As drop-out rates rise, a sociologist outlined its reasons. Mohammad Hossein Rostamkhani attributed school drop-outs to the "fewer opportunities that school and academic degrees provide."
Officials at the ministry of education said 5 million students had dropped out of schools in the past six years.
In an interview with ISNA, Rostamkhani said "school failure is among the most serious challenges" facing the education system, costing the country dearly. He cited "lack of leisure due to economic pressure and decline in spiritual values" as some factors behind school failure.
