Tehran Private Schools Get Nod to Hike Tuition

Private schools in Tehran Province can hike tuition by a maximum of 17% in the new academic year (starts September 2017), said Hamid Rahmani, head of Non-State Schools Office at the Education Ministry, on Saturday.

Every year, the ministry’s School Supervision Committee sets an annual percentage structure for tuition fee increase. The new structure includes criteria such as school size, quality of education and verified teacher performance.

 “Schools in different Tehran districts vary in size, number of students and teachers, and quality of education which is assessed based on their compliance with specific criteria vis-a-vis educational planning and teaching techniques. Therefore a uniform fee structure cannot be adopted for all schools. However increase in school tuition shouldn’t be more than the ceiling of 17% this year over the prevailing fees,” ISNA quoted him as saying.

Violation of the ministry’s directives by schools should be reported with documentary evidence, he said. “We regularly monitor schools, but also urge parents to inform us about any violations with supporting evidence to take legal action.”

According to Rahmani, private schools in Iran charge high tuition, ranging from 15 million rials (about $375) in preschools up to 120 million rials (nearly $3,000) in pre-university institutions. The number of non-government schools has increased in recent years, particularly in the affluent districts of 1 to 5, and they are competing with each other to attract more students.

In January, Alireza Kamrei, director general of the ministry’s Tehran Education Department, said 18.5% of students in Tehran Province are enrolled in private schools, and the rest study in state-run institutions. The figure was 12% in 2015.

“Tehran accounts for 8.5% (or 1.1 million) of around 13 million students in the country,” he said. About 7.2 million students are studying at the primary, 3 million at the middle school, and 2.3 million at the high school level.