Iran school year opens amid steep private-school fee increases and falling enrolment

Iran's new academic year has opened with private-school fees rising sharply in some cases and enrolment falling in parts of Tehran. The pressure on families comes as households continue to face the effects of sanctions, fears of renewed conflict and a weak rial. The start of term has therefore become a test of how far education costs can rise before more families are priced out.

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President Masoud Pezeshkian marked the opening of the academic year by ringing the school bell at a girls' primary school in Tehran on Monday. The Ministry of Education has told schools to prioritise in-person teaching after periods of online learning during earlier phases of the war. It has also issued a directive capping private-school tuition increases at 35% for the new academic year, with fees set nationally at between 14 million and 145 million tomans.

The reported increases are far above that cap in some cases. One final-year student in eastern Tehran said she paid 80 million tomans last year and 220 million tomans this year, a rise of 175%, before additional charges for pamphlets and school-printed textbooks. An accountant working at several private primary schools in southern Tehran said one school's tuition rose from 36 million tomans two years ago to 85 million tomans this year.

She also said some parents were refusing to enrol children because of security concerns and the possibility that classes could again move online. The figures point to a wider strain on Iranian households, where education costs are competing with other basic expenses. Although the rial is the official currency, everyday transactions are commonly carried out in tomans, and the open market exchange rate on Monday was slightly above 264,000 tomans per euro.

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That gap between official policy and market reality helps explain why fee caps may be difficult to enforce in practice. Private education has become a particular pressure point because it is often used by families seeking more stable schooling options, smaller classes or continuity during disruption. But the combination of inflation, currency weakness and security worries is now affecting whether families can keep children in those schools at all.

The reported decline in enrolment in Tehran suggests that the cost burden is beginning to change school attendance decisions, not just household budgets. What remains unclear is how widely the fee increases are being applied outside Tehran and whether the Ministry of Education will act against schools that exceed the cap. It is also not clear how many pupils have left private schools or shifted to other forms of education.

The coming weeks will show whether the official limit can be enforced and whether the start of term leads to further pressure on families already facing economic strain.

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