Iran backs removing barriers to education for legally resident children

At a meeting of Iran’s National Child Rights Authority in Tehran, the country’s justice minister pointed to a decline in the number of children out of school, saying the issue was not only about education, but was directly linked to social justice, the prevention of social harm and the future of society.

He also stressed that children of legally resident foreign nationals should be able to access formal education without obstruction, and, citing Islamic teachings and the international Convention on the Rights of the Child, called on the relevant institutions to make serious efforts to remove existing barriers.

In addition, the justice minister described the preparation of the national child rights report as an opportunity to present the realities of Iran’s achievements and challenges in this area, and underlined the importance of the continuous updating of data in the Child Rights Management System (Mahka) by the relevant organisations.

While Iran has in recent years allowed thousands of migrant students, mostly Afghans, to study in state schools, new registration guidelines, identity verification requirements and the integrated foreign nationals system have created problems for some legally resident children and those without valid documents to continue their education.

The justice minister also made a clear distinction between legal and illegal foreign nationals, stressed Tehran’s policy of regulating illegal entry, and supported protecting the right to education and basic services for legal migrants.