Shirabad, a large and densely populated area in northern Zahedan, faces a serious shortage of educational facilities despite its large population and the many surrounding villages. The area includes North Azadi, Majdiyeh, North Bagheri and Pirbakhsh streets, as well as the villages of Hemmatabad, Hajiabad, Kambuzia, Daiabad, Chah Rahman, Lar Bala and Lar Pain.
In this extensive area, there is no upper secondary school for students to continue their education, while the only lower secondary school, named Yaqoub Leith, does not have enough capacity to meet the needs of all students.
One student attending this school, who lives in Daiabad, describes the difficulties of travelling to school:
"The distance between my home and school is very long, and we have no school transport. Every morning, I stand by the roadside hoping that a passing vehicle will take me to school. Some days someone gives me a lift all the way, while on other days I have to make the journey in several stages. After school, I go straight to work as an assistant in a shop at the market without any rest, and I return home in the evening."
He says that many of his former primary school classmates have already dropped out because of poverty and the long distance to school. He adds:
"I will eventually leave school too because of these difficulties and because I cannot see a clear future ahead."
Another student from Chah Rahman describes the difficulties of returning home:
"When the afternoon school shift finishes, because we have no school transport and my father does not have a car, I wait by the roadside for someone to give me a lift. Sometimes I have to wait so long that it is dark by the time I get home."
Meanwhile, if students from the area's primary schools move on to lower secondary education, the only existing school will not have enough places to accommodate them all.
In Shirabad, continuing education has become a long and exhausting journey for some students. Poverty, the absence of school transport and the shortage of schools make this journey more difficult every day.
Children who should have the opportunity to learn and build their futures are instead forced to spend hours travelling or work after school to help cover their families' living expenses.
These are the difficulties faced by students who have birth certificates. Those without birth certificates, however, are deprived of access to education from the very beginning.
The shortage of educational facilities and difficulties in reaching school increase the risk of students dropping out and contribute to the continuing cycle of poverty and deprivation.
Building more lower and upper secondary schools, increasing educational capacity and providing school transport are urgent needs in Shirabad.
The right to education should not depend on where children live or their families' financial circumstances.
Education authorities must take action to address these inequalities so that children in Shirabad, like other students, have equal opportunities to continue their education and build a better future.