Catch-up classes offer Afghan children the opportunity for a better future

“When I was alone [playing] in the streets, I used to think about how much I missed school,” says Ahmed*, an Afghan child living as a refugee in north-eastern Iran.

Like many other children, Ahmed and his siblings had to drop out of school after the authorities changed in Afghanistan in August 2021. Shortly after, Ahmed and his family decided to seek refuge in Iran. Access to quality education remains to be one of the main considerations for many Afghans leaving the country, especially for families with daughters of secondary school age.

In 2015, the Government of Iran issued a decree allowing all children to study in Iranian public schools, regardless of their nationality or documentation. Due to the inclusive policies, in the 2022 to 2023 school year, 730,000 Afghan children were able to attend local schools.

However, accessing education in a new country isn’t always easy, especially for refugees.

“One day we went to school with our father; but because I didn’t have any valid documentation, [and because] months had passed since the start of the school year, they did not register me,” recalls Ahmed.

Limited available information, together with necessary procedures, livelihoods and documentation challenges, often prevent many Afghan children from joining schools.

“With the continuous arrivals of refugees, the number of children not currently enroled in the education system is staggering, even despite government inclusive policies,” says Melika, Education Coordinator for NRC in Iran. “That’s why NRC is supporting refugees to ensure they can access education”.

In partnership with Education Above All’s Educate A Child programme, generous support of the European Union Humanitarian Aid and in cooperation with the Literacy Movement Organization (LMO), NRC is supporting out of school children to access catch-up classes in Iran, so they can later enrol in the public education system. In 2023 alone, over 2,000 children attended such classes.

“My mother was concerned that I was not in school, and every day she talked with my father about me and my older brother's education… One day, my father's cousin heard news about the literacy and numeracy classes while he was at the mosque; the classes would be there completely free of charge. The next day, my cousin took me and my mother to the mosque and we enroled,” adds Ahmed.

“I had forgotten my previous lessons, [but] after few months of LMO classes I learned my lessons quite well. I am very happy and excited to attend the classes. My mother is asking the teacher how I can enrol in school after completion of the course so that I can go to school with my other friends,” he says.

After attending such classes, Afghan children receive a certificate and can enrol in the public school system where they will continue their education with their Iranian peers. Due to these educational activities, Afghan children have now the opportunity to build a sustainable future for themselves.

However, difficulties remain. Refugee families face many challenges, including with accessing livelihood opportunities. In addition, it is usually difficult for Iranian public schools to accommodate large numbers of additional students in their structures. To address such challenges and to continue supporting enrolment and retention in the school system, Education Above All’s Educate A Child programme and NRC’s joint project will continue to support the Iranian education system by providing adequate learning spaces.

NRC in Iran

Since 2012, NRC has been assisting displaced Afghans in Iran as well as their Iranian host communities. We work to improve protection and access to basic humanitarian services across eleven provinces (Alborz, Tehran, Yazd, South Khorasan, Hormozgan, Kerman, Razavi Khorazan, Marzaki, Qom, Semnan, and Sistan and Baluchestan).

Since mid-2021, NRC Iran has scaled its work significantly in connection with developments in Afghanistan, while maintaining all existing programmes in Iran.

About NRC’s partnership with EAC

NRC, in partnership with Education Above All’s Educate A Child programme, aims to reach 19,596 Iranian and refugee children in the provinces of Hormozgan, Kerman, Khorasan-Razavi, Semnan, Sistan and Baluchistan, and Tehran through the Improving Access to Primary Education for OOSC in Iran project. This project is reaching Iranian and refugee children who do not have access to education due to infrastructure, geography or documentation, as well as poverty and gender related barriers.

Through project interventions such as cash assistance for education, literacy classes, and the rehabilitation of classrooms and toilets in schools, we are aiming to minimise the risk of children abandoning their studies and encouraging those who had been forced to do so to rejoin schools, including through the provision of catch-up classes.

* Indicates that name has been changed to respect the individual's wish for anonymity.