered late. “Our own students must first be enrolled, and then we turn to foreign nationals,” he said.
Citing data from Iran’s Interior Ministry, Kazemi said about 2 million Afghan migrants have left Iran and returned home in recent years. He estimated that at least 200,000 of them were school-age children, though the number could be closer to 300,000. Based on those calculations, he said roughly 50,000 Afghan children remain in Iran but have not yet been registered in schools.
The minister said the Education Ministry will coordinate with the Interior Ministry to create a process for those families still in Iran. Parents will need to apply through local authorities to enroll their children.
“We believe those who have sought refuge in our country are human beings, and especially their children should not be deprived of the right to education and upbringing,” Kazemi said.
He added that while most Afghan children have already left Iran with their families, efforts will continue to assist those still in the country.
Kazemi also noted that hiring new teachers or staff in any capacity requires approval from Iran’s Administrative and Employment Organization and the Budget and Planning Organization, in line with the country’s Seventh Development Plan.
