Afghan Refugee Children and the Challenge of Education

Afghan migration to Iran is a phenomenon that has persisted for over 40 years. Following the collapse of the Afghan Republic and the Taliban's takeover in 2021, a new wave of Afghan migration to Iran began. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over five million Afghan refugees currently reside in Iran. Since the early 1980s (the 1360s in the Iranian calendar), when the first wave of Afghan migrants arrived, the Islamic Republic has viewed them as temporary guests, consistently basing its policies on this premise. It appears the primary concern of the system's administrators, which shaped this approach, is that a warmer welcome might encourage more Afghans to migrate to Iran. This approach not only meant that the potential of migrants went untapped for 40 years but also fostered resentment by treating them as surplus citizens. Consequently, upon returning to their country or migrating to other nations where they experienced better hospitality, instead of becoming ambassadors of peace for Iran, they spoke of their time in our country with a vengeful tone, often blaming Iran for all of Afghanistan's misfortunes. That era and that opportunity have passed. Now, a new flood of Afghan migrants is heading towards Iran, presenting the government with new challenges. One significant problem that has arisen is the concern among Iranian citizens. Iranian citizens may feel insecure regarding security and economic matters, and these concerns can influence policies and decisions related to the reception and education of Afghan migrants. Whether the government should deny migrants entry or can even prevent their arrival is not the focus here. My perspective is that Afghan migrants are now in Iran, and for the past 40 years, the government has been unable to persuade them to return to their country. Therefore, a solution must be sought for this new challenge.

Striving for a balance between the humanitarian needs of migrants and the concerns of the host society is a crucial and overarching imperative that must be considered in advancing solutions for these important issues. The government must, on one hand, endeavor to be a better host as much as possible, and on the other hand, reduce the costs associated with the sudden increase in this newcomer population. Maintaining this balance is, of course, difficult for the government. This issue is so important that the government should urgently seek assistance from experts and refrain from resorting to impulsive or ill-considered solutions. Mobilizing a "cyber army" to support migrants with exaggerated slogans will backfire, pushing citizens and commentators towards more severe reactions. It is likely that the government will once again lose the narrative to the public, and the migrant issue will become another pretext, at least, for a theoretical confrontation between the government and the people.

In this regard, one of the most important ways to reduce the costs associated with hosting refugees is education – education for families, and especially for children. Fortunately, despite shortcomings and deficiencies, the Ministry of Education has made commendable efforts to educate Afghan children. Nevertheless, some migrant children have been unable to attend formal schools due to a lack of valid identification documents, financial insufficiency, and an inadequate number of classrooms. According to last year's statistics from the Social Welfare Organization's Office for Socially Vulnerable Individuals, 70% of foreign nationals residing in Iran are undocumented refugees lacking identity papers. Given the ongoing migration trend, it can be presumed that a large number of refugee children will be deprived of education. Naturally, the cost of educating these students will be a burden on the government; however, providing them with educational opportunities is far less costly than the consequences of them being out of school.

Setting aside society's humanitarian responsibility towards refugee children to alleviate their suffering, and the fundamental right to education – which, according to the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child, no child, not even a refugee, should be deprived of – we must draw policymakers' attention to the consequences of refugee children being excluded from the educational environment and peer interaction. According to statistics from the Social Welfare Organization's Office for Socially Vulnerable Individuals, 85% of identified child laborers and street children in the country are foreign nationals (in Tehran, this figure is 63%). Note that this data, announced last year by the head of the Social Welfare Organization's Office for Socially Vulnerable Individuals, presumably predates the new wave of Afghan refugees; therefore, we should expect an increase in the population of child laborers at intersections or child waste pickers. This single issue alone can entail significant costs for the government. On one hand, citizen dissatisfaction with the congregation of child laborers and the lack of organization and programs for them will pressure the government. On the other hand, meeting the needs of these children as defenseless and vulnerable human beings will also weigh heavily on the state. Indeed, many child laborers, due to their families' economic and cultural poverty and lack of proper social education, suffer from various social harms, especially delinquency. It is estimated that 80% of these children exhibit aggression and violence, 50% resort to theft, 41% engage in drug dealing, 85% commit vandalism of public property, 54% disregard others' civil rights and have communication difficulties, and 55% are inclined towards delinquency.

Considering these factors, one can conclude that providing educational opportunities for refugee children, however costly, is far less expensive than the repercussions of their absence from the safe environment of a school. But given the limited resources of the Ministry of Education, how can this challenge be addressed? As a first step, the Ministry of Education can accredit and support self-run schools (or community-led schools). By facilitating the licensing of these self-run schools, it can encourage Afghan migrant teachers to establish classes, however small, for their surrounding migrant communities. It should also establish a mechanism to ensure that the academic records of students in these self-run schools are assessable and officially recognized.

Another solution the Ministry of Education can consider is turning to online education, especially given its valuable two-year experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online platform like the "SHAD" student system can be used as the primary e-learning base for out-of-school children. Such a system can not only provide educational content for Afghan students but also serve as a tool for teaching civic education to families. The SHAD system is likely already filled with ready-made educational materials for all grade levels. It only needs to be linked to the National Migration Organization's system so that students unable to enroll in in-person classes can benefit from online lessons. The faster these steps are taken, the lower the potential harm to children and the costs to the host society will be – before newly arrived migrant children become fortune-tellers or incense-sellers at intersections; before the exploitation of children takes precedence over their education.