Exclusive: Iran's school year opens as fees triple and enrolment falls

Iran's new academic year opens on Wednesday against a backdrop of tuition fees that in some cases nearly tripled over the summer, with enrollment falling at private schools across Tehran as war fears, sanctions and the continued collapse of the rial squeeze family budgets. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian marked the start of the academic year by ringing the school bell at a girls' primary school in Tehran on Monday. The Ministry of Education has instructed schools to prioritise in-person teaching after periods of online learning during previous phases of the war.