Dilapidated schools in Ahwaz expose Iran’s negligence despite renovation promises

Students in the city of Ahwaz continue to suffer from the chronic negligence of the Iranian authorities. Three schools had been evacuated years ago due to the danger they posed to students’ lives, yet the authorities only recently took action—under mounting public pressure—by announcing their renovation and reopening at the beginning of October.

Mohammad Saeedi-Pour, Director of the Organization for the Renovation, Development, and Equipment of Schools in Ahwaz, stated that the three schools will return to service after rehabilitation work. Meanwhile, students have endured years of difficult learning conditions, being dispersed among overcrowded schools that themselves lack the most basic safety standards.

Ahwazi activists argue that the announcement of these projects is nothing more than an attempt to polish Iran’s image, especially since dozens of other schools remain destroyed or on the verge of collapse. Thousands of children are still studying in unsafe buildings or in temporary classrooms devoid of basic necessities.

It is worth noting that the Iranian authorities had pledged, under their plan, to build or rehabilitate 626 schools in Ahwaz. However, implementation has been progressing at an extremely slow pace, amid accusations of deliberately marginalizing education in the region as part of a broader policy of impoverishment and erasure of Ahwazi identity.