#Ahwazna – School-aged students in Ahwazi rural areas are in dire need of schools

Ahwazna

 Around 20000 local residents live in Al-Zehiriye district which is located between Ahwaz and Malashyia town where there is only one elementary school with four classrooms and two containers that are provided for more than 500 students to use! One of the local residents while emphasizing on the deprivations said: “we just have one elementary school here and it has four classrooms along with two containers which are used by more than 500 students despite the fact that this district has at least 1000 students at different stages. A number of students are attending schools that are a long distance from their home." This area is one of the oldest rural areas in Ahwaz that is more than 65 years old. But in this region there is still lack of facilities like suitable educational environment, health services, routes, streets, square and etc.,… According to human rights activists, the principal of the school refused to give information about the school due to the fear of the security forces and said: “we need a permission from Department of Education in order to be able to give information and description. This four-classroom school has 280 students in every shift. There are only two toilets and one water tank and the drinking water is unhealthy and non-potable. Some students who want to study at upper grades must go to Ahwaz and accordingly they need to cross the Ahwaz-mohammara road and this caused horrible accident last years. Dozens of students in recent years have lost their lives as cars hit and ran over them in their way to the school which is located far from their town at a distance of 5 km. This district is one of the oldest areas of Ahwaz that its population is more than 20000 and it ends to Eyn Dou region from the south and to Koye Alavi from the east. According to Iranian official educational system, the educational Level of Al-Ahwaz region is 31, in last place among the 31 provinces of Iran.