Neglected: Inside Baluchistan’s Educational Nightmare

Elementary children flood the rooms in the morning's first light. Tiny bodies. Infinite potential.  

Afternoon arrives. Middle school students claim the same desks. Boys. Girls. Segregated. Separated. United in their primal hunger for knowledge.

In this village in Fanuj District in the southwestern part of Sistan and Baluchistan province, over 1,000 residents rely on a single six-classroom school serving both elementary and middle school students. Although the school accommodates boys and girls, they are placed in separate classrooms, and their recess times differ.

IranWire sources say that the school enforces strict gender segregation policies.

Sistan and Baluchistan, Iran's youngest province with a high birth rate of 10 babies per hour, faces a dire educational infrastructure crisis that jeopardizes the future of its youth.

Despite being home to 5 per cent of Iran’s population, the province endures severe educational disparities, particularly in rural areas.

Civil and educational equality activists describe the region's education state as "catastrophic." Many villages lack schools, while other rural communities have only minimal classroom space, often fewer than five rooms.

Students in some areas face immense challenges accessing education, with hundreds hitching rides on fuel trucks due to the absence of proper transportation.

The existing educational infrastructure is critically underdeveloped, standing in sharp contrast to 15 years of government pro-natalist policies to increase population growth. However, these initiatives have not been supported by corresponding investments in education, particularly in provinces like Sistan and Baluchistan.

The students in Fanuj village are considered one of the luckiest in the area, as it is the largest in the district. Students from neighboring villages flock to it, as many nearby schools consist of only two or three classrooms for elementary education, staffed by a single teacher for all grades.

These schools, built through charitable donations, offer no middle or high school education, forcing students to travel long distances to Kheirabad or Fanuj for higher education. The journey is fraught with danger; students often use cargo Nissan trucks or motorcycles on hazardous dirt roads.

A former student shared the harrowing story of a young girl injured in a car accident on her way to school, leaving her with severe facial and eye injuries. Many boys risk accidents or death daily while commuting via motorcycles.

Some students stay in dormitories, but admissions have been increasingly restricted in recent years due to various factors. These dormitories are deplorable, with inadequate food and unsanitary living environments. The combined challenges of poor living conditions, long commutes, and harsh study environments drive many students to drop out.

An elementary school teacher in Rask told IranWire that even urban schools in the province face severe overcrowding and limited resources.

"There are 40 students in each classroom, and the space is so cramped that students can't leave their desks to go to the blackboard and answer questions," the teacher explained.

“They have to climb over benches, and this has caused accidents multiple times. Once, a student fell and fractured his skull. We've raised the issue with the Rask Department of Education repeatedly, warning of the dangers, but they are unresponsive. It’s only a matter of time before a child suffers a serious brain injury.”

Another teacher from Dashtiari highlighted even worse conditions in rural areas, where many villages lack proper school facilities, some not even having elementary schools.

Girls are often transported to larger villages using hired vehicles, but families must cover the costs. Financial constraints force many families to forgo these expenses, ultimately causing their daughters to drop out of school.

The teacher pointed to the acute shortage of educational space, citing a recently built school with only four classrooms accommodating 450 students. The teacher explained that one classroom was originally a storage room that had to be converted.

“The classrooms are so cramped that teachers can’t move between desks. The conditions at boys’ schools are even more dire. They lack air conditioning in the extreme heat, and many boys travel long distances on fuel trucks, which is extremely hazardous," the teacher added.

Like many in the region, the school survives entirely on community donations. The bathroom facilities are unsanitary and urgently need repairs. Despite this, the children have no choice but to use them. The teacher revealed that the school didn’t even have blackboards until parents collected money to buy them.

At least four teachers and graduates interviewed by IranWire highlighted the acute shortage of educators in Baluchistan, particularly for specialized subjects, even at the elementary level.

A teacher from Dashtiari shared that her school lacked a first-grade teacher for an entire month, leaving four students without instruction. While the village is located near a main road and has decent access, it lacks even the most basic living facilities.

“Last year, two non-Baluch teachers were brought to the school a month after the academic year started, but they said they wouldn’t stay here,” the teacher said.

In 2024, the Ministry of Education reported a nationwide shortage of 176,000 teachers across various levels. Experts attribute this crisis to inadequate education budgets and the misallocation of resources, particularly toward religious studies. The teacher shortage is most severe in rural and marginalized areas, especially in regions with significant ethnic and religious diversity.

Moeinoddin Saeedi, a former representative of Chabahar, noted that Sistan and Baluchistan face a deficit of 14,000 teachers, contributing to the province’s 10 per cent share of Iran’s school dropouts. 

Saeedi attributed this alarming dropout rate to insufficient infrastructure, inadequate schools, and unreliable transportation.

Civil activists in Baluchistan argue that given the province's deprivation despite its rich natural resources and unique geopolitical position, addressing the teacher shortage requires prioritizing local hires for the education sector.

They criticize discriminatory hiring policies in Iran that favor non-local candidates, perpetuating high unemployment rates among Baluch graduates.

A civil activist from Dashtiari described the state of education in Baluchistan as "deeply concerning." Highlighting girls' dropouts due to a lack of transportation and school facilities, the activist said, "Boys turning to fuel carrying instead of pursuing education reflects the depth of the crisis. Hiring teachers from other provinces, only for them to leave after a year, worsens inequality in a region that urgently needs human resources."

The activist also condemned local candidates' exclusion in yearly teacher recruitment exams, calling it a clear example of "inequality and injustice." These discriminatory practices, they said, not only exacerbate the challenges in education but also deepen feelings of hopelessness and resentment among local youth.

In addition to the shortage of teachers in Baluchistan, the lack of specialized educators is another significant issue. A teacher from Dashtiari told IranWire that in some villages, a single instructor is responsible for all six elementary grades. Teachers with no expertise in mathematics or English are often assigned these roles, leading to poor educational outcomes.

A graduate from Rask shared that many of the non-local teachers assigned to Baluchistan are inexperienced or conscripts who lack basic teaching skills and cannot explain even the most straightforward concepts to students.

According to them, the mismatch between the teachers’ academic backgrounds and the subjects they are required to teach is a primary reason for the lack of progress in these schools.

"You have philosophy graduates teaching biology or health science majors instructing first graders. These teachers often stick to the textbook and avoid questions because they can’t answer them," they explained.

Another graduate from Qasr-e-Qand reported that many teachers in the region are hired on temporary contracts without passing entrance exams. Some are so unmotivated that they neglect even basic attendance duties.

The lack of investment and oversight by the Ministry of Education and school administrators further compounds the crisis. A graduate from Rask said, "Schools in the province are predominantly built through community donations, with no long-term planning from the government."

“Funds allocated for school construction are often embezzled by officials, many of whom are aligned with the Basij militia,” they said.

According to the accounts of graduates and teachers who spoke with IranWire, the Ministry of Education has essentially abandoned the education system in Baluchistan.

A civil activist from Dashtiari added that personal connections heavily influence school construction in the province.

Those with "influential connections" manage to secure six-classroom schools through donations, while others are left with inadequate facilities. “The lack of effective oversight deprives countless students of their basic right to education. This neglect not only negatively affects the quality of education but also jeopardizes future generations,” they said.

A graduate from the Polan region recounted the harrowing reality of their village's only elementary school, which, until three years ago, lacked a proper roof.

“When it rained, or the wind blew, the classrooms would flood, and the roof was at constant risk of collapse. The school often closed for months, forcing us to hold classes in a villager’s house while they were away in Chabahar,” they recounted.

Despite widespread knowledge that many girls drop out due to the long distances to school, provincial education officials have failed to implement policies to make education more accessible. 

In some cases, they’ve made it even harder.

A young Baluch woman highlighted students' difficulties in attending school and sitting for exams.

“Students in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades now have to travel to Polan for exams. Many families can’t afford transportation, which means students - especially girls - drop out at this stage. My cousin missed several exams because the distance was too long, and transportation wasn’t always available,” she said.

Schools' lack of sanitary facilities further exacerbates challenges for female students. She added, “Girls struggle to get to school, only to find no water or proper bathrooms. Recently, a relative of mine in 10th grade started her period at school. The principal called her family to pick her up. Imagine there isn’t even water at school, let alone anything else.”

With minimal government support in Baluchistan, the education system heavily relies on the community and parents.

A resident of Delgan said that the education system essentially abandons schools in Baluchistan, and locals have stepped in to address issues neglected by authorities.

“Schools here receive no support from the administration. The community does everything. Recently, an entire school’s electrical wiring was stolen. The administration did nothing, so the locals had to replace it themselves,” they said.

Baluch students face the dual burden of systemic neglect and ideological discrimination, making even basic education a distant dream. This starkly contrasts Article 30 of Iran’s Constitution, which says, “The government is obligated to provide free education and facilities for all up to the end of secondary school."

Yet, in Baluchistan, this promise remains unfulfilled.