Children who have no birth certificates, also known as ‘stateless’, will be able to register in schools from this academic year (starts Sept. 23) after years of being denied education as per the law, said Mehdi Navid Adham, secretary general of the Higher Council of Education. The directive has been issued to all provinces and as of September, no child residing in Iran will be deprived of educational facilities, he said, Jamejamonline reported.
Stateless children in Iran are those born to Iranian mothers married to foreign men and are therefore considered foreigners and are not issued Iranian birth certificates. In 2012, Majlis (parliament) ratified a bill to provide residency rights to these children, enabling them to access social benefits, including state subsidies, before becoming citizens. However, the Guardian Council scrapped the law due to the Majlis’ failure to specify the source of funding for the amenities.
